Michael John Hurdzan (born September 11, 1943) is an American golf course architect, author, and a retired United States Army colonel, who served with the United States Army Special Forces (Green Berets). He is a member and past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), who is noted for designing and renovating many golf courses and clubs, including U.S. Open golf courses.

Hurdzan is a recipient of the Old Tom Morris Award, the Donald Ross Award and the Don A. Rossi Award, the "triple crown" of his profession and an honor he shares only with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson, Robert Trent Jones Sr., Rees Jones and, as of 2015, Pete Dye.

Background
Hurdzan was born on September 11, 1943. He studied Turfgrass Management at the Ohio State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1966, and earned a master's degree in Plant and Soil Science in 1969 and a Ph.D. in Environmental Plant Physiology in 1974 at the University of Vermont. He later returned to the Ohio State University to study Landscape Architecture, and completed 3 of the 4 years program in 1978. While he was still an undergraduate at Ohio State University, Hurdzan was an Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) student. He later became a commander in the United States Army Special Forces (Green Berets). His unit was prepared to fight in the Vietnam War, but had their orders canceled twice. He received his Certificate of Retirement from the United States Army in 1996; he retired with the rank of a Colonel.

Hurdzan's father was a caddie who taught himself how to play golf, and tried unsuccessfully to play on the PGA Tour before becoming a golf instructor; he taught at Beacon Light Golf Course in Columbus, which was owned then by golf course architect Jack Kidwell who later became Hurdzan's influence, a past president of the ASGCA and an inductee of the Ohio Historical Society. Like his father, during his elementary school years, Hurdzan started as a caddie; he later became Kidwell's greenskeeper at the age of 13.

His son Christopher Hurdzan is his business partner at Hurdzan Golf. In his spare time, Hurdzan likes to do superkart motor racing; sometimes, he races tracks at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Road America, Virginia International Raceway and has attained 147 miles per hour at Daytona International Speedway.

Career

Military
Hurdzan was commissioned ROTC Second Lieutenant into the United States Army in 1966, and was serving in the Chemical Corps until 1967 when he had a break from active duty to attend graduate school at University of Vermont. On his return to active duty, Hurdzan completed the Chemical Officer Basic Course in 1972 and continued to serve with the Chemical Corps until it was disbanded in 1973. He then selects to serve with the Special Forces, and subsequently completed – within the same year, 1973 – the Reserve Component Special Forces Qualification Course, Basic Airborne Course and Infantry Officer Basic Course. He was promoted to Captain in 1974, and completed the Psychological Officer Basic Course in 1975. Hurdzan continued to serve with the United States Special Forces, and held many commands before retiring in 1996 at the rank of a Colonel.

A senior writer and equipment editor for WorldGolf.com (powered by Golf Channel), Kiel Christianson wrote that "[Hurdzan] served for 23 years as commander of Green Beret[s] and Psychological Operations units in the U.S. Army Reserve, specializing in survivalist tactics." Howard Richman wrote in the December 2012 issue of the Golf Course Management (GCM) Magazine that "Nearly 40 years ago — before Hurdzan emerged among the world's most notable and decorated golf course architects — he traveled the globe to protect America's interests. As a commander for the U.S. Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets, Hurdzan prepared his unit in case it needed to be called to action in theaters of war or conflict, such as Vietnam. Part of their war games training included missions in places such as Germany". Richman also wrote that an architecture editor for Golf Digest, "[Ron] Whitten is convinced that Hurdzan, who chose not to pursue the rank of general, earned his stripes. Twice Hurdzan's orders to join the fighting in Vietnam were canceled (he was supposed to go there to spray jungles after he was schooled in chemical, biological and radiological warfare). Not seeing combat left him unfulfilled. "I wanted to be a real live warrior, a cutter and a shooter, not some technical geek," Hurdzan says. If he had fought for his country, Whitten imagines Hurdzan would have been outstanding." Richman concluded that, "convinced he has lived a charmed life, [Hurdzan is] thankful now that Vietnam wasn't in the cards for him so long ago."

Golf
As a freshman, Hurdzan tried out for the Ohio State University golf team, which then had good golfers like Tom Weiskopf and Ed Sneed in the same class with Hurdzan. According to Howard Richman in the December 2012 issue of the Golf Course Management (GCM) Magazine, Hurdzan said, "I looked around, thought, 'There's no way I'm going to beat those guys.' I said to myself that there's other ways to stay in golf."

Hurdzan's career in golf actually began at his elementary school years when he was a caddie; he later became a greenkeeper to ASGCA past president and Ohio Historical Society inductee Jack Kidwell, and was a golf course superintendent before transitioning to a golf course architect. Howard Richman wrote that Hurdzan said that the first time he saw an overhead photo with the overlay of a golf course, was the most exciting thing for him. Hurdzan was influenced by Jack Kidwell and Geoffrey Cornish; according to Richman, "[Hurdzan] believes if there were two saints on earth they had to be architects Geoff Cornish and Kidwell." He told Richman, "Jack would take me to superintendent meetings, and I knew enough to keep my mouth shut and listen. I listened to all of the old-timers' stories and learned." Hurdzan eventually became Kidwell's partner in golf course design, and subsequently owned the business.

Hurdzan/Fry Environmental Golf Design was later established in partnership with Dana Fry. The 15-year partnership produced many notable golf courses and clubs before splitting amicably in 2012. Fry went on to form Fry/Straka with a Hurdzan/Fry senior designer Jason Straka, while Hurdzan formed Hurdzan Golf with his son Christopher Hurdzan. Hurdzan and Fry agreed to continue to work "together but separately".

Environmental Golf Course Design is an integral part of Hurdzan's golf course design style, which has been appreciated by golf lovers through his design of the Widow's Walk Golf Course in Scituate, Massachusetts (opened in 1996) and the Harbor Links Golf Course in North Hempstead, New York. In Howard Richman's article Man with the plans in the Golf Course Management (GCM) Magazine of December 2012, Hurdzan explained his golf course design approach in these words: "Form follows function — you'll hear that a lot around here," Hurdzan says. "The form is something that is a direct result of the function it has to serve. That is why I work so closely with superintendents. I ask them 'How are you going to mow that?' … 'How are you going to rake that?' … 'Are you going to be able to irrigate that?' I try to get a superintendent to think ahead. I don't want to leave them with problems. I want to leave them with solutions. That's why I like to get them involved."

Hurdzan is also a golf collector with an extensive privately held collections of golf artifacts, books and memorabilia in his office at Old Henderson Road in Columbus, Ohio. His collections as at December 2012—believed to have been acquired at approximately $300,000 — is estimated to be worth $2 million.

Affiliations
Hurdzan is a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, and was once on its board of governors; he is a member of its Environmental Impact and Professional Development Committees. He is also a past chairman of the board of directors of Fore Hope, and still serves on its advisory board. Hurdzan is a past member of the Green Section and current member of the Architectural Archive Committees of the United States Golf Association. In 1995, at Golf and the Environment initiative of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, he was a member of the national steering committee and was on its board of directors too; he was also on the agronomy advisory poard of the PGA Tour in 1998. Hurdzan once "served on a panel for Golf Course Superintendents Association of America's professional development initiative", and was "1 of 5 Story Tellers selected [in 2012] to represent the Golf Course Industry on Capitol Hill (Washington, D.C.)".

Bradley S. Klein wrote in the Golf Magazine that "Until recently, Hurdzan was an Army Colonel (Special Forces Branch). He also manages to stay active through his memberships in the American Society of Landscape Architects, Golf Collector's Society, Donald Ross Society, Shivas Irons Society, National Stereoscopic Society, and the board of directors of the International Turfgrass Society."

Hurdzan has developed and taught some seminars for Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. He also established the Dr. Michael J. Hurdzan Endowment Fund with The Environmental Institute for Golf (a philanthropic organization of Golf Course Superintendents Association of America) for the purpose of funding environmental research on golf courses.

Projects
Hurdzan is credited with being involved in the design or remodeling over 400 golf courses around the world. Some of the golf courses designed or co-designed by him are on the "Top 100" or "Best in State" lists of Golfweek, Golf Digest and Golf Magazine. Erin Hills which was selected to host the U.S. Open in 2017 is also on the Golf Digest's 2013–14 ranking of America's 100 Greatest Public Courses.

Designed or co-designed
 Erin Hills
 Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club
 The Militia Hill Course at Philadelphia Cricket Club

Renovated or remodeled
 Scioto Country Club
 Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club

Publications
Hurdzan is an author of many books and articles "covering from turf selection, construction technique and wetlands management to risk and liability assessment." Some of his articles have been published in the Golf Course Management (GCM) Magazine, Golf Digest, National Geographic Traveler, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. One of his books, Golf Course Architecture: Design, Construction & Renovation, which was translated by Georg Boehm in German, has been described as "one of the definitive modern volumes on the subject."

Some of Hurdzan's published articles, booklets and books includes:

Decorations

Military
These are Hurdzan's military awards and decorations:

Golf
Hurdzan's golf honors and awards includes:

See also
 Golf
 Golf club
 Country club

References

External links
 Official website
 American Society of Golf Course Architects profile

1943 births
Living people
Golf clubs and courses designed by Michael Hurdzan
Members of the United States Army Special Forces
American environmentalists
Golf course architects
Writers from Columbus, Ohio
University of Vermont alumni
Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences alumni
United States Army colonels
Place of birth missing (living people)
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Activists from Ohio

Michael John Hurdzan


Shadow mapping or shadowing projection is a process by which shadows are added to 3D computer graphics.  This concept was introduced by Lance Williams in 1978, in a paper entitled "Casting curved shadows on curved surfaces." Since then, it has been used both in pre-rendered and realtime scenes in many console and PC games.

Shadows are created by testing whether a pixel is visible from the light source, by comparing the pixel to a z-buffer or depth image of the light source's view, stored in the form of a texture.

Principle of a shadow and a shadow map
If you looked out from a source of light, all the objects you can see would appear in light. Anything behind those objects, however, would be in shadow. This is the basic principle used to create a shadow map. The light's view is rendered, storing the depth of every surface it sees (the shadow map). Next, the regular scene is rendered comparing the depth of every point drawn (as if it were being seen by the light, rather than the eye) to this depth map.

This technique is less accurate than shadow volumes, but the shadow map can be a faster alternative depending on how much fill time is required for either technique in a particular application and therefore may be more suitable to real-time applications. In addition, shadow maps do not require the use of an additional stencil buffer and can be modified to produce shadows with a soft edge. Unlike shadow volumes, however, the accuracy of a shadow map is limited by its resolution.

Algorithm overview
Rendering a shadowed scene involves two major drawing steps. The first produces the shadow map itself, and the second applies it to the scene. Depending on the implementation (and the number of lights), this may require two or more drawing passes.

Creating the shadow map

The first step renders the scene from the light's point of view. For a point light source, the view should be a perspective projection as wide as its desired angle of effect (it will be a sort of square spotlight). For directional light (e.g., that from the Sun), an orthographic projection should be used.

From this rendering, the depth buffer is extracted and saved. Because only the depth information is relevant, it is common to avoid updating the color buffers and disable all lighting and texture calculations for this rendering, to save drawing time. This depth map is often stored as a texture in graphics memory.

This depth map must be updated any time there are changes to either the light or the objects in the scene, but can be reused in other situations, such as those where only the viewing camera moves. (If there are multiple lights, a separate depth map must be used for each light.)

In many implementations, it is practical to render only a subset of the objects in the scene to the shadow map to save some of the time it takes to redraw the map. Also, a depth offset which shifts the objects away from the light may be applied to the shadow map rendering in an attempt to resolve stitching problems where the depth map value is close to the depth of a surface being drawn (i.e., the shadow-casting surface) in the next step. Alternatively, culling front faces and only rendering the back of objects to the shadow map is sometimes used for a similar result.

Shading the scene
The second step is to draw the scene from the usual camera viewpoint, applying the shadow map. This process has three major components. The first step is to find the coordinates of the object as seen from the light, as a 3D object only uses 2D coordinates with axis X and Y to represent its geometric shape on screen, these vertex coordinates will match up with the corresponding edges of the shadow parts within the shadow map (depth map) itself. The second step is the depth test which compares the object z values against the z values from the depth map, and finally, once accomplished, the object must be drawn either in shadow or in light.

Light space coordinates

To test a point against the depth map, its position in the scene coordinates must be transformed into the equivalent position as seen by the light. This is accomplished by a matrix multiplication. The location of the object on the screen is determined by the usual coordinate transformation, but a second set of coordinates must be generated to locate the object in light space.

The matrix used to transform the world coordinates into the light's viewing coordinates is the same as the one used to render the shadow map in the first step (under OpenGL this is the product of the modelview and projection matrices). This will produce a set of homogeneous coordinates that need a perspective division (see 3D projection) to become normalized device coordinates, in which each component (x, y, or z) falls between −1 and 1 (if it is visible from the light view). Many implementations (such as OpenGL and Direct3D) require an additional scale and bias matrix multiplication to map those −1 to 1 values to 0 to 1, which are more usual coordinates for depth map (texture map) lookup. This scaling can be done before the perspective division, and is easily folded into the previous transformation calculation by multiplying that matrix with the following:

If done with a shader, or other graphics hardware extension, this transformation is usually applied at the vertex level, and the generated value is interpolated between other vertices and passed to the fragment level.

Depth map test

Once the light-space coordinates are found, the x and y values usually correspond to a location in the depth map texture, and the z value corresponds to its associated depth, which can now be tested against the depth map.

If the z value is greater than the value stored in the depth map at the appropriate (x,y) location, the object is considered to be behind an occluding object and should be marked as a failure, to be drawn in shadow by the drawing process. Otherwise, it should be drawn lit.

If the (x,y) location falls outside the depth map, the programmer must either decide that the surface should be lit or shadowed by default (usually lit).

In a shader implementation, this test would be done at the fragment level. Also, care needs to be taken when selecting the type of texture map storage to be used by the hardware: if interpolation cannot be done, the shadow will appear to have a sharp, jagged edge (an effect that can be reduced with greater shadow map resolution).

It is possible to modify the depth map test to produce shadows with a soft edge by using a range of values (based on the proximity to the edge of the shadow) rather than simply pass or fail.

The shadow mapping technique can also be modified to draw a texture onto the lit regions, simulating the effect of a projector. The picture above captioned "visualization of the depth map projected onto the scene" is an example of such a process.

Drawing the scene

Drawing the scene with shadows can be done in several different ways. If programmable shaders are available, the depth map test may be performed by a fragment shader which simply draws the object in shadow or lighted depending on the result, drawing the scene in a single pass (after an initial earlier pass to generate the shadow map).

If shaders are not available, performing the depth map test must usually be implemented by some hardware extension (such as GL_ARB_shadow), which usually does not allow a choice between two lighting models (lit and shadowed), and necessitate more rendering passes:

Render the entire scene in shadow. For the most common lighting models (see Phong reflection model) this should technically be done using only the ambient component of the light, but this is usually adjusted to also include a dim diffuse light to prevent curved surfaces from appearing flat in shadow.
Enable the depth map test and render the scene lit. Areas where the depth map test fails will not be overwritten and will remain shadowed.
An additional pass may be used for each additional light, using additive blending to combine their effect with the lights already drawn. (Each of these passes requires an additional previous pass to generate the associated shadow map.)

The example pictures in this article used the OpenGL extension GL_ARB_shadow_ambient to accomplish the shadow map process in two passes.

Shadow map real-time implementations
One of the key disadvantages of real-time shadow mapping is that the size and depth of the shadow map determine the quality of the final shadows. This is usually visible as aliasing or shadow continuity glitches. A simple way to overcome this limitation is to increase the shadow map size, but due to memory, computational or hardware constraints, it is not always possible. Commonly used techniques for real-time shadow mapping have been developed to circumvent this limitation. These include Cascaded Shadow Maps, Trapezoidal Shadow Maps, Light Space Perspective Shadow maps, or Parallel-Split Shadow maps.

Also notable is that generated shadows, even if aliasing free, have hard edges, which is not always desirable. In order to emulate real world soft shadows, several solutions have been developed, either by doing several lookups on the shadow map, generating geometry meant to emulate the soft edge or creating non-standard depth shadow maps. Notable examples of these are Percentage Closer Filtering, Smoothies, and Variance Shadow maps.

Shadow mapping techniques

Simple
SSM "Simple"

Splitting
PSSM "Parallel Split" https://developer.nvidia.com/gpugems/GPUGems3/gpugems3_ch10.html
CSM "Cascaded" http://developer.download.nvidia.com/SDK/10.5/opengl/src/cascaded_shadow_maps/doc/cascaded_shadow_maps.pdf

Warping
LiSPSM "Light Space Perspective" https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/vr/lispsm/
TSM "Trapezoid" http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~tants/tsm.html
PSM "Perspective" http://www-sop.inria.fr/reves/Marc.Stamminger/psm/
CSSM "Camera Space" http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/570987.12_CSSM.pdf

Smoothing
PCF "Percentage Closer Filtering" https://developer.nvidia.com/gpugems/GPUGems/gpugems_ch11.html

Filtering
ESM "Exponential" https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10001/1/10001.pdf
CSM "Convolution" https://doclib.uhasselt.be/dspace/bitstream/1942/8040/1/3227.pdf
VSM "Variance" http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.104.2569&rep=rep1&type=pdf
SAVSM "Summed Area Variance" https://developer.nvidia.com/gpugems/gpugems3/part-ii-light-and-shadows/chapter-8-summed-area-variance-shadow-maps
SMSR "Shadow Map Silhouette Revectorization" http://bondarev.nl/?p=326

Soft Shadows
PCSS "Percentage Closer" http://developer.download.nvidia.com/shaderlibrary/docs/shadow_PCSS.pdf
VSSM "Variance Soft Shadow Mapping" https://jankautz.com/publications/VSSM_PG2010.pdf
SSSS "Screen space soft shadows" http://www.crcnetbase.com/doi/abs/10.1201/b10648-36
FIV "Fullsphere Irradiance Vector" http://getlab.org/publications/FIV/

Assorted
ASM "Adaptive" http://www.cs.cornell.edu/~kb/publications/ASM.pdf
AVSM "Adaptive Volumetric" https://web.archive.org/web/20101208213624/http://visual-computing.intel-research.net/art/publications/avsm/
CSSM "Camera Space" http://free-zg.t-com.hr/cssm/
DASM "Deep Adaptive"
DPSM "Dual Paraboloid" http://sites.google.com/site/osmanbrian2/dpsm.pdf
DSM "Deep" http://graphics.pixar.com/library/DeepShadows/paper.pdf
FSM "Forward" http://www.cs.unc.edu/~zhangh/technotes/shadow/shadow.ps
LPSM "Logarithmic" http://gamma.cs.unc.edu/LOGSM/
MDSM "Multiple Depth" http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.59.3376&rep=rep1&type=pdf
RTW "Rectilinear" http://www.cspaul.com/wiki/doku.php?id=publications:rosen.2012.i3d
RMSM "Resolution Matched" http://www.idav.ucdavis.edu/func/return_pdf?pub_id=919
SDSM "Sample Distribution" https://web.archive.org/web/20101208212121/http://visual-computing.intel-research.net/art/publications/sdsm/
SPPSM "Separating Plane Perspective" http://image.diku.dk/projects/media/morten.mikkelsen.07.pdf
SSSM "Shadow Silhouette" http://graphics.stanford.edu/papers/silmap/silmap.pdf

Miscellaneous
Shadow Depth Maps (SDM)
Perspective shadow maps (PSMs)
Light Space Perspective Shadow Maps (LSPSMs)
Cascaded Shadow Maps (CSMs)
Variance Shadow Maps (VSMs)

See also
 Shadow volume, another shadowing technique
 Ray casting, a slower technique often used in ray tracing
 Photon mapping, a much slower technique capable of very realistic lighting
 Radiosity, another very slow but very realistic technique

Further reading
 Smooth Penumbra Transitions with Shadow Maps Willem H. de Boer
 Forward shadow mapping performs the shadow test in eye-space rather than light-space to keep texture access more sequential.

References

External links
 Hardware Shadow Mapping, nVidia
 Shadow Mapping with Today's OpenGL Hardware, nVidia
 Riemer's step-by-step tutorial implementing Shadow Mapping with HLSL and DirectX
 Improvements for Shadow Mapping using GLSL
 NVIDIA Real-time Shadow Algorithms and Techniques
 Shadow Mapping implementation using Java and OpenGL

Shading

Shadow mapping


Matthew Nicholas Partridge (born 7 November 1993) is an English football defender who plays for National League South side Hungerford Town.

Career
Partridge started his career in the youth system at Reading progressing through the academy as under-18's captain, he went on to sign a professional one-year contract in July 2012. In October 2012, he joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Bognor Regis Town on a one-month loan deal. In November his loan was extended for a further month. Having returned to Reading after the Boxing Day fixture, he remained a regular for the under-21s during the 2012–13 campaign. In May 2013, he was offered a new one-year contract by Reading.

In September 2013, he joined Conference South side Basingstoke Town on a one-month loan deal. He scored on his debut in a 3–2 away defeat to Bromley, scoring the opening goal. His second goal for the club came in a 3–1 defeat to Weston-super-Mare in the FA Cup. In October, his loan at the club was extended for a further month. In November, he scored the second in a 2–0 victory over Dover Athletic in the league. At the end of the month his loan expired having made eight appearances scoring three times. At the end of December he re-joined Basingstoke on loan until the end of the season. His final goal for the club came in February 2014, in a 1–1 draw with Boreham Wood. He finished the season having made fifteen appearances scoring four goals in all competitions.

In July 2014, having been released by Reading he signed for Football League Two side Dagenham & Redbridge on a one-year deal. He made his professional debut in August 2014, starting in the Football League Cup tie against Brentford. The match ended in a 6–6 draw, equaling the record for the most goals scored in a League Cup game, with Brentford eventually advancing on penalties.

In August 2015, after starting his second season with the club as a regular and just two months after signing a new deal, Partridge was released by Dagenham by mutual consent. Four days later he re-joined National League South side Basingstoke Town only to sign for League Two club Newport County shortly after. He made his debut for Newport on 5 September 2015. He was released by Newport on 10 May 2016 at the end of his contract. In the summer of 2017, he returned to Basingstoke Town for a third spell, making a total of thirty-eight appearances and scoring six goals upon his return. In July 2017, he signed for National League South side Hungerford Town on a free transfer.

On 22 May 2019, Partridge joined Gosport Borough.

Personal life
He was raised in Thatcham, Berkshire and attended the Kennet School in the town. In April 2014, he was given a twelve-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after being found guilty of assaulting a motorcyclist in Woolhampton in August 2013.

Career statistics

References

External links
Matt Partridge profile at Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.

1993 births
Living people
English men's footballers
Men's association football central defenders
Reading F.C. players
Bognor Regis Town F.C. players
Basingstoke Town F.C. players
Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players
Newport County A.F.C. players
Hungerford Town F.C. players
Salisbury City F.C. players
Gosport Borough F.C. players
Thatcham Town F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Isthmian League players
Southern Football League players
People from Thatcham
Footballers from Berkshire

Matt Partridge


Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. Known for starring in both big-budget and independent films, Pattinson has ranked among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and he was featured in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list.

After starting to act in a London theatre club at age 15, Pattinson began his film career by playing Cedric Diggory in the fantasy film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga film series (2008–2012), which grossed over $3.3 billion worldwide. After starring in the romantic dramas Remember Me (2010) and Water for Elephants (2011), Pattinson began working in independent films from auteur directors. He received praise for his starring roles in David Cronenberg's thriller Cosmopolis (2012), James Gray's adventure drama The Lost City of Z (2016), the Safdie Brothers' crime drama Good Time (2017), Claire Denis' science-fiction drama High Life (2018), and Robert Eggers' psychological horror film The Lighthouse (2019). He returned to mainstream films with a leading role in Christopher Nolan's spy film Tenet (2020), and starred as Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves' superhero film The Batman (2022).

Aside from acting, Pattinson plays music and has sung on several soundtracks for film. He supports several charities, including the GO Campaign, and has been the face of Dior Homme fragrance since 2013.

Early life
Pattinson was born on 13 May 1986 in London, the youngest of three children of Clare (Charlton), a scout at a modelling agency, and Richard Pattinson, a vintage car dealer. He grew up in a small home in Barnes with two older sisters, Elizabeth (Lizzy) and Victoria. Pattinson started learning the guitar and piano at the age of four. He attended Tower House School, from which, aged 12, he was expelled for shoplifting adult magazines at a post office shop and selling them later to his male classmates. He completed his schooling at The Harrodian School. As a teenager he worked as a photo model for British fashion brands and magazines to improve his pocket money and developed a love of cinema where he counted Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando and Jean-Paul Belmondo among his acting idols. In his late teens and early twenties, he performed acoustic guitar gigs at open mic nights in pubs around London where he sang his own written songs either solo under the stage name Bobby Dupea, or with his band Bad Girls. He was a frequent performer at the pub The Spice of Life in London's Soho at open mic nights.

Pattinson considered becoming a musician or going to university to study speech-writing, but never thought about pursuing an acting career; his teacher in school even advised him not to join the drama club because she thought he was not suited for the creative arts. However, when he was 13, he joined the local amateur theatre club called Barnes Theatre Company after his father convinced him to attend because he was quite shy. At age 15 and after two years of working backstage, he auditioned for the play Guys and Dolls and he got his first role as a Cuban dancer with no lines. He got the lead role of George Gibbs in the next play Our Town, was spotted by a talent agent who was sitting in the audience and he began looking for professional roles. He also appeared in the plays Macbeth, Anything Goes, and Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Pattinson had planned to go to university, but didn't because the shoot for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire went over schedule. He used to share a flat in London's Soho with fellow actor and good friend Tom Sturridge.

Career

2004–2007: Career beginnings
Pattinson had supporting roles in the German made-for-television film Ring of the Nibelungs in 2004, and in director Mira Nair's costume drama Vanity Fair, although his scenes in the latter were deleted and only appear on the DVD version. In May 2005, he was scheduled to appear in the UK premiere of The Woman Before at the Royal Court Theatre, but was fired shortly before the opening night and was replaced by Tom Riley. Later in 2005, Pattinson played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Pattinson learned how to scuba dive to play the role of Diggory. For this role, he was named the 2005 "British Star of Tomorrow" by The Times. During this period, he was hailed as "the next Jude Law".

In 2006, Pattinson appeared in The Haunted Airman a psychological thriller, aired on BBC Four on 31 October, and he earned favourable reviews. The Stage praised his performance by saying that "[he] played the airman of the title with a perfect combination of youthful terror and world weary cynicism." On 19 February 2007, he appeared in a supporting role in a one-off television drama based on the best-selling novel by Kate Long, The Bad Mother's Handbook.

2008–2013: The Twilight Saga and worldwide recognition

In 2008, Pattinson was cast as Edward Cullen in Twilight, based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer. According to TV Guide, Pattinson was apprehensive about auditioning, fearful that he would not be able to live up to the "perfection" expected from the character. The film was released on 21 November 2008 and turned Pattinson into a movie star overnight. Although the film received mixed reviews, critics praised his chemistry with co-star Kristen Stewart. The New York Times called Pattinson a "capable and exotically beautiful" actor and Roger Ebert said he was "well-chosen" for the role.

Pattinson's other release of 2008, How to Be, was a low-budget comedy drama film written and directed by Oliver Irving. It screened at number of film festivals, earning mixed reviews from critics. Pattinson then starred as Salvador Dalí in the film Little Ashes, a Spanish-British drama directed by Paul Morrison. He also starred in a short film entitled The Summer House, directed by Daisy Gili. This short film was later re-released as a part of an anthology film titled Love & Distrust, comprising five short films following eight individuals from diverse backgrounds on their quest for true contentment.

Pattinson reprised his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which was released on 20 November 2009. The film earned a record-breaking $142,839,137 on its opening weekend and earned an overall $709,827,462 worldwide. Though the film received negative reviews, film critic Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune said that Pattinson was "interesting to watch" despite bad makeup. Bill GoodyKoontz from the Arizona Republic said that "Pattinson's actually not in the film that much, but he does his best when he's around" and Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post noted that his acting was "uniformly strong". New Moon brought Pattinson global stardom and made him one of the highest-paid actors in the world.

In 2009, Pattinson presented at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony. On 10 November 2009, Revolver Entertainment released the DVD Robsessed, a documentary on Pattinson's life and popularity. His next film, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, was released on 30 June 2010, earning $698,491,347 worldwide. The film received mixed reviews. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter praised Pattinson's performance, stating that "(he) makes you forget the white makeup and weird eye contact lenses – to focus on a character torn between his love for the human Bella (Stewart) and the knowledge that she'll have to let go of her beating heart if she's to stay with him forever". Will Lawrence of Empire Online praised the performance of three leads of the film, stating that "all three corners of the love triangle look sharper than before: the most accomplished actor, Stewart, still lip-biting, Lautner still pec-flexing, and Pattinson not fully shaking that fiery-eyed pout. But all have grown into their roles, cutting loose in a film that (thankfully) sidesteps the melodrama of its prequels".

Pattinson executive-produced and starred in the film Remember Me, which was released on 12 March 2010. Though the film received mixed reviews, some critics praised his performance. Jake Coyle of The Associated Press said that Pattinson had "an unmistakable screen presence" but "pour[ed] it on thickly and self-consciously. With low eyes, sleeves rolled up just so and cigarette drooping artfully from his mouth, Tyler (like Edward Cullen) is a reluctant romantic". However, Ian Nathan of Empire Online stated that the film was "the best thing" Pattinson had done. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter praised his chemistry with co-star Emilie de Ravin in the film, stating that the "scenes between Pattinson and de Ravin exude genuine charm."

In 2011, Pattinson starred as Jacob Jankowski in Water for Elephants, adapted from the novel by Sara Gruen. The film received mixed reviews, but Pattinson's performance was praised. Film critic Richard Corliss from Time praised Pattinson for being "shy and watchful" and said that he "radiates a slow magnetism that locks the viewer's eyes on him", ultimately calling him "star quality". Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle stated that Pattinson succeeded at holding his own at the center of a major feature and was "endlessly watchable". Peter Travers of the Rolling Stone said he "smolders" in the film and Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said that "Pattinson is entirely convincing as Jacob".

Pattinson reprised the role of Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, which was released on 18 November 2011 and earned $705,058,657 at the worldwide box office. The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 24% of critics (of the 188 counted reviews) gave the film positive reviews; the site's consensus reads, "Slow, joyless, and loaded with unintentionally humorous moments, Breaking Dawn Part 1 may satisfy the Twilight faithful, but it's strictly for fans of the franchise". Pattinson also played Georges Duroy in a film adaptation of the 1885 novel Bel Ami, and the film had a world premiere at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. It was released on 12 February 2012.

Pattinson starred in the film adaptation of Don DeLillo's Cosmopolis, directed by David Cronenberg. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. It was well received, with Pattinson's performance particularly praised. Justin Chang of Variety wrote, "An eerily precise match of filmmaker and material, Cosmopolis probes the soullessness of the 1% with the cinematic equivalent of latex gloves. ... Pattinson's excellent performance reps an indispensable asset." Robbie Collin of The Telegraph stated that it is a sensational performance from Robert Pattinson, "yes, that Robert Pattinson – as Packer. Pattinson plays him like a human caldera; stony on the surface, with volcanic chambers of nervous energy and self-loathing churning deep below." And Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly stated, "Pattinson, pale and predatory even without his pasty-white vampire makeup, delivers his frigid pensées with rhythmic confidence."

Pattinson starred one last time as Edward Cullen in the final instalment of the Twilight saga, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 which was released on 16 November 2012, and has grossed over $829 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of the Twilight series. At Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 48% approval rating, based on 174 reviews with the consensus stating: "It is the most enjoyable chapter in The Twilight Saga, but that's not enough to make Breaking Dawn Part 2 worth watching for filmgoers who don't already count themselves among the franchise converts."

2014–2019: Independent films and critical acclaim

In May 2014, two of Pattinson's films premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. First, Pattinson starred in David Michôd's futuristic western The Rover, alongside Guy Pearce and Scoot McNairy. The film had its premiere out of competition at the festival. For his performance as a naïve simpleton member of the criminal gang, Pattinson drew rave reviews. Scott Foundas of Variety said that "Pattinson who turns out to be the film's greatest surprise, sporting a convincing Southern accent and bringing an understated dignity to a role that might easily have been milked for cheap sentimental effects." He further added that "(it is) a career re-defining performance for Pattinson that reveals untold depths of sensitivity and feeling." Todd McCarthy, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, wrote that "Pattinson delivers a performance that, despite the character's own limitations, becomes more interesting as the film moves along." Jessica Kiang in her review for The Playlist, noted that "(Pattinson) turns in a performance that manages to be more affecting than affected."

Next, he reunited with Cronenberg in Maps to the Stars, a satirical drama described as a darkly comic look at Hollywood excess. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. In the film, he played the role of Jerome Fontana, a limo driver and struggling actor, who wants to be a successful screenwriter. Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph summed up his performance as "winningly played."

In 2015, two of his films premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival in February. First he appeared in Werner Herzog's adaptation of Gertrude Bell's biopic film Queen of the Desert alongside Nicole Kidman and James Franco. Pattinson appeared as T. E. Lawrence aka Lawrence Of Arabia in the film, which Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent described as "comic and a very long way removed from Peter O'Toole. He plays Lawrence Of Arabia as a sharp-tongued, sardonic figure who can see through the pretensions of his bosses and colleagues." David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called his role "brief but significant" and concluded that "the easy camaraderie in his scenes with Kidman is appealing." Sam Adams of Indiewire said that, "Robert Pattinson gets relatively high marks for his brief turn as the bonafide T.E. Lawrence."

Next he starred in Anton Corbijn's Life as Life Magazine photographer Dennis Stock; the film deals with the friendship between actor James Dean and Stock. Critical reception for the film was mixed but Pattinson received appreciation for his performance as a photographer. Guy Lodge of Variety called his performance a "sly turn", Little White Lies said that "Pattinson's performance is as crisp as the white shirt and black suits his character always wears. This is a camouflage for his own problems that slowly unfurl, adding colour and improving the film." David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter noted that Pattinson "gives arguably the most fully rounded performance."

In late 2015, Pattinson appeared in Brady Corbet's directorial debut film The Childhood of a Leader, alongside Bérénice Bejo and Stacy Martin. In the film, he played the dual roles, first a brief but crucial role of Charles Marker, a reporter in Germany during World War I and later as an adult version of the leader. He received praise for his performance, which Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called "elegant" and Lee Marshall of Screen International described as "excellent".

In 2016, Pattinson appeared in Paramount Pictures and Plan B Entertainment's adaptation of The Lost City of Z, directed by James Gray. Premiered at the New York Film Festival, the film starred Pattinson as British explorer Corporal Henry Costin. He grew a heavy beard and lost  for the film. Earning critical praise for his role, Matt Neg of NBP described him as "one of the better actors working today",
Keith Uhlich in his review for Brooklyn Magazine called him "subtle scene-stealer", and Linda Marric writing for Heyuguys find his performance "an impressively subtle, yet brilliant."

Pattinson next starred in the Safdie Brothers' neo-grindhouse thriller Good Time, as a bank robber, Connie Nikas, which he has described as a "really hardcore kind of Queens, New York, mentally damaged psychopath, bank robbery movie." The film premiered in competition at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and proved to be a turning point in his career. Pattinson's performance garnered critical acclaim. Guy Lodge of Variety described it as his "career-peak", Eric Kohn of Indiewire called it "his Career-Best" and David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter drew comparisons with Al Pacino's Sonny Wortzik in Dog Day Afternoon, and ultimately noted it as "his most commanding performance to date." Pattinson received his first Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead for his performance in the film.

In August 2017, while promoting Good Time, Pattinson wrote and starred in a short film for GQ, titled Fear & Shame, which was described by the magazine as, "Robert Pattinson Battles Fame and Fear to Get a New York Street Dog". Shot on the streets of New York, the film narrates Pattinson's journey to buy a hot dog while avoiding media and fans in the hustle of the city. The A.V. Club called it "bizarre and delightful". While IndieWire said that "he's got a bright" and "shimmering future".

Zellner Brothers' western-comedy Damsel was his first comedy since his 2008 film How to Be. Pattinson portrayed Samuel Alabaster, an eccentric pioneer who travels west in search of his fiancée. His performance was favourably received: the New York Post described it as a "hilariously oddball performance" and The A.V. Club found him "easily the best thing about Damsel".

His last film of 2018 was Claire Denis' science-fiction drama film High Life, set in space, about team of criminals traveling towards a black hole. Denis initially had Philip Seymour Hoffman in mind for the role of the protagonist, but after becoming aware of Pattinson's commitment and desire to work with her, she cast him in the role instead. Pattinson starred as Monte, one of the criminals on the spaceship, who became a father against his wishes through artificial insemination, and raised his daughter as the ship progressed to the black hole. Critics praised the film with Allen Hunter of Screen International noting Pattinson as the most "dominant" and "engaging" element in the film and Jason Bailey of The Playlist called it "another scorching Pattinson performance; he plays the character's menace and rebellion with brio".

Pattinson's first 2019 role was Robert Eggers's black-and-white psychological horror film The Lighthouse, set on a remote New England island in the 1890s. The film premiered at the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, with widespread critical acclaim for both the film overall and Pattinson's performance. In his review for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw described Pattinson's performance as "mesmeric" and a "sledgehammer punch," which "just gets better and better." Gregory Ellwood, writing for Collider, said that Pattinson has "topped himself here" and his performance is "so transformative it's jarring. You simply never thought he had it in him." He received his second Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead for the film.

Pattinson's following two film releases premiered at 2019 Venice Film Festival; he starred in his second collaboration with director David Michôd, an adaptation of William Shakespeare's plays titled The King. He played Louis, The Dauphin, who served as the nemesis of Henry V. For the role, Pattinson adopted a French accent, which he based on the fashion industry people of France. Though divided on his accent, critics found his performance the "scene-stealing" and "highlight" of the film. He then appeared in Ciro Guerra's Waiting for the Barbarians, based on a 1980 novel by J. M. Coetzee, alongside Mark Rylance and Johnny Depp. Boyd van Hoeij writing for The Hollywood Reporter called his character as "a rather flat supporting role", while The Guardian described his performance as "stiff" and "over-articulated".

2020–present: Return to mainstream films
Pattinson starred as a spy handler in Christopher Nolan's Tenet (2020), alongside John David Washington, and it marked his return to big-budget films. He based his character's mannerisms on those of author Christopher Hitchens. Jessica Kiang of The New York Times labelled him as "delightful" and praised his chemistry with Washington. Pattinson next featured as part of an ensemble cast in The Devil All the Time, a psychological thriller based on the novel by Donald Ray Pollock. Both the film and Pattinson's performance as a lewd small town preacher received mixed reviews. Nonetheless, Austin Collin of Rolling Stone found him "eely, eerie, [and] intriguing", while Owen Gleiberman of Variety noted that he did "a stylish job".

Pattinson starred as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Matt Reeves's 2022 superhero film The Batman. Reeves, following Ben Affleck's departure from the role, wrote the character of Bruce Wayne with Pattinson in mind after seeing his performance in Good Time. The announcement of Pattinson's casting was met with backlash from some Batman fans, but the ultimate portrayal of the superhero was applauded by critics following its release. Pattinson voiced the titular grey heron in the English-language dub of the 2023 Japanese animated film The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki.

Pattinson is set to star in Bong Joon-ho's upcoming science-fiction film Mickey 17 (2024), based on Edward Ashton's novel Mickey 7.

Other ventures

Modelling and endorsements

Pattinson began modelling at age 12, but his workload began to decrease four years later. In December 2008, he blamed the lack of modelling work on his masculine appearance: "When I first started I was quite tall and looked like a girl, so I got lots of jobs, because it was during that period where the androgynous look was cool. Then, I guess, I became too much of a guy, so I never got any more jobs. I had the most unsuccessful modelling career." Pattinson appeared as a model for British teen magazines, and in the advertising campaign for Hackett's autumn 2007 collection.

In November 2010, Pattinson was approached by Burberry to be the face of their brand with a £1m deal, which he turned down.

In June 2013, Pattinson was announced as the new face of Dior Homme fragrance. In September 2013, he appeared in a black and white short film with French-American model Camille Rowe. Since 2013, he appeared in multiple advertising campaigns of the fragrance for television and print. Collaboraters included directors Romain Gavras, Frédéric Sofiyana, and The Blaze, and photographers Peter Lindbergh, Nan Goldin and Mikael Jansson. Goldin also released a book titled Robert Pattinson: 1000 Lives, a collection of Pattinson's images from the 2013 campaign. In February 2016, he was also announced as the first ambassador of Dior Homme menswear and appeared in multiple of the brand's print collection campaigns, photographed by Karl Lagerfeld, Peter Lindbergh and David Sims. On his nearly decade long collaboration with the house of Dior, Pattinson said in 2020, "There's a timelessness to Dior, it feels like it's going to be around forever, it's a sort of monument."

Music
Pattinson has played the guitar and piano since age four, and writes his own music. He appears as the singer of two songs on the Twilight soundtrack: "Never Think", which he co-wrote with Sam Bradley, and "Let Me Sign", which was written by Marcus Foster and Bobby Long. The songs were included in the film after director Catherine Hardwicke added Pattinson's recordings into an early cut without his knowledge, and he agreed that "one of them specifically, it really made the scene better. It was like it was supposed to be there." The soundtrack for the film How to Be features three original songs performed by Pattinson and written by composer Joe Hastings. Pattinson has said, "I've never really recorded anything – I just played in pubs and stuff", and when asked about a professional music career, he said, "Music is my back-up plan if acting fails." In 2010, Pattinson was awarded the "Hollywood's Most Influential Top Unexpected Musicians" award.

In 2013, Pattinson played the guitar on the Death Grips song "Birds" from their album Government Plates, which was achieved by drummer Zach Hill recording Pattinson's playing on his phone in a jam session and later sampling the part into the song itself. In a March 2017 interview, Pattinson stated that he would contribute music to his upcoming film Damsel. Talking about it, he said that "I don't play that much any more, though I am doing music for ['Damsel']. I used to differentiate between music and acting but the more I don't play music, the more I push that area of my brain into acting. I improvise like I would when I play music." In February 2019, Pattinson collaborated with the Nottingham band Tindersticks and released the song "Willow" for High Life original soundtrack.

In October 2020, Pattinson made a cameo appearance in the band Haim's performance of the song "3 a.m." on Late Night with Seth Meyers. He performed the song's opening spoken-word section via a front-facing facetime call video, reciting the lines of the phone call at the beginning of the song.

Philanthropy
Pattinson supports and promotes the ECPAT UK's campaign Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People to stop human trafficking. At 2009 Cannes Film Festival amfAR event, he raised $56,000 for the cause. In June 2010, he donated his own artwork to PACT which auctioned on eBay, to help the organisation working for missing children. He also donated a sketch, drawn by himself, called Unfinished City which auctioned at $6,400. The money from the auction went to an Arizona-based homeless center Ozanam Manor. In January 2010, he participated in charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief. In March 2010, he signed off guitar, the money raised from the auction went to Midnight Mission. He raised $80,000 for the GO Campaign by donating a meet and greet with himself on the set of Breaking Dawn and later again by auctioning a private screening of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.

In August 2011, he helped to raise awareness towards the cancer by highlighting The Cancer Bites campaign during his acceptance speech at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards; he shared the details about the campaign which is working for the people suffering from cancer. In August 2013, he visited Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and participated in arts and crafts with the patients. In September 2013, he joined International Medical Corps and became one of their first responders, to help raise awareness before the disaster strikes by strengthen of communities. He participated in a charitable auction Go Go Gala, organised by GO Campaign and bought a cello made out of recycled material, at $5,600 on 15 November 2013. In March 2014, he donated autographed items for auction to raise funds for the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation. In May 2014, he donated his bike for an Auction to Benefit the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), who provide primary healthcare services to the people living in the outback. He participated in ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, promoting the awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In November 2014, he participated in GO Campaign's annual charity function. In October 2015, he joined Global Goals Campaign, which aims to end poverty by 2030.

In 2015, Pattinson became the first ambassador of GO Campaign, he said that, "I've eagerly followed the growing impact GO Campaign has had over the years, on so many children and youth, and I love how tangible and transparent it is. They partner with some remarkable grassroots local heroes who are doing fantastic work but who lack the needed resources, and in places where a little bit of money can go a long way. I've been a donor and a supporter, and now I look forward to joining their efforts, so together we can give opportunity to even more kids and young adults across the globe." In May 2019, at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, he co-hosted a charity event with Helen Mirren, organised by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). Pattinson along with Mirren donated $500,000 to international aid organisation Help Refugees on behalf of the HFPA.

During the first lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, Pattinson donated to GO Campaign emergency funds, that were used to provide food and hygiene products to vulnerable families in London and Los Angeles. While shooting The Batman in Liverpool in October 2020, Pattinson surprised a ten-year-old autistic Batman fan by sending DC Batman gifts, because the boy waited every day on set to meet Pattinson, but could not do so because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Public image

Pattinson's sex appeal has been discussed by various media outlets including People magazine, which named him one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, he was named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by Glamour UK. AskMen named Pattinson as one of the top 49 most influential men of 2009. In 2009, Vanity Fair named Pattinson "the most handsome man in the world" along with Angelina Jolie as the most beautiful woman in the world. Pattinson was named one of Vanity Fairs "Top Hollywood Earners of 2009" with estimated earnings of $18 million in 2009.

In December 2009, Pattinson autographed a guitar to be auctioned off for charity. He also volunteered for the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief in January 2010. GQ and Glamour both named him the "Best Dressed Man" of 2010, with GQ describing the actor as "[e]xtremely elegant and inspiring, the true essence of a contemporary man." In 2010, People listed Pattinson in their "World's Most Beautiful" issue.

Britain's The Sunday Times "Rich List" put him on its "list of young millionaires" in the UK, worth £13 million. In 2010, Pattinson was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine, and was also featured on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. On 14 November 2010, Pattinson received two BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards, Best Dressed and Best Actor.

In 2011, Pattinson was 15th on Vanity Fairs "Hollywood Top 40" with earnings of $27.5 million in 2010. GQ once again named Pattinson the "Best Dressed Man" of 2012. In October 2012, Pattinson was named "Sexiest Man Alive" by Glamour UK.

In 2013, Pattinson was 2nd on Glamour UKs "Richest UK Celebs Under 30" with earnings of £45 million. Britain's London Evening Standard named him one of the London's most influential people of 2013 in their The Power 1000. In February 2014, he appeared on the cover of World Film Locations: Toronto, a book about Toronto and the films shot in the city. A play about three mature women obsessed with Pattinson, titled Totally Devoted, debuted at Surgeons' Hall, Edinburgh on 13 August 2014. In October 2014, Pattinson was 3rd on Heat magazine'''s "annual rich list of young British stars" with earnings of $82.89 million. London Evening Standard included him in their list of 2014's London's 1000 most influential people.

In 2020, Pattinson topped the list of "The Most Handsome Men in the World" with a Golden Ratio of 92.15%, based on the Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi equation devised in Ancient Greece.

Personal life
Pattinson is reluctant to discuss his personal life and has expressed an aversion towards the paparazzi industry and tabloid journalism. In 2017, he opened up about suffering from anxiety, which began in his early years in the public eye.

Relationships
In mid-2009, Pattinson became romantically linked to his Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart. In July 2012, Stewart was photographed with her Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders, revealing an affair; the day the photos were released, Sanders, who was 19 years her senior and married at the time, issued a public apology for the affair, as did Stewart. Pattinson and Stewart split, but reconciled in October 2012. The pair eventually broke up in May 2013.

Pattinson began dating singer-songwriter FKA Twigs in September 2014. The couple, who were engaged, ended their relationship in the summer of 2017. The breakup would inspire Twigs to make her sophomore studio album Magdalene (2019).

Pattinson is in a relationship with English actress and singer Suki Waterhouse since mid-2018. The couple resides in Los Angeles.

Awards and nominations

Pattinson has received Best Actor award at Strasbourg Film Festival for his performance in How to Be (2009). For his work in The Twilight Saga, he has earned two Empire Awards nominations and won eleven MTV Movie Awards, two People's Choice Awards with additional other awards and nominations including winning 2009's Hollywood Film Award for New Hollywood by Hollywood Film Festival.

In 2014, he earned nominations from Australian Academy Awards (AACTA) and Canadian Screen Awards for his performances in The Rover and Maps to the Stars respectively."Canadian Screen Awards Unveil Nominations" . The Hollywood Reporter, 15 January 2015. He won Hollywood Rising Star Award for his performance in film Life from Deauville American Film Festival in 2015.

In July 2018, Pattinson received a top award at the closing of the 53rd edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Honours

Wax statues of Pattinson were added to the Madame Tussauds museums in London and New York City in 2010. Pattinson along with his Twilight co-stars, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner put his signature, hand and foot prints in wet concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on 3 November 2011. On 19 February 2014, Russian astronomer Timur Kryachko named an asteroid he had discovered after Pattinson, as 246789 Pattinson''.

He was honoured with a tribute at 2017 Deauville American Film Festival on 2 September 2017, with screening of selected films of his during the festival run.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Soundtrack

References

External links

1986 births
Male actors from London
English male child actors
English expatriates in the United States
English male film actors
English pop guitarists
English male models
English male stage actors
English male television actors
Living people
People educated at The Harrodian School
People educated at Tower House School
People from Barnes, London
21st-century English male actors
21st-century British guitarists
21st-century English singers
English male singers
Method actors
21st-century British male singers

Robert Pattinson


The Kyl–Bingaman Amendment (Public Law 104-201, Section 1064) is a United States law. It was put into force by the Military Defense National Defense Authorization Act for 1997.

The Kyl–Bingaman Amendment (KBA) prohibits US authorities from granting a license for collecting or disseminating high resolution satellite imagery of Israel at a higher resolution than is available from other commercial sources, that is, from companies outside of the United States. An exception exists if this is done by a US federal agency, or if it is done in order to abolish the secrecy of such recordings.

U.S. law mandates  U.S. government censorship of American commercial satellite images of no country in the world besides that of Israel. The largest and most important global sources of commercial satellite imagery, such as Maxar Technologies, and the largest and widely-used online resources, such as Google and Bing, are American and this makes KBA a powerful instrument of U.S. government suppression of information. For example, as a result of KBA, images on internet platforms such as Google Earth have been deliberately blurred.

History
The  Clinton Administration liberalized satellite communication and imaging technology for commercial uses and it declassified U.S. government satellite images taken decades before during the Cold War. The Israeli government successfully lobbied the U.S. Congress for restrictions. The amendment is named after United States Senators Jon Kyl and Jeff Bingaman.

Image resolution limit
In August 2017 the Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES), part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which regulates the Kyl–Bingaman Amendment restrictions, announced a review of the current image resolution limit of 2 meter Ground Sampling Distance (GSD). This was done in response to evidence that commercial satellite companies outside the United States were selling images with resolution higher than that limit. Imagery of higher resolution than the 2m GSD limitation has been commercially available from companies outside of the United States since 2012.

In March 2018 research by Andrea Zerbini and Michael Fradley at the University of Oxford demonstrated that imagery below the 2m limit covering Israel had been available since 2012 from the French company Airbus, and a number of other satellite companies had subsequently passed the 2m threshold, including the South Korean company KOMPSAT, who were producing a 0.4m GSD resolution from its K3A satellite.

In its October 2018 review, the NOAA rejected the evidence that sub-2m imagery of Israel was available from commercial sources outside of the U.S., but was unable to counter the factual claims of Zerbini and Fradley or to publish its own research methodology. After a further review in 2019, the NOAA reversed itself and dropped the GSD limit to 0.4m in a decision published in the Federal Register on 21 July 2020.

Impacts

Reducing Visibility of Israel Territories

KBA's restriction on satellite image collection and dissemination has been extended to include the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights. As a consequence, the law has obscured important aspects of the Israeli territories, including the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and  demolitions of Palestinian homes by the Israeli government.

Impeding scientific research and commerce
A range of scientists from climate scientists to archeologists often use satellite imagery to survey and assess areas and to monitor change. Such efforts have been hindered by the lack of available high quality satellite images. Also, KBA has undermined business interests of U.S. technology companies with its restrictions on collection and dissemination of images.

References

Further reading
 Frans von der Dunk (Author and Editor): Handbook of Space Law. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham 2015, P. 529 and 858.
 Federal Register Notice of Findings Regarding Commercial Availability of Non-U.S. Satellite Imagery With Respect to Israel

External links
Text of the amendment at Federation of American Scientists

Remote sensing
Israel–United States relations
Military communications
United States military policies
Censorship in the United States

Kyl–Bingaman Amendment


Mikhail Petrovich Petrov (; 17 November 1904 – 5 August 1967) was a Tatar Soviet Army colonel and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Petrov was awarded the title for his actions in Operation Bagration, during which he led his regiment in encircling Mogilev. He continued to serve in the Soviet Army postwar, retiring in 1954, after which he moved to Vinnytsia.

Early life
Petrov was born on 17 November 1904 in the village of Stary Sharashly in Ufa Governorate, now in the Bakalinsky District of Bashkortostan, to a peasant family. After graduating from school in the village of Bakaly in 1916, he worked as a messenger at the volost (parish) committee. He later worked as a fitter at the Baysarovskom Telegraph Department in the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1926, he was drafted into the Red Army. In 1929, he became a Communist Party of the Soviet Union member.

World War II
Petrov fought in World War II from November 1941, originally as a battalion commissar. On 10 January 1942, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In 1944, he graduated from the Vystrel course. Petrov became commander of the 139th Rifle Division's 364th Rifle Regiment. Petrov led the  regiment in Operation Bagration. Breaking through German defenses, the regiment crossed the Pronya River, the Basy River, and the Resta River between 24 and 26 June 1944. On 27 June, Petrov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. On 28 June the regiment crossed the Dnieper south of Mogilev. The regiment captured 215 settlements and cut off the German retreat. According to Petrov's superiors, the regiment captured 242 soldiers, 120 guns, 600 machine guns and automatic rifles, 12 tractors, 9 warehouses, 235 motor vehicles, and killed 1,200 German soldiers. He was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky on 19 September. On 24 March 1945, Petrov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin.

Postwar
In 1949, Petrov graduated from the Leningrad Higher Armored School. He retired in 1954 as a colonel, then lived and worked in Vinnytsia. He died there on 5 August 1967.

References

1904 births
1967 deaths
People from Bashkortostan
People from Belebeyevsky Uyezd
Tatar people of Russia
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Soviet colonels
Soviet military personnel of World War II
Heroes of the Soviet Union
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner
Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky
Recipients of the Order of the Red Star

Mikhail Petrov (colonel)


In abstract algebra, the weak dimension of a nonzero right module M over a ring R is the largest number n such that the Tor group  is nonzero for some left R-module N (or infinity if no largest such n exists), and the weak dimension of a left R-module is defined similarly. The weak dimension was introduced by . The weak dimension is sometimes called the flat dimension as it is the shortest length of the resolution of the module by flat modules. The weak dimension of a module is, at most, equal to its projective dimension.

The weak global dimension of a ring is the largest number n such that  is nonzero for some right R-module M and left R-module N. If there is no such largest number n, the weak global dimension is defined to be infinite. It is at most equal to the left or right global dimension of the ring R.

Examples

The module  of rational numbers over the ring  of integers has weak dimension 0, but projective dimension 1.
The module  over the ring  has weak dimension 1, but injective dimension 0.
The module  over the ring  has weak dimension 0, but injective dimension 1.
A Prüfer domain has weak global dimension at most 1.
A Von Neumann regular ring has weak global dimension 0.
A product of infinitely many fields has weak global dimension 0 but its global dimension is nonzero.
If a ring is right Noetherian, then the right global dimension is the same as the weak global dimension, and is at most the left global dimension. In particular if a ring is right and left Noetherian then the left and right global dimensions and the weak global dimension are all the same.
The triangular matrix ring  has right global dimension 1, weak global dimension 1, but left global dimension 2. It is right Noetherian, but not left Noetherian.

References

Commutative algebra
Ring theory
Homological algebra

Weak dimension


The Chotuna Chornancap Archaeological Complex is an archaeological site in San Jose district, Lambayeque Region,  north-west of Chiclayo, Peru of a set of truncated pyramids and compounds, highlighting two pyramids: Chotuna and Chornancap, the first of them believed to be related to the legend of Naylamp. Chotuna was a ceremonial center of the Sican culture, one of the cultures of Pre-Columbian Peru, which developed between the years 700 to 1300 AD. Later the Chimu and then the Inca occupation followed. In 2011 the tomb of the so-called priestess of Chornancap was discovered.

Investigations
The ruins of Chotuna were investigated between the decades of 1910 and 1920 by Hans Heinrich Brüning, who identified the place with Chot, the place mentioned by the chronicler Miguel Cabello Valboa as the shrine of the idol Yampallec, according to the legend of Naylamp. Although Brüning changed his opinion afterwards, local people's sentiment still identifies Huaca Chotuna with the mythical Chot and assumes that Naylamp and his descendants are buried in its depths.

Later Chotuna and its neighboring Chornancap were visited by Hermann Trimborn and Jorge Rondón (1972); the former left historical and descriptive comments on both monuments.

Between 1980 and 1982, Christopher B. Donnan conducted research and mapped the site. He also discovered several mural paintings at Chornancap.

In 2006, the Chotuna-Chornancap Archaeological Project was initiated by archaeologist Carlos Wester La Torre, director of the Brüning National Archaeological Museum in Lambayeque, with the support of the Peruvian State through the Ministry of Culture of Peru. A complex architectural structure was uncovered, located 80 meters south of the Chornancap huaca, giving hope to scholars that the site would indeed be the mythical Chot, although no Yampallec Idol was found.

In October 2011, an elaborate tomb of a young woman assumed to be a priestess or ruler, nicknamed the "Priestess of Chornancap", her body was discovered in a dig led by Carlos Wester La Torre of the Brüning Museum, burial goods included clothing and ornaments, and eight young women sacrifices were buried along with her. They also found the tomb of a male, around 20 to 30 years old, buried with ceremonial knives. A further 13 graves were found in excavations by a different team in 2016.

In August 2012, a tomb was found under the remains of the Chornancap priestess, accompanied by a rich funerary item, presumably also an important figure.

Research continues to this day. In September 2016, the discovery of a group of 17 pre-Hispanic burials in Chornancap was announced, including one of them, apparently belonging to a prominent figure, surrounded by ceramic objects, and flanked by the remains of two children with amputated feet.

Archaeological research at the complex has revealed strong evidence of ritualised human sacrifice of both children and adults. In Chotuna-Chornancap the method of sacrifice seems to have changed over time from semi-decapitation, a common method employed by the late Moche and early Sican cultures, to chest opening, a method popularized in the north coast cultural area of Peru some centuries after the fall of Moche, mainly in the Chimu and Late Sicán territories, chest opening sacrifices were introduced through cultural diffusion from the northern region of South America to the Northern Peruvian Coast, along with many other profound cultural changes in the north coast region, the Sican and Chimu founding legends of Naylamp and Takaynamo respectively are an indicative of this. These late-adopted sacrificial techniques strongly contrast with earlier sacrificial methods in the area or with the methods commonly used in the neighboring contemporary cultures of the south, such as by strangulation or a deadly blunt blow to the back of the head.

Chronology
Chotuna-Chornancap went through three periods, approximate chronology include:

 700–1300. Ceremonial center of the Sican culture;
 1300–1470. Chimu occupation;
 1470–1532. Inca occupation.

The archaeological complex of Chotuna-Chornancap is located in the district of San José in the department of Lambayeque, 8 km west of the city of Chiclayo, on the northern coast of Peru. These are the remains of a set of truncated pyramids and compounds, highlighting two pyramids: Chotuna and Chornancap, the first of them related to the legend of Naylamp.

Chotuna was a ceremonial center of the Sican culture, one of the cultures of Pre-Columbian Peru, which developed between the years 700 to 1300 AD. Later the Chimu and then Inca occupation followed. In 2011 the tomb of the so-called Priestess of Chornancap was discovered.1

References

Pyramids in Peru
Archaeological sites in Lambayeque Region
Archaeological sites in Peru
Tourist attractions in Lambayeque Region

Chotuna-Chornancap


West Alexander is a census-designated place in Donegal Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, and formerly a borough in Washington County.  Located less than a mile east of the border with West Virginia, the population was 604 at the 2010 census, just short of double the population of 320 recorded in the 2000 Census. The borough was dissolved into surrounding Donegal Township, effective January 1, 2009.

Geography
West Alexander is located at  (40.104190, -80.507841), right on the border of West Virginia.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 320 people, 116 households, and 83 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 125 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 97.81% White, 1.56% African American, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.94% of the population.

There were 116 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 29.7% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.6 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $26,563, and the median income for a family was $30,625. Males had a median income of $29,271 versus $21,364 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $13,815. About 6.1% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 29.2% of those age 65 or over.

Dissolution
Though the borough had a successful commerce center based on antique and gift shops in its National Register of Historic Places-listed historic district, a fire in 1990 destroyed several of those businesses and closed others.  The town never completely recovered.  The fire, combined with a $3.2 million debt for a sewage treatment plant, forced residents to consider a merger with Donegal Township, which was completed in 2009.

Transportation and Infrastructure
West Alexander is located directly in between U.S. Route 40 (sometimes known as the National Road) and Interstate 70 between the Pittsburgh and Wheeling city centers. Within Interstate 70 in Pennsylvania, West Alexander is served by Exit 1.

In the centre of West Alexander is a US Post Office, a volunteer fire department, and an elementary school, all bearing the name of West Alexander. Liberty Street acts as the main north to south road within the center of West Alexander and connects to the National Road.

Air transport in West Alexander is sparse but accessible outside of the city. General aviation is primarily accessible through either Wheeling Ohio County Airport or Washington County Airport. The closest commercial service is located at Pittsburgh International Airport.

References

Populated places disestablished in 2009
Former municipalities in Pennsylvania
Census-designated places in Washington County, Pennsylvania
Populated places established in 1796
Pittsburgh metropolitan area
Census-designated places in Pennsylvania
1796 establishments in Pennsylvania

West Alexander, Pennsylvania


Dick Carruthers (born 25 March 1966, Sussex, England) is an English music video and film director, based in London, England. He directed the Led Zeppelin Celebration Day film and The Rolling Stones Bridges To Babylon DVD (as live concert director) as well as many other live music videos. Carruthers' work on the Oasis Definitely Maybe DVD was nominated for two BAFTAs.

Education
Carruthers attended Winchester University (then known as King Alfred's College) where he completed a BA (Hons) degree in Drama Theatre and Television Studies.

Career
Before success in the music and film industries, Carruthers worked in corporate videos and in the conference and events industries. He began his directing career in the music business touring with English pop group Take That in 1993. He also toured with Jamiroquai, Texas, and Oasis. In 1996 he directed the visuals and filmed the Oasis Knebworth shows and in 1997 he was invited aboard the Rolling Stones' Bridges To Babylon World Tour. In 2002 he joined forces with Anouk Fontaine at Metropolis Studios in London England working as M: Productions. Cheese Film Video Ltd. was incorporated in 2005.

Work with Led Zeppelin

Carruthers was introduced to Jimmy Page following the acclaim of The Who Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2000). Page wanted to sort through unseen footage of Led Zeppelin in its prime and spent a year and a half with Carruthers making the retrospective double-disc Led Zeppelin DVD with vintage footage from concerts filmed in London, Paris, New York and elsewhere. The release won numerous awards, was nominated for a BAFTA and remains one of the best selling music DVDs of all time. Carruthers continued his association with Led Zeppelin as the creative director on the Warner Home video Special Edition release of The Song Remains the Same (recorded during three nights of concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden, on the band's 1973 concert tour of the US), adding feature extras, cuts of new songs, and surround sound.

When the band agreed to the O2 reunion (2007), a benefit for the Ahmet Ertegün Education Fund, Carruthers was hired to direct the filming. The resulting film Celebration Day was released to worldwide acclaim on 17 October 2012 (UK).

Work with Oasis
Carruthers first worked with the British rock band Oasis on their Earls Court shows in 1995, and the Maine Road shows in 1996, later released as ...There and Then (1996). In 2000 as director on the documentary Familiar to Millions (recorded at Wembley Stadium on 21 July 2000), as well as Standing On The Edge Of The Noise (Channel 4), Live At Union Chapel (Channel 4), and Glasgow Barowlands (Sky TV). To mark the tenth anniversary of its original release Carruthers also directed Definitely Maybe released on DVD in September 2004.

Carruthers later worked with the band's guitarist, songwriter Noel Gallagher on his Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds debut album documentary DVD.

Documentaries and live concerts
Other documentaries and live concerts include Sarah Brightman - Dreamchaser in Concert (2013), Don't Believe the Truth - Live In Manchester (2005), 10 Years Of Noise and Confusion (shot at Glasgow Barrowlands), the rockumentary film Lord Don't Slow Me Down (2007), Standing on the Edge of the Noise (2008), a Josh Groban (2015) PBS TV special, and an Imagine Dragons (2016) live DVD filmed at The Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Work with Julian Lennon
In 2012 Carruthers worked with Julian Lennon on the feature length video documentary Through The Picture Window which followed Lennon's journey in the making of his album Everything Changes and includes interviews with Steven Tyler, Bono and Paul Buchanan from The Blue Nile. Through The Picture Window was also released as an app in all formats with bespoke videos for all 14 tracks from the album.

Work with The Script
In 2011 Carruthers directed The Script's DVD Homecoming: Live at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, which was part of the Irish group's Science & Faith Tour and was their biggest headline show to date (50,000 people).

Work with Aerosmith
In 2014 the Aerosmith Rocks Donington DVD was released directed by Carruthers. The film captures the group headlining the massive Download Festival at Donington Park as they deliver a set of their greatest hits.

Awards
 The Who Live at the Royal Albert Hall was nominated for Best DVD at the 2000 NME Awards.
 Led Zeppelin DVD (2003) BAFTA nomination, New York Awards, Best DVD (2003 CADS)
 White Stripes: Under Blackpool Lights was nominated for Best DVD (2004 CADS).
 Oasis' Definitely Maybe DVD (2004) was nominated for two BAFTAs.
 Take That - Best DVD 2006 (CADS)
 Celebration Day won best music DVD at the Classic Rock Awards, and Best Live Coverage (for Dick Carruthers) at the UKMVA 2013.

Selected music video credits (as director)

References

External links
 Cinefromage - Dick Carruthers' official site

 "What Makes A Great Concert Film", BBC 6Music
 High Point/Low Point: Dick Carruthers  - [PIAS]' blog, 27 April 2015

1966 births
Living people
British music video directors
British film directors
People from Sussex

Dick Carruthers


The Collins Park Neighborhood in Miami Beach sits on the north eastern point of the South Beach Historic District. Its boundaries are 17th street to the south, 25th Street to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Washington Avenue, Dade County Boulevard and Pinetree Drive to the west.

The neighborhood is widely recognized as the cultural center of Miami Beach, hosting such institutions as The Bass Museum of Art, The Miami City Ballet, The SoBe Music Institute, The Holocaust Memorial, the Miami Design and Preservation League and most recently has seen the creation of the CANDO Art's Co-op. Due to the neighborhoods parks and relative proximity to the Miami Beach Convention Center, Collins Park is also a natural flow over for Art Basel Miami events and satellite exhibitions such as Design Miami.

Even though the neighborhood is located within the heart of the city, development of Collins Park has lagged behind the South Beach area just south. Private efforts in the late 1990s to redevelop the neighborhood met with resistance from the City of Miami Beach as expansions were planned for the Bass Museum and the ballet. In the early 2000s another neighborhood revitalization effort was made by private developers – most notably Ken Fields (The Creek South Beach), Alessandro Ferretti (Articity), The W Condo-Hotel and The Gansevoort/Perry.

The neighborhood which has become a major thoroughfare for traffic coming in to the beach from the mainland was to have a parking garage designed by Zaha Hadid, however when the costs were almost double the allocated budget, the City voted against the project.

See also
Bass Museum
Miami City Ballet
Miami Modern Architecture
Miami Beach Architectural District

References

External links

Collins Park Neighborhood Association
City Of Miami Beach: Neighborhood Map

Historic districts in Florida
Neighborhoods in Miami Beach, Florida

Collins Park, Miami Beach


Richard Felton Outcault (; January 14, 1863 – September 25, 1928) was an American cartoonist. He was the creator of the series The Yellow Kid and Buster Brown and is considered a key pioneer of the modern comic strip.

Life and career

Outcault was born on January 14, 1863, in Lancaster, Ohio, to Catherine Davis and Jesse P. —spelled without the u their son later added. He attended McMicken University's school of design in Cincinnati from 1878 to 1881, and after graduating did commercial painting for the Hall Safe and Lock Company.

Early career

Outcault painted electric light displays for Edison Laboratories for the 1888 Centennial Exposition of the Ohio Valley and Middle Atlantic States in Cincinnati. This led to full-time work with Edison in West Orange, New Jersey, doing mechanical drawings and illustrations. Edison appointed him official artist for the company's traveling exhibition in 1889–90, which included supervising the installation of Edison exhibits at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. While there, he studied art in the Latin Quarter and added the u to his surname.

In 1890 Outcault returned to the US, married, and moved to Flushing in New York City. He worked making technical drawings to Street Railway Journal and Electrical World, a magazine owned by one of Edison's friends. On the side, he contributed to the humor magazines Truth, Puck, Judge and Life.

The Yellow Kid

The New York World newspaper began publishing cartoons in 1889. The Chicago Inter Ocean added a color supplement in 1892, the first in the US, and when the Worlds publisher Joseph Pulitzer saw it, he ordered for his own newspaper the same four-color rotary printing press. A color Sunday humor supplement began to run in the World in Spring 1893. The supplement's editor Morrill Goddard contacted Outcault via Roy McCardell on the staff of Puck and offered Outcault a full-time position with the World.

Outcault's first cartoon for the paper appeared on September 16, 1894: a six-panel, full-page comic strip titled "Uncle Eben's Ignorance of the City". Though not the first strips to employ multi-panel narrative strips—even at the World—Outcault's were among the earliest. His primary subjects were African Americans who lived in a town called Possumville and Irish immigrants who lived in tenement slums.

An Outcault cartoon from the June 2, 1894, issue of Judge featured a big-eared, bald street kid in a gown. Outcault continued to draw the character, who made his debut in the World on January 13, 1895. The kid appeared in color for the first time in the May 5 issue in a cartoon titled "At the Circus in Hogan's Alley". Outcault weekly Hogan's Alley cartoons appeared from then on in color, starring rambunctious slum kids in the streets, in particular the bald kid, who gained the name Mickey Dugan. In the January 5 episode of Hogan's Alley, Mickey's gown appeared in bright yellow. He soon became the star of the strip and became known as The Yellow Kid, and that May the Kid's dialogue began appearing on his yellow gown. The strip's popularity drove up the Worlds circulation and the Kid was widely merchandised. Its level of success drove other papers to publish such strips, and thus the Yellow Kid is seen as a landmark in the development of the comic strip as a mass medium.

Outcault may not have benefited from the strip's merchandise revenue. Though he applied at least three times, he does not appear to have been granted a copyright on the strip. Common practice at the time would have given the publisher the copyrights to the strips they printed on a work-for-hire basis, though not to the characters therein.

California newspaperman William Randolph Hearst set up offices in New York after buying the failing New York Morning Journal, which he renamed the New York Journal. He bought a color press and hired away the Worlds Sunday supplement staff, including Outcault, at greatly increased salaries. Hearst's color humor supplement was named The American Humorist and advertised as "eight pages of polychromatic effulgence that make the rainbow look like a lead pipe". It debuted on October 18, 1896, and an advertisement in the Journal the day before boasted: "The Yellow Kid—Tomorrow, Tomorrow!" The strip was titled McFadden's Row of Flats, as the World claimed the Hogan's Alley title. A week earlier, on October 11, Outcault's replacement at the World George Luks took over with his own version of Hogan's Alley; he had handled the strip earlier, the first time that May 31. Both papers advertised themselves with posters featuring the Yellow Kid, and soon the association with their sensational style of journalism led to the coining of the term "yellow journalism".

The installment for October 25, 1896—"The Yellow Kid and his New Phonograph"—featured speech balloons for the first time. Outcault's strips appeared twice a week in the Journal, and took on a form that was to become standard: multipanel strips in which the images and text were inextricably bound to each other. Comics historian Bill Blackbeard asserted this made it "nothing less than the first definitive comic strip in history". From January to May 1897, Hearst sent Outcault and the Humorists editor Rudolph Block to Europe, a trip Outcault reported on in the paper through a mock Yellow Kid diary and an Around the World with the Yellow Kid strip, which took the place of McFadden's Row of Flats.

The Yellow Kid's popularity soon faded, and the last strip appeared on January 23, 1898. Luks' version had ended the month before. The character made rare appearances thereafter. Hearst had launched the New York Evening Journal and made Outcault the editor of the daily comics page. He continued to contribute cartoons to it, as well as to the World, where he had Casey's Corner published, a strip about African-American characters that debuted on February 13, 1898, and moved to the Evening Journal on April 8, 1898. It was the first newspaper strip to feature continuity.

Outcault freelanced cartoons to other papers in 1899. The Country School and The Barnyard Club ran briefly in The Philadelphia Inquirer. In the New York Herald ran Buddy Tucker, about a bellhop, and Pore Lil Mose, the first strip with an African-American title character—a prankster portrayed in a heavily stereotyped manner.

Buster Brown

Outcault introduced Buster Brown to the pages of the Herald on May 4, 1902, about a mischievous, well-to-do boy dressed in Little Lord Fauntleroy style, and his pit-bull terrier Tige. The strip and characters were more popular than the Yellow Kid, and Outcault licensed the name for a wide number of consumer products, such as children's shoes from the Brown Shoe Company. In 1904 Outcault sold advertising licenses to 200 companies at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Journalist Roy McCardell reported in 1905 that Outcault earned $75,000 a year from merchandising and employed two secretaries and a lawyer.

At the Herald, Outcault worked alongside fellow comic strip pioneer Winsor McCay (who at that point was mostly working on illustrations and editorial cartoons). A rivalry built up between the two cartoonists, which resulted in Outcault leaving the Herald to return to his previous employer, William Randolph Hearst at The New York Journal. In the Journal, Outcault began using multiple panels and speech balloons following the earlier examples of Frederick Burr Opper and Rudolph Dirks.

Outcault took Buster Brown to Hearst's New York American in January 1906. The Herald continued to publish Buster Brown strips by other cartoonists; Outcault sued, and the Herald countersued the Americans publishers for the character's trademark.

Outcault had not applied for a copyright to Buster Brown, but asserted a "common-law title"—what comics historian Don Markstein asserted is one of the earliest claims to creators' rights. The court decided the Herald owned the Buster Brown name and title and the copyright on the strips it published, but the characters themselves were too intangible to qualify for copyright or trademark. Nonetheless a later court case established that Outcault owned all other rights to Buster Brown. This freed Outcault to continue the strip in the American as long as he did not use the Buster Brown name.

Outcault continued the untitled Buster Brown strip until 1921, though increasingly the work was done by assistants. He focused rather on merchandising, and set up an advertising agency in Chicago at 208 South Dearborn Street to handle it. In 1914 he proposed unsuccessfully a Buster Brown League for boys too young to join the Boy Scouts.

Outcault retired from newspapers and spent the last ten years of his life painting. After a ten-week illness he died on September 25, 1928, in Flushing, New York. His widow later interred his ashes at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Personal life
Outcault married Mary Jane Martin, the granddaughter of a Lancaster banker, on Christmas Day 1890. The couple had two children.

Legacy

Comics historian R. C. Harvey considered "that Outcault belongs in the ranks of the great cartoonists".
Outcault was a 2008 Judges' Choice inductee into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.
Lancaster High School in Lancaster, Ohio (Outcault's birthplace) awards the R. F. Outcault Innovation Award to journalism students annually. Betsy Noll (2011) was the first recipient, Riley Theiss and Ohio State and Harvard Linebacker Luke Roberts were the 2012 recipients, Jeremy Hill & Alek LaVeck were the 2013 co-recipients, and Connor McCandlish received the honor in 2014.

Notes

References

Works cited

Further reading

External links

The Life and Times of Buster Brown

1863 births
1928 deaths
American comic strip cartoonists
Hearst Communications people
People from Lancaster, Ohio
Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
People from Flushing, Queens
19th-century American artists
20th-century American artists
Artists from Ohio

Richard F. Outcault