Magdeburg Cathedral (), officially called the Cathedral of Saints Maurice and Catherine (), is a Protestant cathedral in Germany and the oldest Gothic cathedral in the country. It is the proto-cathedral of the former Prince-Archbishopric of Magdeburg. Today it is the principal church of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany. The south steeple is 99.25 m (325 ft 7 in) tall, the north tower 100.98 m (331 ft 4 in), making it one of the tallest cathedrals in eastern Germany. The cathedral is likewise the landmark of Magdeburg, the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, and is also home to the grave of Emperor Otto I the Great and his first wife Edith.

The first church built in 937 at the location of the current cathedral was an abbey called St. Maurice, dedicated to Saint Maurice. The current cathedral was constructed over the period of 300 years starting from 1209, and the completion of the steeples took place only in 1520. Despite being repeatedly looted, Magdeburg Cathedral is rich in art, ranging from antiques to modern art.

History

Previous building

The first church was founded September 21, 937 at the location of the current cathedral was an abbey called St. Maurice (St. Moritz), dedicated to Saint Maurice and financed by Emperor Otto I, the Great. Otto wanted to demonstrate his political power after the successful Battle of Lechfeld in 955, and ordered the construction even before his coronation as Emperor on February 2, 962. Furthermore, to support his claim as successor of the Emperor of the Weströmisches Reich, he obtained a large number of antiques – for example, pillars to be used for the construction of the church. Many of those antiques were subsequently used for the second church in 1209. The church had most likely one nave with four aisles, a width of 41 meters and a length of 80 meters. The height is estimated as up to 60 meters.

The wife of Otto, Queen Eadgyth (grand-daughter of Alfred the Great), was buried in the church after her death in 946; isotopic analysis of her bones confirms her early life in Wessex. The church was expanded in 955. Hence, the church became a cathedral. In 968, Emperor Otto I selected Magdeburg as the seat of an archdiocese with Adalbert von Trier as archbishop, even though the city was not centrally located but at the eastern border of his kingdom. He did this because he planned to expand his kingdom, and also Christianity, to the east into what is nowadays Poland. This plan, however, failed. Emperor Otto I died soon thereafter in 973 in Memleben and was also buried in the cathedral next to his wife.

The entire cathedral St. Maurice was destroyed on Good Friday in 1207 by a city fire. All but the southern wing of the cloister burned down. Archbishop Albrecht II von Kefernburg decided to pull down the remaining walls and construct a completely new cathedral, against some opposition of the people in Magdeburg. Only the south wall of the cloister is still standing. The exact location of the old church remained unknown for a long time, but the foundations were rediscovered in May 2003, revealing a building 80 m long and 41 m wide. The old crypt has been excavated and can be visited by the public.

The place in the north of the cathedral (sometimes called "new marketplace", Neuer Markt, now: Cathedral square = in german language: Domplatz) was occupied by an imperial palace (Kaiserpfalz), which was destroyed in the fire of Good Friday 1207. In the southeast corner of the Domplatz standed a second large church, the "North Church", burned down 1207 and was not rebuilt after the fire. The stones of the ruin served for building the cathedral. The presumptive remains of the palace were excavated in the 1960s.

Construction of the current building

The highly educated Prince-Archbishop Albert I of Käfernburg, having traveled in Italy and France, decided to construct the new cathedral modelled upon the Gothic architecture that had intrigued him in France. The French style was completely unknown in Germany, and the hired craftsmen only gradually mastered it.

The construction of the choir started in 1209, only two years after the fire that destroyed the previous church, but this choir is still in a very Romanesque style, initially still using romanesque groin vaults, combined with a gothic center stone, which however is not needed for Romanesque groin vaults.

The Gothic influence increased especially between 1235 and 1260 under Archbishop Wilbrand. As the construction was supervised by different people in the span of 300 years, many changes were made to the original plan, and the cathedral size expanded greatly. The people of Magdeburg were not always happy with this, since they had to pay for the construction. In some cases already constructed walls and pillars were torn down to suit the wishes of the current supervisor.

Construction stopped after 1274. In 1325, Archbishop Burchard III. von Schraplau was killed by the people of Magdeburg because of extreme taxes. Folklore says that especially the beer tax increase caused much anger. Afterwards Magdeburg was under a ban, and only after the donation of five atonement altars did the construction of the cathedral continue under Archbishop Otto von Hessen. Otto was also able to complete the interior construction, and formally opened the dome in 1363 in a week-long festival. At this time, the cathedral was dedicated not only to St Maurice as before, but also to Saint Catherine.

In 1360, the construction stopped again after the uncompleted parts have been covered provisionally. Only in 1477 did the construction start again under Archbishop Ernst von Sachsen, including the two towers. The towers were constructed by master builder Bastian Binder, the only master builder of the cathedral known by name. The construction of the cathedral was completed in 1520 with the placement of the ornamental cross on the north tower.

Luther, the Swedes, and Napoleon

On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther published the 95 Theses in Wittenberg, Germany, an event considered to mark the start of the Protestant Reformation. Luther preached in Magdeburg in 1524, and some smaller churches in the city to adopt Protestantism soon thereafter. The unpopularity of Archbishop Albrecht von Brandenburg also furthered the Reformation, and after his death in 1545 in Mainz there was no successor. Magdeburg became a leading site of the Reformation, and was outlawed by the emperor. The Catholic Church stored the cathedral treasure in Aschaffenburg for safekeeping, but it would later be lost to the Swedes in the Thirty Years' War. The priests of the cathedral also converted to Protestantism, and on the first Advent Sunday in 1567, the first Protestant worship service was held in the cathedral.

The largest bell, the "Maxima" with 10 tons in the south tower, falls down and was destroyed in the 1540th years.

Heinrich Compenius built 1604/05 his famous main organ with the "Golden Chick".

In 1631, during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) Magdeburg was raided, and only a small group of 4000 citizens survived the murdering, raping, and looting (known as the sack of Magdeburg) by seeking refuge in the cathedral. The head priest, Reinhard Bakes, begged on his knees for the lives of his people before the conqueror Johan t'Serclaes, Count of Tilly. The cathedral survived the fires in the city, and was dedicated again to the Catholic religion. However, as Tilly's catholic forces left Magdeburg, the cathedral was completely looted, and its colorful windows were shot out. Twenty thousand people of Magdeburg died during the war, and at the end of the war Magdeburg had a population of only 400. Magdeburg became part of Brandenburg, and was transformed into a large fortress.
In 1806, Magdeburg was given to Napoleon, and the cathedral was used for storage, and also as a horse barn and sheep pen. The occupation ended in 1814, and the cathedral changed in the ownership of prussian state. Between 1826 and 1834 Frederick William III of Prussia financed the much-needed repairs and reconstruction of the cathedral under the leaderness from Karl Friedrich Schinkel. A new main organ IV/81 with mechanical key and stop action was built 1856 to 1861 by Adolf Reubke, 1865 a new division with 6 stops was added. The cathedral organist from 1847 to 1885 was August Gottfried Ritter. He designed the stoplist for the Reubke-Organ. The glass windows were all replaced in 1900.

20th and 21st centuries

In 1901 a steam heating was installed. It needed one railway car with coal to made a temperature from 57,2 °F = 14 °C in winter. Ernst Röver build a new main organ with pneumatic key and stop action, 3 manuals and 100 stops in 1906.

The frequent Allied bombings of World War II completely destroyed the windows of the cathedral. During the heaviest bomb attacks on January 16, 1945, some vaults was destroyed. Im February or March 1945 one firebomb from a deep flying attack hit the cathedral on the west facade between the towers, destroying the facade and the Röver-organ. Fortunately, the fire brigades were able to extinguish the flames on the roof structures in time, so damage to the cathedral was only moderate. Also the steam heating was destroyed in WW II and to now not rebuilt. The cathedral was opened again in 1955, and a new organ with mechanical action and 37 stops from Alexander Schuke Orgelbau was installed over the "paradies door" in 1969.

With the end of World War II and the establishment of the communist-led German Democratic Republic in 1949, Magdeburg fell under Soviet control and the ownership of the cathedral to the GDR. Communist leaders tried to suppress religion as a potential threat to communist doctrine, thus being active in church was a social disadvantage. The eradication of religion could not be accomplished, however, and weekly peace prayers were held in the cathedral beginning in 1983 in front of the Magdeburger Ehrenmal, a sculpture by Ernst Barlach. This led to the famous Monday demonstrations of 1989 (similar to those in Leipzig), which played a significant role in the German reunification process.

The cathedral is currently undergoing a reconstruction phase that began in 1983 under the East German Government. In 1990, a number of solar cells were installed on the roof, marking the first solar cell installation on a church in East Germany. The solar cells provide energy for use in the church, with excess energy being added to the regional power network. The maximum output was 418 watts. In 2004, a funding drive started in 1997 for a new main organ was completed, collecting €2.2 million. The new main organ was built by the firm of Alexander Schuke Orgelbau (Werder an der Havel) near Potsdam and was completed in May 2008 and dedicated on Trinity Sunday, May 18, 2008.  Specs: ~36 tonnes, 4 manuals, 93 stops and 6193 pipes.

Barry Jordan of Port Elizabeth, South Africa was appointed as Organist and Choral director of the cathedral in August 1994.

The Magdeburger Ehrenmal (Monument) in the cathedral is once again the starting point of many Monday demonstrations, but this time the demonstrations are aimed against social reforms reducing government welfare. However, these demonstrations occur on a much smaller scale, so comparisons to the Monday demonstrations of 1989 are made mainly for publicity reasons.

In the next time the little Schuke-organ will be restored: New case and new facade pipes, new trumpets in the Great und the Pedal, and a new Vox Humana.

Bells
Many of the historic bells were used in the 16th and 17th centuries for the production of weapons. Today there are four historic bells left in the cathedral:

1) the Susanne = Osanna, 8800 kg, tone e0, manufactured in 1702 by Johann Jacobi in Berlin,

2) the Apostolica, 4980 kg, tone b0, manufactured in 1690 by Jakob Wenzel in Magdeburg, it also hits the full hours

3) the Dominica, 2362 kg, tone h0, manufactured in 1575 by Eckart Kucher in Magdeburg,

4) the Orate, 200 kg, tone e2, manufacturing date and manufacturer unknown (13th century?)

The Schelle, 1500 kg, tone f1, manufactured in 1396, is only for the clock and hits the quarters of a hour.

The two largest bells and the Schelle are in the North tower, the Orate since 1994 in the spire. The "Dominica" was out of order since ≈2004, but it has been repaired in summer 2019, and now is awaiting installation together with the new "Amemus" in the North tower in the following years.

In the next years eight new bells from 440 kg to 14000 kg will be installed in both towers. The first new bells, the "Amemus" with 6525 kg (tone g0) for the North tower and the "Benedicamus" with 1300 kg (tone e1) for the South tower were manufactured in September and October 2022 by the Bell-manufacturer Bachert in Neunkirchen. The next five little bells for the south tower with the tones  d1, f sharp1, g1, a1 and h1, made by Bachert, followed in 2023. The "Credamus" with 14 metric tons and the tone d0 will be installed at the former place of the "Maxima" (destroyed in 1540) in the South tower and will be the second heaviest ringing bell in Germany (after the Petersglocke in Cologne cathedral).

Architecture

The current cathedral was constructed over a period of 300 years starting from 1209, and the completion of the steeples took place only in 1520. As there were no previous examples of gothic architecture in Germany, and German craftsmen were still very unfamiliar with the style at the start of the construction. Hence they learned by doing, and their progress can be seen in small architectural changes over the construction periods, which started with the Sanctuary in the east side of the church near the river Elbe and ended with the top of the towers. This sanctuary shows a strong Romanesque architecture influence. Unlike most other Gothic cathedrals, Magdeburg Cathedral does not have flying buttresses supporting the walls.

The building has an inside length of 120 metres, and a height to the ceiling of 32 metres. The towers rise to 99.25 and 100.98 metres, and are among the highest church towers in eastern Germany. The layout of the cathedral consists of one nave and two aisles, with one transept crossing the nave and aisles. Each side of the transept has an entrance, the south entrance leading into the cloister. The ceiling in the nave is higher than in the aisles, allowing for clerestory windows to give light to the nave. There is a separate narthex (entrance area) in the west. The presbytery in the east is separated from the nave by a stone wall, serving the same function as a rood screen. The sanctuary and the apse follow the presbytery. The apse is also surrounded by an ambulatory. (See Cathedral diagram for details on cathedral layouts.)

A secondary building around a large non-rectangular cloister is connected to the south side of the cathedral. The cloister, whose south wall survived the fire of 1207 and is still from the original church, was parallel to the original church. Yet, the current church was constructed at a different angle, and hence the cloister is at an odd angle with the church.

The ground around the Elbe river in Magdeburg is soft, and it is difficult to construct tall buildings, except for one large rock. Hence the cathedral was constructed on top of this rock, called the Domfelsen in German, which means Cathedral Rock. At low water levels, this rock is visible in the Elbe. As in old times low water meant a small harvest, this rock is also called Hungerfelsen, meaning starvation rock. In any case, the rock was not big enough for the cathedral, and on the west end only the north tower could be placed on a solid rock foundation, whereas the south tower stands on soft ground. To reduce weight the south tower is therefore only an empty shell with no interior or stairs, and the three big bells, "Susanne" (e), "Apostolica" (b) and "Dominica" (b), are in the north tower with a solid rock foundation. However, the south tower is slightly higher than the north tower, which is optically corrected by adding an ornamental cross on the north tower.

Art

Despite having lost much to plunderers, Magdeburg Cathedral is rich in art, ranging from antiquities to modern art. Highlights include:

Marble porphyry and granite columns removed from buildings in Ravenna for use in the apse of the Ottonian basilica;
The late-antique, porphyry baptismal font.
The tomb of Otto I, the first Ottonian Holy Roman Emperor (962 - 973). When the tomb was opened in 1844, a skeleton and remains of clothes were found, but no grave goods, which were presumably stolen during the Thirty-Years War. The Latin inscription on the bronze plaque is modern.
The (incomplete) sculpture of Saint Maurice, created around 1250, is the first realistic depiction of an ethnic African in central European art. It shows the same high degree of naturalism as the founder's effigies of Naumburg Cathedral. The same sculptor carved the image of Saint Catherine.
The sculpture known as The Royal Couple (Herrscherpaar), located in the sixteen-sided chapel, also dates from c. 1250)  may represent Otto I and his consort, Edith.
The sculptures of the five wise and the five foolish virgins (see The ten virgins from the List of Bible stories), also around 1250. This is the most remarkable piece of art in the cathedral. The five wise virgins are prepared and bring oil to a wedding, whereas the five foolish virgins are unprepared and bring no oil. Hence they have to go find oil and subsequently arrive late and cannot join the wedding anymore. The unknown artist masterfully expresses the emotions in the faces and the body languages of the girls, showing a much more realistic expression than what was common in art around that time. All figures are different, and have ethnic Slavic features. The sculptures are outside of the north entrance to the transept.
The seats in the choir from 1363 are masterfully carved and show the life of Jesus. The unknown master also created the seats in the choir in Bremen's Cathedral.
The Magdeburger Ehrenmal by Ernst Barlach was ordered as a heroic war memorial, but due to his voluntary participation during World War I Barlach was against the war and showed the pain and suffering of the war instead. This created a great controversy, and the work was almost destroyed. The spot in front of this sculpture was also the starting point of the Monday demonstrations.
The Lebensbaumkruzifix (literally: Tree of life cross) is a painted bronze sculpture from 1986 and expanded in 1988 that shows Jesus nailed to a tree instead of a cross. Jesus is attached to the tree only with his hands and feet, and is otherwise hanging freely. The sculpture was designed not only to be viewed from the front but from all sides. The tree is barren except for a small leaf of hope/life where the blood of Jesus drips on the tree. The artist, Prof. Jürgen Weber, wanted the sculpture to be the centerpiece near the altar, but the sculpture was placed on the south side of the transept against his wishes.
The Magdeburg Ivories, 17 carved panels thought to be created for an unidentified object in Magdeburg Cathedral around the time of its dedication and now dispersed in museums across the world, a prime example of Ottonian art.

Saint Maurice

It was not until the Middle Ages that the portrayal of blackness arose in art, evident in the sculpture of Saint Maurice in Magdeburg Cathedral. However, during this time, much of the portrayal of blackness in art was to emphasize social and racial hierarchy, so, by portraying blackness in sculpture, it was easier for viewers to understand that the use of different skin colors was to demonstrate "the other." The attention to black facial structure to portray foreignness can be traced back to Hohenstaufen iconography and the Crusades, as there was a rising interest in black social standing during the period. This led to the emergence of black portrayals in art, particularly under Frederick II, who had black Muslims brought to Lucera, Apulia, to become his personal servants. Thus they became a large part of the art he commissioned. During Fredericks's reign, due to his interest in the Hohenstaufen tradition, black people were depicted as servants, specifically intelligent guardians of the royal treasury, or in high court positions. Yet, rather than defining them through race, there was greater attention to detail in facial structure, which was used to indicate their foreignness. Looking at Saint Maurice, it is clear that he embodies the traits of the time, and the shift towards naturalism in sculpture during the Gothic period, as there is a focus on the portrayal of his distinctly black features. The statue of Saint Maurice changed the idea of black Africans in art from a violent and savage-like stereotype to that of a saint and martyr. The portrayal of Saint Maurice in a position of power is evident through his clothing, as he is dressed as a mighty knight, making it clear that he is not a servant. This sculpture not only represents blackness, but the importance of African ancestry as well, as this sculpture was one of the earliest representations of a black African in European art history. This statue thus became a model in the representation of blackness in medieval European sculpture.

References

Sources
Nicola Coldstream (2002) "Medieval Architecture", Oxford History of Art, Oxford University Press, .
"Der Dom zu Magdeburg", DKV Kunstführer Nr. 415/2, Munich.
Buchholz, Ingelore (2001): Magdeburg: Der Stadtführer, Verlag Janos Stekovics, .
Sussman, Michael (1997): Der Dom zu Magdeburg, Passau.
Ullmann, Ernst (1989): Der Magdeburger Dom: ottonische Gründung und staufischer Neubau, Leipzig

External links

Official website of the cultural heritage of Saxony-Anhalt
Official website of the evangelical cathedral church
virtual media website with 360° views and pictures

Buildings and structures in Magdeburg
13th-century churches in Germany
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1520
Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism
Lutheran cathedrals in Germany
Protestant churches in Saxony-Anhalt
Pre-Reformation Roman Catholic cathedrals
Imperial cathedrals
Romanesque Road
Gothic architecture in Germany
1520 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
Tourist attractions in Magdeburg
Burial sites of the Ottonian dynasty

Magdeburg Cathedral


Bridge cameras are cameras that fill the niche between relatively simple point-and-shoot cameras and interchangeable-lens cameras such as mirrorless cameras and single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs).  They are often comparable in size and weight to the smallest digital SLRs (DSLR), but lack interchangeable lenses, and almost all digital bridge cameras lack an optical viewfinder system. The phrase "bridge camera" has been in use at least since the 1980s, and continues to be used with digital cameras.  The term was originally used to refer to film cameras which "bridged the gap" between point-and-shoot cameras and SLRs.

Like other cameras, most current bridge cameras are digital.  These cameras typically feature full manual controls over shutter speed, aperture, ISO sensitivity, color balance and metering. Generally, their feature sets are similar to consumer DSLRs, except for a smaller range of ISO sensitivity because of their typically smaller image sensor.  Many bridge cameras have long zoom lenses which now often start at a super wide-angle focal length of 20 or 22mm equivalent focal length (in 35mm film camera terms), so the term "bridge camera" is sometimes used interchangeably with "megazoom", "superzoom", or "ultrazoom".  However, some bridge cameras have only moderate or short zooms (such as the Canon Powershot G9), while many compact cameras have superzoom lenses but lack the advanced functions of a bridge camera.

With zoom ranges and sales rapidly increasing in the early 21st century, every major camera manufacturer has at least one superzoom camera in its lineup.

Comparison to other camera types
Digital bridge cameras offer the convenience of a point-and-shoot in the form factor of a DSLR. The most notable physical similarity is the location of a bridge camera's electronic viewfinder (EVF): centered above the lens like a DSLR's optical viewfinder. While many digital point-and-shoots lack a viewfinder, almost every bridge camera includes an EVF, with the exception of the Canon G3 X (that offered it as an optional accessory) and some low-end models, such as the Nikon B600.

Like point-and-shoots and unlike DSLRs, bridge cameras are mirrorless. Because there is no lens mount (unlike on a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera), the lens assembly of a bridge camera is able to extend into the body almost all the way to the sensor, making more efficient use of the space.

All current models include a power zoom lens that retracts when not in use and is controlled by a lever on the body like on a point-and-shoot, but a few past models such as the Fujifilm X-S1 and S9000 included a manual zoom lens controlled by a ring on the lens like on an interchangeable-lens camera. Unlike most point-and-shoots with a zoom lens, bridge cameras require a manual lens cap, as they do not include an automatic lens cover.

The additional size of a bridge camera compared to a compact camera makes room to fit a larger image sensor, a lens with a larger aperture or longer zoom, or some combination of both. For example, the Sony RX100 VII (compact camera) and RX10 (bridge camera) have the same zoom range (24mm to 200mm equiv.), but the RX100 VII's maximum aperture at 200mm is 4.5, whereas the RX10's maximum aperture at 200mm is 2.8, which means it can collect over twice the amount of light. Likewise, the Canon SX620 (compact camera) and G3 X (bridge camera) both have a 25× optical zoom, but the G3 X's sensor is over 4 times as large as the SX620's. Superzoom compact cameras have reached up to 40× optical zoom, whereas bridge cameras have reached up to 125× optical zoom.

One fixed but versatile lens

Bridge cameras typically have small image sensors, allowing their lenses also to be smaller than a 35mm or APS-C SLR lens covering the same zoom range. As a result, very large zoom ranges (from wide-angle to telephoto, including macro) are feasible with one lens.  The typical bridge camera has a telephoto zoom limit of over 400mm (35mm equivalent), although some 21st-century cameras reach up to 2000mm. For this reason, bridge cameras typically fall into the category of superzoom cameras.

The 24× Zoom Nikkor ED 4.6-110.4mm f2.8-5.0 on the Nikon Coolpix P90, which in 35 mm equivalent focal length terms is a 26-624mm.

LCDs and EVFs as principal viewfinders

Bridge cameras employ two types of electronic screens as viewfinders: The LCD and the electronic viewfinder (EVF). All bridge cameras have an LCD with live-preview and usually in addition either an EVF or an optical viewfinder (OVF) (non-parallax-free, as opposed to the OVF of DSLRs, which is parallax-free). A high-quality EVF is one of the advanced features that distinguish bridge cameras from consumer compact cameras.

All DSLRs, by definition, have a through-the-lens OVF. Newer DSLR models typically also allow "live view" on the LCD screen as an alternative to the OVF, although frequently without autofocus or with very slow autofocus when in that mode. Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, which like bridge cameras are mirrorless, rely on electronic viewfinders or LCD screens and generally do not sacrifice autofocus features when using these displays.

Large-sensor bridge cameras

Just as in compact cameras, there is a trend towards larger sensors in bridge cameras, as well. Sony started the category of 1 inch sensor equipped bridge cameras in 2012 with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100, followed in late 2013 with the release of the Sony RX10. In 2014, Panasonic followed this with the FZ1000, which has a larger zoom range, up to 400mm equivalent (Sony's RX10 goes to 200mm equivalent). In contrast with the RX10's constant f/2.8 widest aperture Zeiss lens, the Panasonic FZ1000 has a variable f/2.8 to f/4 Leica creation. Sony's DSC-R1 issued as early as 2005 has a 10MP APS-sized sensor combined with a Zeiss zoom lens.
In terms of image quality, these cameras are comparable to Canon's DSLRs and similarly priced.

Market
In late 2012, Techradar wrote that while the general compact camera market was on a downturn, the DSLR-like bridge camera market was continuing well. In 2014, CNET mentioned that for the last couple of years, Fujifilm focused on producing rugged compact cameras and bridge cameras as those segments continue to show strong sales.

See also
 List of bridge cameras
 List of superzoom compact cameras
 List of large sensor fixed-lens cameras

References

Live-preview digital cameras
Digital cameras

Bridge camera


Mammaliaformes ("mammal-like") is a clade which contains the mammals and their closest extinct relatives.

Living members of the clade include the monotremes (Monotremata), marsupials (Marsupialia) and the eutherians (Placentalia).

Mammaliforms have highly specialized molar teeth, with cusps and flat regions for grinding food. This is a single inherited system in present mammals, but it seems to have evolved convergently in pre-mammals more than once. Instead of having many teeth that are frequently replaced, mammals have one set of baby teeth and later one set of adult teeth which fit together precisely. This may help to grind food, and make it easier to digest.

Lactation (milk) and fur, along with other features, also characterize the Mammaliaformes, though these traits are difficult to study in the fossil record. The fossilized remains of Castorocauda lutrasimilis are an exception to this.

Evolution of early mammals
Fossils of Mesozoic proto-mammals are scarce. There were only 116 in 1979, but this has changed in recent times. There were about 310 in 2007, with an increase in quality: there are "at least 18 Mesozoic mammals [with] nearly complete skeletons".

Ecological niches in the Mesozoic
There is still some truth in the "small, nocturnal insectivores" stereotype, but recent finds show that proto-mammals gradually developed a variety of lifestyles. For example:
Castorocauda, a member of Docodonta lived in the Middle Jurassic about 164 million years ago (mya). It was about  long, weighed , had limbs that were adapted for swimming and digging and teeth adapted for eating fish. Another docodont, Haldanodon, also had semi-aquatic habits. Aquatic tendencies were probably common among docodonts, since they lived in wetland environments.
Multituberculates are allotherians that survived for over 125 mya (from mid-Jurassic, about 160 mya, to late Eocene, about 35 mya) are often called the "rodents of the Mesozoic". They may have given birth to tiny live neonates rather than laying eggs.

Fruitafossor, from the Upper Jurassic about 150 mya, was about the size of a chipmunk. Its teeth, forelimbs and back suggest that it broke open the nest of social insects to prey on them (probably termites.
Spinolestes also had adaptations for digging, so it also might have had anteater-like habits. It is notable for quills like those of modern spiny mice.
Volaticotherium is from the boundary with the Lower Cretaceous about 125 mya. It is the earliest-known gliding mammal and had a gliding membrane that stretched out between its limbs, rather like a modern flying squirrel. This suggests it was active mainly during the day. It is not the only example of this type of locomotion.
Repenomamus, from the early Cretaceous 130 mya, was a stocky, badger-like predator that sometimes preyed on young dinosaurs. Two species have been recognized, the largest over a metre long.
Ichthyoconodon is known from mollariforms found in marine deposits. These teeth are sharp-cusped and similar in shape to those of piscivorous mammals. This has been taken to mean that it was a marine mammal, one of the few examples known from the Mesozoic.

This paints a picture of small-sized mammals being already quite successful and diversified in the Jurassic and early Cretaceous.

Taxonomy
In some sources Class Mammalia takes the place of Mammaliaformes, and includes all members of that clade.

 MAMMALIAFORMES
 Branch Allotheria
 Sinoconodonta
 Morganucodonta
Morganucodon
Megazostrodon
 Haramiyida
 Docodonta
 Symmetrodonta
 Mammalia

References

Theriodonts

Mammaliaformes


The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the 1960s. While their popularity in the United States waned in the 1970s, the group remains especially revered in Japan, where they have toured regularly. The classic lineup of the band consisted of Wilson (rhythm guitar), Bogle (initially lead guitar, later bass), Nokie Edwards (initially bass, later lead guitar), and Mel Taylor (drums).

Their first wide-release single, "Walk, Don't Run" (1960), brought international fame to the group, and is often cited as one of the top songs ever recorded for guitar.
In the 1960s and early 1970s, 38 of the band's albums charted in the US, ranking them as the 6th best album chart performer during the 1960s, and the band had 14 singles in the Billboard Hot 100.
With over 100 million records sold, the Ventures are the best-selling instrumental band of all time.

The Ventures have had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. The band was among the first to employ and popularize fuzz and flanging guitar effects, concept albums, and twelve-string guitars in rock music. Their instrumental virtuosity, innovation, and unique sound influenced many musicians and bands, earning the group the moniker "The Band that Launched a Thousand Bands".
Their recording of "Walk, Don't Run" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for its lasting impact,
and in 2008 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

History

Formation and rise to fame
Don Wilson and Bob Bogle first met in 1958, when Bogle was looking to buy a car from a used car dealership in Seattle owned by Wilson's father. Finding a common interest in guitars, the two decided to play together, while Wilson joined Bogle performing masonry work. They bought two used guitars in a pawn shop for about $10 each. Initially calling themselves the Versatones, the duo played small clubs, beer bars, and private parties throughout the Pacific Northwest. Wilson played rhythm guitar, Bogle lead. When they went to register the band name, they found that it was already taken. Disappointed, they cast about for an appropriate name. Wilson's mother suggested the name "The Ventures", upon which they eventually agreed in 1959.

After watching Nokie Edwards play at a nightclub, they recruited him as bass player. Bogle owned a Chet Atkins LP, Hi-Fi in Focus, on which he heard the song "Walk, Don't Run". Soon, the group was in a recording studio playing the new song, with Bogle on lead, Wilson on rhythm, Edwards on bass, and Skip Moore on drums. They pressed a number of 45s, which they distributed to several record companies. Later, Skip Moore opted out of the group to work at his family's gas station. When "Walk, Don't Run" was recorded, he also opted out of the royalties from the recording, taking $25 for the session instead. He later sued to collect royalties but failed because of his prior opt-out. "Walk, Don't Run" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.

Needing a permanent drummer for the group after George T. Babbitt Jr. dropped out because he was not old enough to play night clubs and bars, they hired Howie Johnson and, in the midst of a fast-paced touring schedule, recorded an album to capitalize on the success of the single. (Babbitt went on to become a 4-star general in the United States Air Force (USAF) and on March 1, 1998, he played live in uniform on drums with the band.) The lineup of Bogle, Wilson, Edwards and Johnson remained intact until September 1962, when Johnson was replaced by Mel Taylor. The group found early success with a string of singles, but quickly became leaders in the album market. The Ventures were among the pioneers of concept albums (starting with 1961's The Colorful Ventures) where each song on several of their albums was chosen to fit a specific theme. Some of the Ventures' most popular albums at the time were a series of records of dance music. In the early 1960s "golden age of hi-fi", with the novelty of stereo still in its experimental stages, the Ventures found their characteristic style of recording each instrument in either the extreme left or right channel, with little (if any) cross-over, enhancing the stereo effect to its fullest limits.

In 1963, Edwards, a talented guitarist in his own right, suggested that Bogle's lead guitar abilities were being stretched, and that they were in essence wasting Edwards' talents by keeping him on bass. Bogle agreed, and rapidly learned the bass parts to all their tunes, allowing Edwards to take lead guitar full-time, although he had played lead previously on several tracks on their first studio sessions/albums. This move would prove vital in modernizing the band's sound, ensuring success in an ever-changing market well into the late 1960s.

Classic lineup
In the fall of 1957, Johnson had been injured in an auto crash, which caused irreversible spinal damage. This forced him to play with a neckbrace at first.  However, he was able to play without it shortly after joining the group.  Johnson played on the first four LPs and recorded on about half of the tracks on the fifth LP (Twist with the Ventures/Dance!) and about half of their sixth LP (Twist With The Ventures Vol. 2/Beach Party). He did not like spending so much time away from his new family (his second marriage) by having to commute from Seattle to Los Angeles to record, and because of this, he left the band. Johnson continued to play locally in the Washington area with local groups until his death on May 5, 1988, at age 54.

At the time Johnson quit the Ventures, Bogle and Wilson already knew Mel Taylor, house drummer at The Palomino in North Hollywood (the venue where they would play numerous shows during their resurgence in the 1980s). Taylor was known for a hard-hitting style of drumming. The group invited him to some recording sessions, which led Taylor to become a permanent member of the Ventures. The band continued to remain a constant presence in the American music landscape during this time: between 1962 and 1967, they released 22 albums, and all but one reached the top 100 of the Billboard album charts (13 of which reached the top 40). They experienced more moderate success in the singles market, with 6 charting on the Billboard Hot 100. Their most successful single during this time was Walk Don't Run '64 (a re-arranged surf-style version of their 1960 breakout hit), which reached #8.

During this time, the Ventures' popularity overseas began to increase significantly. In particular, the Japanese music market embraced the Ventures' music after Bogle and Wilson toured the country in 1962. By the time they returned in 1964, this time as a full band, their music became immensely popular in Japan, and were greeted by thousands of fans at the airport. Their 1965 single "Diamond Head" reached only #70 in the United States but was a major hit overseas, reaching #1 in the Japanese and Hong Kong markets, and becoming the first million-selling single in Japan. The Ventures were responsible for a period in Japanese music known as the eleki boom, where thousands of Japanese purchased electric guitars and many guitar-based bands started up.

Resurgence and decline in the US
The combination of Edwards on lead guitar, Taylor on drums, Bogle on bass and Wilson on rhythm guitar remained unchanged until Edwards left the band in 1968, to be replaced by Gerry McGee (born Gerald James McGee in Eunice, Louisiana; November 17, 1937 – October 12, 2019), son of the famous Cajun fiddle player Dennis McGee. Edwards came back in 1973 and remained with them until 1984, although he has toured and gigged with them dozens of times in the subsequent years. Edwards' replacement in 1984 was, once again, Gerry McGee. Mel Taylor left in 1972 (and was replaced by drummer Joe Barile) to pursue a solo career when the Ventures became a nostalgia act. His intentions were to concentrate on new material and the progressive side of music. He returned in 1979 and stayed with the Ventures until his death from cancer in 1996. When Mel Taylor got sick he was replaced by his son, Leon Taylor. (Original drummer Howie Johnson had died in 1988; Skip Moore, the drummer on "Walk, Don't Run" is also deceased.)

Later years
Their commercial fortunes in the US declined sharply in the early 1970s due to changing musical trends. In the late 1970s and into the 1980s, a resurgence of interest in surf music led to some in the punk/new wave audience rediscovering the band. The Go-Go's wrote "Surfin' And Spyin'" and dedicated it to the Ventures. The Ventures recorded their own version and continue occasionally to perform the song. Their career again rejuvenated by Quentin Tarantino's use of the Lively Ones' version of Nokie Edwards' "Surf Rider" and several other classic surf songs in the soundtrack of the hit movie Pulp Fiction. The Ventures became one of the most popular groups worldwide thanks in large part to their instrumental approach—there were no language barriers to overcome. The Ventures are still the most popular American rock group in Japan, the world's second largest record market. One oft-quoted statistic is that the Ventures outsold the Beatles 2-to-1 in Japan. They produced dozens of albums exclusively for the Japanese and European markets, and have regularly toured Japan from the 1960s through to the present. According to a January 1966 Billboard Magazine article, the Ventures had five of 1965's top 10 singles in Japan.

The Ventures today
On March 10, 2008, the Ventures were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with John Fogerty as their presenter. In attendance were original members Don Wilson and Nokie Edwards, late 1960s member John Durrill, current guitarist Bob Spalding, and current drummer Leon Taylor, son of Mel Taylor who, along with Mel Taylor's widow, Fiona, accepted on behalf of the Ventures' late drummer. Bob Bogle and Gerry McGee were unable to attend the ceremony. Fiona Taylor gave special mention to her husband's predecessor drummers Skip Moore and Howie Johnson. The Ventures performed their biggest hits, "Walk, Don't Run" and "Hawaii Five-O", augmented on the latter by Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame musical director Paul Shaffer and his band.

Bob Bogle lived in Vancouver, Washington, for years and died there on June 14, 2009, of non-Hodgkin lymphoma; he was 75.

Nokie Edwards died on March 12, 2018, due to complications after hip surgery. He was 82.

Gerry McGee died on October 12, 2019, after having a heart attack and collapsing onstage four days earlier in Japan. He was 81.

Don Wilson continued to record with the band, but retired from touring at the end of 2015. He died of natural  causes on January 22, 2022, at the age of 88.

Mel Taylor died on August 11, 1996, of cancer, at the age of 62.  He was diagnosed two weeks before his death.

Despite the passing of the founding members, the Ventures continue today (2023), with Bob Spalding—the 5th Venture—on lead guitar, Ian Spalding on rhythm guitar, Luke Griffin on bass, and Leon Taylor—son of legendary drummer Mel Taylor—on drums.

Guitars
During their first years (1958–1961), the Ventures played Fender guitars (a Jazzmaster, a Stratocaster and a Precision Bass) for both their live performances and their recording sessions. These instruments are prominently visible on the covers of two early albums: The Ventures and The Colorful Ventures. From 1962 to 1963 they used two Jazzmasters with a Precision Bass, shown on the album cover of "Bobby Vee meets The Ventures". Then in early 1963, California guitar manufacturer Mosrite re-branded their uniquely styled, futuristic-looking Mark 1 electric guitar model for the Ventures by applying decals that stated "The Ventures Model" on the headstock. The band adopted these guitars (which included a bass model) and first used them on The Ventures in Space (1963), one of their most influential albums because of the unique, otherworldly guitar sounds it contained. From 1963 through 1968, a statement on their album covers announced that the Ventures used Mosrite guitars "exclusively" (the Ventures and designer Semie Moseley were partners in the distribution of these instruments). After the expiration of their contract with Moseley, the Ventures returned to playing mainly Fender guitars. Only rarely have they used Mosrite guitars since that contract ended.

In the mid-1990s, Fender issued a limited edition Ventures Signature Series of guitars consisting of a Jazzmaster, a Stratocaster, and a Fender Jazz Bass, all with specifications determined by the band.

Aria Guitars and Wilson Brothers Guitars have subsequently issued Ventures Signature Model instruments. The Wilson Brothers guitar, in particular, is closely modeled physically on the original Mosrite design.

Legacy
The Ventures enjoyed their greatest popularity and success in the US and Japan in the 1960s, but they continue to perform and record. With over 110 million albums sold worldwide, the group remains the best selling instrumental rock group of all time. Thirty-eight Ventures albums (including a seasonal Christmas album) charted in the US, and six of fourteen chart singles made it into the Top 40, with three making it into the Top 10. Of their 38 chart albums, 34 of them occurred in the 1960s, and the Ventures rank as the 6th best pop album performer for that decade, according to "Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums".

Among their achievements in America, in 1963 the Ventures had five LPs in the Billboard Top 100 of the albums chart at the same time. Additionally, they released a series of instructional LPs entitled Play Guitar with the Ventures and Play Electric Bass with the Ventures. Four LPs were released in this series, the first of which reached the Billboard Top 100 Album Chart—an achievement previously unheard of for an instructional LP. In a novelty achievement, the Ventures were the first act to place two different versions of the same song in the Top 10, those being "Walk, Don't Run" (#2) and "Walk, Don't Run '64" (#8).

The Ventures were among the first rock acts able to sell albums based on a style and sound without needing hit singles on the albums. These albums are also some of the earliest examples of the concept album in rock music. Many of the Ventures' albums, starting with Colorful Ventures in 1961, were organized according to a central theme.

While they predated the advent of the terms surf guitar and surf rock, and they do not consider themselves a surf rock group, they were a major building block of surf music, if not the first to play the style. Guitar Player, in an article titled "20 Essential Rock Albums", cited elements of their 1960 Walk, Don't Run album which presaged the coming surf trend.

The theme music of the television show Hawaii Five-O continues to be popular. The tune was composed by Morton Stevens, who also composed numerous episode scores. The theme was recorded by the Ventures, whose version reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. Because of the tempo of the music, the theme gained popularity in the UK with followers of Northern soul and was popular on dance floors in the 1970s.

The Encyclopædia Britannica states that the Ventures "served as a prototype for guitar-based rock groups."

Special effects
The Ventures pioneered the use of special effects on such songs as "The 2000 Pound Bee", recorded in late 1962, in which lead guitarist Nokie Edwards employed a fuzz pedal. Edwards' use of "fuzz tone" predated the "King of Fuzz Guitar", Davie Allan of The Arrows, by at least three years. In addition, Edwards was among the first to use the twelve-string guitar in rock. The 1964 The Ventures In Space album was a primer in the use of special guitar effects, and made pioneering use of 'reverse-tracking'. The Ventures In Space, because of its ethereal space-like effects, was deemed an influence on the later 1960s San Francisco psychedelic generation, as well as being cited as a favorite by Keith Moon of the Who.

The band's cover of the Tornados' "Telstar" (released in January 1963) featured one of the first instances of flanging on a pop record. The song "Silver Bells" on The Ventures' Christmas Album, released in November 1965, has one of the first recorded uses of a talk box as a musical effect, voiced by Red Rhodes.

Influences
The Ventures have had an influence on many musicians, both professional and amateur. Their instructional album, Play Guitar with the Ventures, was the first such record to chart on the Billboard Top LPs list, peaking at No. 96, and taught thousands of budding guitarists how to play the guitar. George Harrison stated in a Guitar Player interview that he preferred the American guitar sound of the Ventures to British contemporaries. When asked to name the most influential rock guitar solos, Joe Walsh said he would have to include the entire song "Walk, Don't Run" because it changed so many guitar players' lives. John Fogerty, during his introduction of the Ventures at their Hall of Fame induction, said that it "kicked open a whole movement in rock and roll... The sound of it became 'surf music' and the audacity of it empowered guitarists everywhere." Stephen Stills told Ventures guitarist Don Wilson that he learned to play on Ventures records. Jeff Baxter and Gene Simmons were early members of the Ventures Fan Club. Carl Wilson called the Ventures a major influence on his early guitar playing, stating that the Beach Boys had learned to play all of their songs by ear.

Discography

Selected studio albums
 Walk, Don't Run (1960)
 The Ventures (1961)
 Another Smash!!! (1961)
 The Colorful Ventures (1961)
 Twist with the Ventures (1962) (aka Dance)
 Mashed Potatoes And Gravy(1962)
 Surfing (1963)
 The Ventures Play Telstar and the Lonely Bull (1963)
 The Ventures in Space (1964)
 Walk, Don't Run, Vol. 2 (1964)
 Knock Me Out! (1965)
 Where The Action Is (1966)
 Wild Things! (1966)
 Super Psychedelics (1967)
 Guitar Freakout (1967)
 Flights Of Fantasy (1968)
 Hawaii Five-O (1969)
 10th Anniversary Album (1970)

Band members

Current members
 Bob Spalding – lead guitar, bass guitar, rhythm guitar (2005–present; studio and live guest 1980–2005)
 Leon Taylor – drums (1996–present)
 Ian Spalding – rhythm guitar, bass guitar (2016–present)
 Luke Griffin – bass guitar, rhythm guitar (2017–present)

Former members
 Don Wilson – rhythm guitar (1958–2015; died 2022)
 Bob Bogle – bass guitar, lead guitar (1958–2005; died 2009)
 George T. Babbitt (1959–1960) – drums
 Nokie Edwards – lead guitar, bass guitar (1960–1968, 1972–1985; as guest 1999–2016; died 2018)
 Howie Johnson – drums (1960–1962; died 1988)
 Skip Moore (1960) – drums
 Mel Taylor – drums (1962–1973, 1979–1996; died 1996)
 Gerry McGee – guitar (1968–1972, 1985–2017; died 2019)
 John Durrill – keyboards (1968–1972)
 Sandy Lee Gornicki – keyboards (1968)
 Joe Barile – drums (1973–1979)
 Dave Carr – keyboards (1973–1974)
 Biff Vincent – keyboards (1975–1976)
 JD Hoag – guitar (1981–1982)

Timeline

See also
 List of best-selling music artists
 List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees
 List of surf rock musicians
 Rautalanka
 The Ventures discography

References

Bibliography
 Walk, Don't Run - The Story of The Ventures, 2nd ed. 2009, by Del Halterman (US), p. 378, Lulu Press.
 Driving Guitars, by M.Campbell & D.Burke (UK), 2009, p. 430, Idmon press.

External links

 The Ventures official site

Musical groups established in 1958
American surf music groups
American instrumental musical groups
Rock music groups from Washington (state)
Instrumental rock musical groups
Musical groups from Tacoma, Washington
American musical quartets
Dolton Records artists
Liberty Records artists
1958 establishments in Washington (state)

The Ventures


Alexander Coker (born 1969) was formerly a Chief Inspector of the Chemical Weapons team in Iraq, while working for the United Nation's Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). Prior to that he held various other posts at UNMOVIC and had been seconded from the British Government to carry out work for UNMOVIC's predecessor, the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM).

He holds a Ph.D from King's College London, where he published work on the stability of particular chemical systems.

It is believed Dr. Coker was a leading contributor to the chemical section of UNMOVIC's working document on Iraq's Unresolved Disarmament Issues and to the revision of the list of dual-use chemical items subject to notification by Iraq, under the Export/Import Mechanism approved by Security Council Resolution 1051.

Under Dr. Coker's leadership, what is now known to have been the last remnants of chemical weapons (artillery shells containing mustard gas) were destroyed at Al Muthanna State Establishment (Iraq's former chemical weapons facility) - the shells were apparently part of an old stock pile remaining from prior to the first Gulf War.

Dr. Coker is mentioned in the evidence of the Hutton Inquiry investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr. David Kelly and by the Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC).

References

External links
BBC News Channel Interview on use of CW in Syria
World News Interview on use of CW in Syria

1969 births
Living people
Alumni of King's College London
Iraq and weapons of mass destruction
British officials of the United Nations

Alexander Coker