Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice.

Valli scored 29 top 40 hits with the Four Seasons, one top 40 hit under the Four Seasons alias the Wonder Who?, and nine top 40 hits as a solo artist. As a member of the Four Seasons, Valli's number-one hits include "Sherry" (1962), "Big Girls Don't Cry" (1962), "Walk Like a Man" (1963), "Rag Doll" (1964) and "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" (1975). Valli's recording of the song "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" reached number two in 1967. As a solo artist, Valli scored number-one hits with the songs "My Eyes Adored You" (1974) and "Grease" (1978).

Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi and Bob Gaudio—the original members of the Four Seasons—were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.

Early life
Valli was born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio on May 3, 1934 to an Italian family in the First Ward of Newark, New Jersey; he was the eldest of three sons. His father, Anthony Castelluccio, was a barber and display designer for Lionel model trains; his mother, Mary Rinaldi, was a homemaker and beer company employee. He was inspired to take up a singing career at age seven after his mother took him to see Frank Sinatra at the Paramount Theater in New York City. One of his early favorite singers was "Texas" Jean Valli, from whom he took his stage name. He worked as a barber until he could support himself with music.

Valli's birth year has been called into question. He never addressed the issue himself until a 2007 posting at the Official Frankie Valli Site, sponsored by his record label Universal Records. Much of his previous official publicity used 1937 as his birth year. Other sources gave his year of birth as 1934, such as the Bear Family Records release The Four Lovers (BCD 15424) and a 1965 mug shot, available through The Smoking Gun.

Music career

Valli began his singing career in the early 1950s with the Variety Trio (Nickie DeVito, Tommy DeVito, and Nick Macioci). His desire to sing in public was initially granted when the group offered him a guest spot when they performed. In late 1952, the Variety Trio disbanded and Valli and Tommy DeVito became part of the house band at The Strand in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Valli played bass and sang.

Valli recorded his first single, "My Mother's Eyes", in 1953, a cover of the 1929 George Jessel song from Lucky Boy. He recorded it as "Frankie Valley", a variation on a name he adopted from "Texas" Jean Valli, a female hillbilly singer. Geoff Herbert explains, "Frankie said in 2010 that Jean took him to meet music publishers Paul and Dave Kapp, telling them he was her brother. As a result, his first single was listed under 'Frankie Valley', and the name stuck—though he eventually changed it to the same spelling" that Texas Jean used.

Around this time, Valli and Tommy DeVito left the house band at The Strand and formed The Variatones with Hank Majewski, Frank Cottone, and Billy Thompson. In 1956, the group impressed New York recording agent Peter Paul, and he got them an audition at RCA Victor a week later.

The group changed its name to the Four Lovers and recorded several singles and an album's worth of tracks. They had a minor hit with "You're the Apple of My Eye" in 1956. Nickie DeVito and Hank Majewski left in 1958 to be replaced by Nick Macioci (now Nick Massi) and Hugh Garrity. Massi was in and out of the group, and Charles Calello occasionally joined on accordion. The group continued to perform until 1959, when Bob Gaudio became a member. It changed its name to "The Four Seasons" in 1960 after a bowling alley in Union, New Jersey, in whose cocktail lounge it had auditioned.

As the lead singer of the Four Seasons, Valli had a string of hits, beginning with the number-one hit "Sherry" in 1962 and continuing through "Who Loves You" in 1975, after which Valli ceded most lead vocals to Gerry Polci.

During the 1960s, Gaudio and his songwriting partner Bob Crewe worked with Valli to craft solo recordings, with varying degrees of success. It was rare at the time for a major recording artist to perform solo in opposition to his own group; Buddy Holly and the Crickets were an exception. Valli's debut solo album was a collection of single releases and a few new recordings.

"You're Ready Now", a Valli solo recording from 1966, became part of the Northern soul scene and reached number eleven on the UK Singles Chart in December 1970. "The Night" originally released in 1970 also became a huge Northern soul hit and as a result it reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart in 1975.

In 1975, his single "My Eyes Adored You" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 5 in the UK chart. In the same year, he also had a number six Billboard hit with the disco-laden "Swearin' to God" reaching number 31 in the UK chart, while further UK chart success came with "Fallen Angel", written by Guy Fletcher and Doug Flett. Valli was in the UK charts, reaching number 11, with this at the same time as the Four Seasons enjoyed a UK hit with "Silver Star" on which Valli did not appear as lead.

In 1976, Valli covered the Beatles song "A Day in the Life" for the ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War II.

In 1978, he sang the theme song for the film version of the stage play Grease, a song by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, which became a number one hit. He had two further chart successes over the next year: "Save Me, Save Me" in November 1978, which entered the Billboard Easy Listening chart, and "Fancy Dancer" in January 1979, which entered the pop charts.

Valli began suffering from otosclerosis in 1967, forcing him to "sing from memory" in the latter part of the 1970s. Surgery performed by Los Angeles ear specialist Victor Goodhill restored most of his hearing by 1980.

In 2005, the musical Jersey Boys opened on Broadway. Besides performances of many of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons hit recordings, it has a biographical narrative, told from four separate points of view by each member of the Four Seasons (DeVito, Valli, Massi and Gaudio). John Lloyd Young portrayed Valli in the original  production, while West End's production Ryan Molloy is the "longest-serving Frankie Valli". The musical dramatizes several real-life incidents from Valli's life, including his estrangement from daughter Francine, who died in 1980. The show has been widely acclaimed, financially successful, and was nominated for eight Tony Awards, winning four, notably Best Musical, Actor, and Supporting Actor. It has touring companies around the world, as well as a version at Paris Las Vegas, and was adapted into a 2014 film of the same name directed by Clint Eastwood, with Young again appearing as Valli; Valli was less enthusiastic about the film, believing that some parts were miscast and that Eastwood was a poor fit for the material.

In October 2007, Valli released Romancing the '60s, an album containing covers of his favorite songs from the 1960s, two of which—"Sunny" and "Any Day Now"—he had previously recorded. It was Valli's first solo album in nearly 27 years since 1980's Heaven Above Me.

In 2012, Valli made his Broadway debut with a week-long concert engagement at the Broadway Theatre in New York starting October 19.

From March 2016 to January 2017, "Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons" were touring the US, scheduled to play small-to-mid-size venues such as the Silver Legacy Casino in Reno, Nevada, the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona and the County Fair in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. In October 2016, Valli released his first solo album in nine years, Tis the Seasons, which features some of his favorite Christmas songs.

As part of the BBC Proms in the Park Valli, together with the Four Seasons performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra in Hyde Park on September 10, 2016.

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons continued touring in 2018 and 2019, with a new lineup after his lineup since 2003 spun off as its own act, The Modern Gentlemen. In 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic canceled all touring plans. Touring resumed in the summer of 2021 with dates scheduled through October 2024; in October 2023, Valli indicated that it would be his farewell tour and that The Four Seasons would effectively end its 64-year run with his retirement. Valli did not rule out future performances after the tour ends but noted that the nature of touring, and a move from longer residencies to frequent one-night stops, was wearing on him, while the actual act of performing each night was not. In June 2021, Valli released his 12th studio album, his first in five years, Touch of Jazz, which features a collection of jazz cover songs.

Acting career
Valli has appeared as an actor in Miami Vice (as Mafia boss Frank Doss), Full House, the 1998 TV movie Witness to the Mob (as Frank LoCascio of the Gambino crime family), The Sopranos (as mobster Rusty Millio), and the 2014 film And So It Goes.

On the November 21, 2014, episode of Hawaii Five-0 entitled "Ka Hana malu (Inside Job)", Valli played mysterious lawyer Leonard Cassano, who was engaged to Carol Burnett's character, Aunt Deb.

In 2015, Valli did interviews as himself on the AMC television series The Making of the Mob: New York.

Personal life
Valli has been married four times. He married his first wife, Mary, who already had a two-year-old daughter named Celia, in his early twenties. They raised two daughters together, Antonia and Francine, and divorced after 13 years in 1971. He married MaryAnn Hannagan in 1974, and that marriage lasted eight years. He then married Randy Clohessy in 1984; they had three sons and separated in 2004. In 1980, his stepdaughter, Celia, was killed when she fell off a fire escape. Six months later, Francine, his youngest daughter from his marriage to Mary, died reportedly from a drug overdose. Antonia later briefly married Four Seasons drummer/vocalist Gerry Polci, and their daughter Olivia Polci, who also adopted the stage surname Valli, is a professional stage actress. She portrayed her grandmother Mary in a Jersey Boys production in 2019. Frankie married Jackie Jacobs on June 26, 2023, in Las Vegas. Valli and Jacobs reside in Encino, California.

One issue in Valli's third divorce went up on appeal to the Supreme Court of California: whether a life-insurance policy purchased in 2003 was community property. On May 15, 2014, the Court unanimously affirmed the trial court's ruling that the policy was community property (and not Randy's separate property), in an opinion signed by Associate Justice Joyce Kennard.

Those who have interviewed Valli have noted a conservative streak to his social and political views, though Valli has rarely addressed his views on those topics in-depth.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

1934 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American singers
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American singers
20th-century American male singers
21st-century American male singers
American male pop singers
American male television actors
American people of Italian descent
American rock singers
Jersey Shore musicians
Male actors from Newark, New Jersey
Singers from Newark, New Jersey
New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees
The Four Seasons (band) members
Warner Records artists
Motown artists
Private Stock Records artists
Universal Motown Records artists

Frankie Valli


'40s Junction is a commercial-free music channel on the Sirius XM Radio platform, broadcasting on channel 71; as well as Dish Network channel 6071. The channel mainly airs big band, swing, and hit parade music from 1936 to 1949, with occasional songs from the early-1950s. Until May 7, 2015, the station was known as '40s on 4, with programming being broadcast on channel 4, as part of the "Decades" line-up of stations. It was later rechanneled to be nearer to stations featuring similar genres of music, such as jazz and standards. During its first four months on Ch. 71, the station was known simply as '40s. The station was rebranded as 40s Junction on August 13, 2015.

The 40s Junction name, and the station's longtime nickname, "The Savoy Express", refer to the passenger train−travel common in the 1940s. The name also lends reference to the popular dance hall in Harlem during 1940s called The Savoy Ballroom, where the Lindy Hop and "Jitterbug" dancing was born. The original "Station Master" (Program Director) for the channel was Marlin Taylor, with Bob Moke serving as music director. Both have since departed, and the channel is currently programmed by Human Numan. The "voice" of the channel is Lou Brutus, who models his announcing style after that of Bing Crosby staff announcer, Ken Carpenter. Brutus worked as Sr. Director of Music Programming, overseeing the content for a long and diverse lineup of channels. He was subsequently laid off from SiriusXM amongst a company wide reduction of staff in March of 2023. In keeping with the railroad theme, the station's logo now features a train itself, based on the 1940s Reading Railroad's sleek stainless steel streamliner called the  "Crusader", which operated between Philadelphia and Jersey City, NJ.  Trains were the primary mode of distance transportation in the '40s.  Airline travel wasn't fully developed and cost prohibitive to the masses.

History
XM once described the channel as follows:
Climb aboard the Savoy Express for a trip to yesterday and the sound of swing. Revel in the heyday of the big bands and the hits of the '40s. All aboard, Track 4!

The current channel description reads:
Hep Cats and Swingeroos, here comes the Savoy Express. Crooners serenade, and harmony groups join forces with orchestras to play everything in 'the book'. From Benny Goodman and Bing Crosby, to Doris Day and Count Basie, hear the hits from the '40s and beyond.

Similar to other XM "Decades" stations, prior to the 2008 merger with Sirius, the '40s channel was initially programmed to recreate the feeling of the '40s era. This was accomplished by broadcasting big band/swing music; recreated newscasts in which fictional reporter "Ed Baxter", voiced by Bill Schmalfeldt, would report on the day's top stories in a year from 1936 to 1949, as if they were current now; countdowns of the top 3 hit songs from the current week in a year from 1936 to 1949; World War II–era, patriotic songs; Spike Jones's joke novelty recordings; along with such features as the Record Museum, which played tracks from any year between 1920 and 1935. During Academy Award season, director Bob Moke would regularly introduce and play all of the Academy Award nominated songs for a particular year between 1936 and 1949.

From November 16 through December 25, 2009, '40s on 4 would be preempted for Holiday Traditions, a seasonal program devoted to popular Christmas music from the 1940s to the 1960s. In 2010, the channel was again preempted for Holiday Traditions, this time starting November 15, and extending through January 1, 2011. The following year, 'Holiday Traditions appeared on its own channel (147), from November 14, 2011 to January 2, 2012.

Previously featured programs included Harmony Square, a 1-hour presentation of barbershop music that aired on Sunday afternoons and evenings; Big Band Jump, a syndicated weekly program, hosted by Don Kennedy, that specialized in Big Band music and the stories behind it; and a weekly program devoted to vintage, Bing Crosby radio shows, such as Philco Radio Time and Kraft Music Hall.

The channel was also used for XM's annual pop-music chronology, IT, from 2002 to 2007. From August 2011 to August 2013, Jonathan Schwartz, formerly of XM's High Standards and Siriusly Sinatra stations, was heard daily on '40s on 4, playing a mixture of classic and contemporary pop standards recordings.

From March 26 to June 25, 2014, '40s on 4 was temporarily replaced by the Billy Joel Channel. This change was ill-received by many of the station's fans; many of whom cancelled their subscriptions or demanded refunds from Sirius XM as a result.

Channel 4 was occupied by Pitbull's Globalization Radio when the '40s channel moved to Channel 71.

While known as "40s", the station logo featured the previous logo, but the on 4'' text was removed.

Internet Player
An early version of the SiriusXM app included a feature which allowed tempo to be adjusted to play faster music (i.e. Swing), or slower music (i.e., Traditional Pop), which has been discontinued.

Core artists
Glenn Miller
Dorsey Brothers
Benny Goodman
Harry James
Bing Crosby
Count Basie
Les Brown
Artie Shaw
Duke Ellington
Andrews Sisters
Jan Eberle
Doris Day
Frank Sinatra
Louis Armstrong

References

External links
SiriusXM: '40s Junction

Sirius Satellite Radio channels
XM Satellite Radio channels
Sirius XM Radio channels
Decades themed radio stations
Radio stations established in 2001

'40s Junction


Scott Hochberg  (born October 2, 1953) is a former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives who represented two different districts in southwest Houston. From 1993 to 2003, he represented District 132, which included the Texas Medical Center, Rice University, the Astrodome, and neighborhoods including Meyerland, Hiram Clark, Southampton and Fondren Southwest. After the 2001 legislative redistricting, Hochberg then represented District 137, which included neighborhoods including Gulfton, Sharpstown, Briarmeadow, Shenandoah and Piney Point. Hochberg represented District 137 from 2003 to 2012.

Early life
Hochberg was born in Houston on October 2, 1953, raised in the Chicago area, and returned to Houston to attend Rice University. After earning his master's degree in electrical engineering, he co-founded an electronic manufacturing firm that he headed for 12 years before selling his interest.

Political activities
Hochberg served on the House Committee on Public Education during his entire time in the legislature, where he developed a reputation as one of the state's leading experts on the financing of public schools. He also served on various other committees, including the House Committee on State Affairs, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the House Committee on Corrections. He chaired the Education Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations for six years, and served on the Select Committee on Public School Finance.

Other activities
After announcing his retirement from office, Hochberg was appointed by Houston Mayor Annise Parker to lead the conversion of the CIty of Houston crime lab from a division of the Houston Police Department an independent local government corporation. Hochberg chaired the board of that corporation, the Houston Forensic Science Center, for three years, overseeing the successful transition.

Hochberg currently operates Postage Saver Software, a software development company. He also lectures on education policy at his alma mater, Rice University, and advises various organizations on public policy issues. Hochberg serves on the regional board of the Anti-Defamation League, and on the board of Project Grad Houston.

Scott Hochberg is the older brother of PBS NewsHour correspondent Lee Hochberg, NPR Morning Edition correspondent Adam Hochberg, and Jeff Hochberg.

External links
 Scott Hochberg's Bio

1953 births
Living people
Politicians from Houston
Politicians from Chicago
Rice University alumni
Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives
20th-century American Jews
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American Jews

Scott Hochberg


Maxim (also Maksim, "Maxym", or Maksym) is a male first name of Roman origin. It is adopted in Slavic-speaking countries, mainly in Belarus, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine. The name is derived from the Latin family name Maximus, meaning "the greatest". Maxim is also a less well-known surname.

Notable people
Monarchs:

Đorđe Branković, Despot of Serbia, monastic name Maksim.

In Christianity:

Maxim of Bulgaria, Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Serbian Patriarch Maksim I, Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (1655-1672)

In literature:
Maxim Gorky, Russian author and political activist
Maxim Kalashnikov, Russian author and political activist
Max Stirner, German philosopher

In music:
Max Bemis, an American musician and vocalist of Say Anything
MakSim, a Russian singer
Maksym Berezovsky, a Ukrainian composer and opera singer
Maksim Dunayevsky, a Russian film composer
Maksim Mrvica, a Croatian pianist
Maxim Reality, an English singer-songwriter and MC
Maxim Richarz, a German singer
Maxim Vengerov, a Russian violin virtuoso and conductor

In sport:
Can Maxim Mutaf (born 1991), Turkish-Russian basketball player
Maxim Afinogenov, Russian ice hockey player
Maksim Burchenko, Russian footballer
Maksim Buznikin, Russian footballer
Maksym Chmerkovskiy, Ukrainian ballroom dancer
Maxim Deviatovski, Russian artistic gymnast
Maksim "Max" Grechkin, Israeli footballer
Maksym Kalinichenko, Ukrainian footballer
Maksym Kowal (born 1991), Canadian soccer player
Maxim Marinin, Russian pair skater
Maksim Podholjuzin (born 1992), Estonian footballer
Maksim Romaschenko, Belarusian footballer
Maksim Shatskikh, Uzbek footballer
Maxim Staviski, Russian-born Bulgarian world champion ice dancer
Maksim Zhalmagambetov, Kazakh footballer

In business:
Maksim Moshkow, Russian businessman

In politics:
Maxim Litvinov, Russian revolutionary and diplomat
Maksym Stepanov (born 1975), Ukrainian politician

In fiction:
Maxim Kammerer, fictional character in the Noon Universe series
Maxim de Winter, the second Mrs. de Winter's name for her husband in Rebecca (novel) by Daphne du Maurier
Maxim, the main hero of Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals

In crime:
Maksim Gelman, imprisoned for murdering 4 people and attempting to murder 5 others

Articles
Maxim
For people, places or things named Maxim, see .

Maksim
For people, places or things named Maksim, see .

Maksym
For people, places or things named Maksym, see .

Surname
For people with the surname Maxim, see Maxim (surname).

See also

Maxim (disambiguation), general disambiguation page
Maxime, the equivalent name in French

References

Russian masculine given names
Masculine given names
Ukrainian masculine given names
Belarusian masculine given names
Macedonian masculine given names
Bulgarian masculine given names

Maxim (given name)


Henry Moseley (c. 1818 – September 1, 1864) was a shipbuilder and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Lunenburg County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly as a Reformer.

Moseley, the son of Phineas E. Moseley and Sally Tilton, both from the United States, was born on a ship in Halifax harbour. In 1853, he left Halifax for Australia with his brother Ebenezer; their small vessel was forced to seek shelter from a storm at the LaHave River and they settled there instead. He died at the age of 46.

References
 A Directory of the Members of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758-1958, Public Archives of Nova Scotia (1958)

1864 deaths
Nova Scotia Reformer MLAs
Year of birth uncertain
1810s births

Henry Moseley (politician)


Jörg Daniel (born 9 July 1951) is a German football coach and former player who works as a coach for the German Football Association. As a goalkeeper he made 112 Bundesliga appearances for Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Playing career
Daniel was born in Hagen. He began his football career with SV Herringen, and had his first experience of success in 1969, winning the A-Jugend youth championship with VfL Bochum. He moved to Alemannia Aachen in 1970, playing in the German second-tier Regionalliga West as Aachen's reserve goalkeeper. In order to concentrate on his training as sports teacher, he became an amateur again in 1972, joining SG Eschweiler and completed his Diploma at Cologne Sports College.

In 1974, at the age of 23, he returned to professional football with Fortuna Köln in the 2. Bundesliga, becoming reserve keeper behind Wolfgang Fahrian, making only rare appearances. For the 1975–76 season he was loaned out to Union Solingen, where he gave some solid displays and led to his transfer to Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf in 1976. 1977 saw Daniel promoted to first-choice goalkeeper following an injury to Wilfried Woyke. Daniel played for the club for five years, during which time the club won the DFB-Pokal twice, in 1979 and 1980, and reached the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1979.

Daniel's contract with Fortuna Düsseldorf expired in 1981, and Daniel's inconsistent form meant the club didn't offer him an extension. Not finding another professional club to join, he retired from playing professional football that same year.

Coaching career
After retiring from playing, Daniel then continued his sporting education and gained his football coaching license. Between 1984 and 1999 Daniel served as coach for the Baden-Württemberg Football Association in Karlsruhe. In July 1999 he was employed by the German Football Association, training players from the Under-15 to Under-17 levels as well as a goalkeeping coach for the Germany national football team. After leaving this post in 2004, he became co-ordinator and Sporting Director of the Football Association's talent programs and coaching school.

In 1990 Daniel, alongside Gerhard Hamsen, wrote the book Fußball-Jugendtraining. Grundlagen, Übungen, Programme.

Honours
 DFB-Pokal: 1978–79, 1979–80
 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Runner-up: 1978–79

References

External links

1951 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Hagen
Footballers from Arnsberg (region)
German men's footballers
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
Alemannia Aachen players
SG Union Solingen players
SC Fortuna Köln players
Fortuna Düsseldorf players
Men's association football goalkeepers
West German men's footballers
Association football goalkeeping coaches

Jörg Daniel


Hello Campers is a British reality show that has aired on ITV since 27 July 2015 and is narrated by Rosalind Ayres.

Background
Hello Campers aired as a 4:00pm summer replacement for Tipping Point and is produced by 12 Yard; another production of theirs, Guess This House, premiered the same day a few hours earlier. The show was originally commissioned for thirty episodes, and is produced by Matt Walton and Ben Stevens. It was commissioned by Helen Warner, executive produced by James Lessell and is narrated by Rosalind Ayres.

Format
The show consists of five teams of two who go out to a European campsite. Whilst there, they compete in assorted challenges. One team cooks, one team provides entertainment and the other three participate in a local challenge, such as paella-making, flamenco dancing, sculpture or streetdance; the former teams are given points by the other teams, and the other three are given points out of ten by the provider of the local challenge, for example a treasure hunt firm. The team that score the lowest each day has to clean the camp, and the team that scores the highest across the week win £1,000.

Reception
The show has been described as "a cross between Come Dine with Me and Coach Trip".

References

External links

2010s British reality television series
2015 British television series debuts
2015 British television series endings
English-language television shows
ITV game shows
Television series by ITV Studios

Hello Campers


Michael Kendall Flanagan (December 16, 1951 – August 24, 2011) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, front office executive, and color commentator. He spent 18 years as a player in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles (1975–1987, 1991–1992) and the Toronto Blue Jays (1987–1990).

Flanagan was a starting pitcher for the Orioles from 1975 through 1987. He was named to the American League (AL) All-Star Team once in 1978. In 1979, the first of two years he would play on an AL pennant winner, his 23 victories led the circuit and earned him the AL's Cy Young Award. He was a member of the Orioles' World Series Championship team in 1983. During the 1987 season, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, with whom he pitched through 1990. He returned to Baltimore to close out his playing career as a relief pitcher in 1991 and 1992. During this second tour, he combined with three other pitchers to throw a no-hitter against the Oakland Athletics on July 13, 1991. He was also the last Orioles pitcher to appear in a major-league contest at Memorial Stadium. In an 18-season career, Flanagan posted a 167–143 record with 1,491 strikeouts and a 3.90 ERA in 2,770 innings pitched.

He served in three different positions with the Orioles after his retirement as an active player. He was the pitching coach in 1995 and 1998 and the executive vice president of baseball operations from 2006 through 2008. At the time of his death, he was one of the team's broadcasters, a role he had previously held three times (1994, 1996–1997, and 1999–2002).

Early years
Born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, Mike was one of four children born to Ed and Lorraine Flanagan, the younger of their two sons. His grandfather, Ed Sr., had been a pitcher in the Boston Braves organization who could throw with both hands, and his father Ed had played minor league ball in the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers systems. Ed died on December 13, 2020.  Under their tutelage, Flanagan once struck out 18 batters in a six inning Little League game.

Flanagan graduated from Manchester (NH) Memorial High School, where he was on the baseball and basketball teams that each won consecutive New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) Class L titles in 1970 and 1971. His pitching was limited in 1971 because of a left elbow injury he had sustained while playing American Legion Baseball for the local Henry J. Sweeney Post the previous summer. This factored into him not signing a contract after he was picked by the Houston Astros in the 15th round (346th overall) of the 1971 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft.

University of Massachusetts
Flanagan attended the University of Massachusetts (UMass), where he played baseball for the Minutemen in 1972 and 1973. He was a first-team All-Yankee Conference and first team All-New England selection in 1973, when he posted a 9–1 record with a 1.72 earned run average (ERA) and 89 strikeouts, leading the Yankee Conference in all 3 categories. His .900 winning percentage was the best school single-season mark until Scott Meaney had a 6–0 record in 1990. Flanagan had a career ERA of 1.19 and a career winning percentage of .923 (12–1), which are both still the best marks in school history. In addition to pitching for UMass, Flanagan played in the outfield. Offensively, he batted .320 in 128 at bats with six home runs and 29 runs batted in (RBI).

As a freshman, Flanagan played basketball at UMass on the same Freshmen team as Rick Pitino. Flanagan and Pitino crossed paths with Julius Erving, who was a junior on the Varsity at the time. Flanagan said, "I really didn't know much about Dr. J until I came down on a fast break and pulled up to take a jump shot. Dr. J was nowhere in the area but, out of nowhere, he blocked the shot and nine players were running the other way. First thing I thought? Better work on my slider, because this is a whole different level of play." He received his degree from the UMass College of Education in 1975, and he was inducted into the UMass Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.

He was a pitcher and outfielder for the Falmouth Commodores in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) during the summer of 1972. On the mound, he had a 7–1 record and a 2.18 ERA, while at the plate he batted .286 with 7 home runs. He was a member of the CCBL's inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2000.

Professional career

Baltimore Orioles (1975–1987)

Breaking into the big leagues (1975–1976)
Flanagan was selected again in the 1973 MLB draft, this time by the Baltimore Orioles in the 7th round (159th overall). When he signed with the Orioles, the ball club agreed to finance the remainder of his college education. He progressed through the organization, with stops at Class A Miami (1973–1974), Class AA Asheville (1974), and Class AAA Rochester, where he went 13–4 with a 2.50 ERA in 1975.

His MLB career began with two appearances against the New York Yankees in the last month of the 1975 campaign. He made his debut pitching  innings in relief of starter Wayne Garland in a 5–4 victory in the opener of a twi-night doubleheader at Memorial Stadium on September 5. His first start and decision was a 3–2 loss at Shea Stadium in the nightcap of another twin bill 23 days later on September 28 which was the final game of the regular season. He was on the verge of a shutout until the bottom of the ninth when the first three batters he faced reached base and Dyar Miller allowed all of them to score on a single and an error.

Flanagan's 1976 campaign was split between Rochester and Baltimore. He did not get his first Major League win until a 7–1 complete-game triumph at home over the eventual American League (AL) West champion Kansas City Royals on September 1. In 20 games (10 starts), he had a 3–5 record, a 4.13 ERA, 56 strikeouts, 33 walks, and 83 hits allowed in 85 innings pitched.

Full-time starter and All-Star (1977–1978)

By 1977, Flanagan was serving as a starting pitcher full-time; the season was the first of four straight in which he would pitch at least 230 innings. On May 14, he threw his first career shutout, holding the Oakland Athletics to five hits in a 2–0 victory at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. He had 13 strikeouts on September 27 when the Orioles defeated the Detroit Tigers 6–1. In 36 games (33 starts), he had a 15–10 record, a 3.64 ERA, 149 strikeouts, 70 walks, and 235 hits allowed in 235 innings.

In 1978, Flanagan was the Orioles' Opening Day starter, the only year from 1974 through 1980 that Jim Palmer did not make the Opening Day start for Baltimore. Flanagan had a 10–1 record from May 5 through June 22, 1978, including a six-game winning streak from May 31 through June 22. He was selected to his only All-Star Game in 1978 after posting a 12–6 record and a 3.16 ERA before the All-Star Break. Three times did he pitch over nine innings in a game: 11 on June 13 in a 3–2 victory over the Seattle Mariners, 11 on July 17 in a 2–0 loss to the Texas Rangers, and  on September 22 in a 7–5 loss to the Tigers. He was not quite as effective in the second part of the season, as his record was just 7–9 and his ERA was 4.60. Towards the end of the season, on September 26, he was one out away from pitching a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians, with the Orioles leading 3–0. Then, Gary Alexander hit a home run. After the next two batters singled, bringing the potential go-ahead run to the plate, manager Earl Weaver replaced Flanagan with Don Stanhouse, who struck out the next hitter to preserve the victory. Flanagan was a workhorse for the Orioles in 1978, tying with Dennis Leonard for the AL lead with 40 games started and ranking fourth in the AL with  innings pitched (behind teammate Palmer's 296, Leonard's , and Mike Caldwell's ), though he also led the AL in earned runs allowed with 126. His 19 wins were tied with Paul Splittorff for seventh in the AL, and he also tied with four others for fifth in the AL with 15 losses. He had a 4.03 ERA and ranked fourth in the AL with 167 strikeouts (behind Nolan Ryan's 260, Ron Guidry's 248, and Leonard's 183).

Cy Young Award winner (1979)
After posting a 12–6 record and a 4.05 ERA before the All-Star break in 1979, Flanagan posted a 12–3 record and a 2.15 ERA in the latter part of the season. From July 9 through September 13, the Orioles only lost one game he pitched, an outing against the Yankees where Flanagan allowed three runs in a complete game but Tommy John allowed only two for New York. Flanagan posted a 12–1 record over 15 games during the stretch. In the second game of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays on September 1, Flanagan allowed one run and seven hits in a complete game, 5–1 victory, becoming the first pitcher in the major leagues to win 20 games in 1979. After the game, pitching coach Ray Miller suggested that Flanagan's fastball was underrated, claiming that only five pitchers had thrown a harder one all year. Flanagan credited some of his success to learning how to throw a changeup; Scott McGregor taught him the pitch that season.

The 1979 season proved to be Flanagan's best, as he finished the year with a record of 23–9 and an ERA of 3.08. He led the AL with 23 wins and five shutouts (tying for the latter with Ryan and Leonard), also ranking among AL leaders with a 3.08 ERA (fourth behind Ron Guidry's 2.78, John's 2.96, and Dennis Eckersley's 2.99), 190 strikeouts (third behind Ryan's 223 and Guidry's 201), and  innings pitched (third behind teammate Dennis Martínez's  and John's ).
He won the Cy Young Award and the Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year Award, also finishing sixth in AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting as the Orioles won the AL East.

Palmer tried to convince Weaver to start Flanagan instead of him in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series (ALCS) against the California Angels, but Weaver insisted on going with the more experienced Palmer in a game the Orioles ultimately won 6–3 in 10 innings. The starter for Game 2, Flanagan held the Angels to three runs through seven innings before getting pulled in the top of the eighth after the first three runners reached (though Rod Carew did so on an error). He was charged with six runs (four earned) in seven innings but picked up the win in Baltimore's 9–8 victory; Baltimore defeated the Angels in four games. Flanagan started Game 1 of the World Series, allowing four runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates but pitching the whole game in Baltimore's 5–4 triumph. In Game 5, he threw shutout baseball for the first five innings but allowed two runs in the sixth as the Orioles fell behind 2–1. When Rick Dempsey doubled with two outs in the seventh inning, Weaver opted to pinch hit for Flanagan with Pat Kelly, in hopes of getting a run. Kelly struck out, and the Orioles went on to lose 7–1, with Flanagan taking the loss. Flanagan also was one of five pitchers the Orioles used in the ninth inning of Game 7. He gave up a single to the only batter he faced, Omar Moreno, who later scored as Pittsburgh went on to win the game 4–1 and the series 4–3. After Flanagan's season ended, on November 10, his hometown of Manchester honored him with "Mike Flanagan Day," in which he was escorted through town in a motorcade to the applause of over 1,000 spectators.

New contract & World Series victor (1980–1983)
Against the Tigers on September 17, 1980, Flanagan was called for a balk, which led to one of Weaver's most infamous tirades. After arguing with the umpire for about a dozen minutes, Weaver returned to the dugout and told Flanagan it was a bad call, to which Flanagan responded that he had indeed balked. The Orioles still won the game 9–3. Although his ERA was over a run higher for the team in 1980, he had a winning record once again. In 37 games (all starts), he had a 16–13 record, a 4.12 ERA, 128 strikeouts, and 71 walks. He was eighth in the AL with  innings pitched but led the league in hits allowed with 278.

The  1981 Major League Baseball strike resulted in the cancellation of games in June and July. Flanagan's season was further interrupted in September, when tendonitis ended his streak of 157 scheduled starts made. "It's just an oil change and a 30,000-inning checkup," he told reporters. In 20 games (all starts), he had a 9–6 record, a 4.19 ERA, 72 strikeouts, 37 walks, and 108 hits allowed in 116 innings.

Prior to the 1982 season, Flanagan and the Orioles went to arbitration concerning his contract for the year. Unusually, Flanagan's requested price ($485,000 a year) was lower than the team's requested price ($500,000 a year), as the Orioles were not sure how much money he would be requesting. Flanagan accepted their offer in a five-year contract with an option for a sixth year. With no interruptions to his season this time, he was again able to pitch over 200 innings, with 236 thrown. In 36 games (35 starts), he had a 15–11 record, a 3.97 ERA, 103 strikeouts, and 76 walks in 36 games (35 starts).

Flanagan's 1983 season started strong, as he won his first six decisions, culminating in a seven-hit shutout of the Seattle Mariners on May 11. However, he suffered a major injury in the first inning of the opener of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox on May 17, twisting his left knee. The injury kept him out of action until August 7 and kept his knee in a brace until May 24, 1984. Still, Flanagan won five games in a row from August 28 through September 17 as Baltimore won the AL East title. In 20 games (all starts), he had a 12–4 record, a 3.30 ERA, 50 strikeouts, 31 walks, and 135 hits allowed in  innings pitched. His .750 winning percentage was third in the AL, behind Moose Haas's .813 and Richard Dotson's .759.

In Game 3 of the ALCS against the White Sox, Flanagan held the team to one run before getting replaced by Sammy Stewart in the sixth inning with his team up 6–1. He was awarded the victory in the 11–1 triumph, and Baltimore went on to defeat Chicago in four games. He started Game 3 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, giving up solo home runs to Gary Matthews and Joe Morgan before getting pinch-hit for by Ken Singleton in the fifth inning, as Baltimore had a man on second with two outs and a chance to score its first run against Steve Carlton. Singleton struck out, but the Orioles went on to win 3–2 before eventually winning the series in five games. Though 1979 was his best season statistically, Flanagan considered the World Championship campaign of 1983 as his best year in baseball.

Last effective year with the Orioles and injuries (1984–1987)
The 1984 season would be Flanagan's last effective one with the Orioles. A three-hit shutout of the Royals in the second game of a doubleheader propelled his record to 9–6, but he lost his next five starts. Through August 18, he had a 9–11 record. Starting August 19, he posted a 4–2 record and a 3.57 ERA over the remainder of the year to finish the season at 13–13. In 34 games (all starts), he had a 3.53 ERA, 115 strikeouts, 81 walks, and 213 hits allowed in  innings. It was the last season in which he would record at least 100 strikeouts.

On January 24, 1985, Flanagan suffered another major injury, tearing his left Achilles tendon during a charity basketball game. The injury kept him out until July. In 15 starts, he had a 4–5 record, a 5.13 ERA, 42 strikeouts, 28 walks, and 101 hits allowed in 86 innings pitched.

Eight years after his first, Flanagan made his only other Opening Day start for the Orioles in 1986. His 1986 and 1987 campaigns were both affected by a return of his elbow tendonitis, which cost him four starts in 1986 and two months in 1987. In 29 games (28 starts) in 1986, he had a 7–11 record, a 4.24 ERA, 96 strikeouts, 66 walks, and 179 hits allowed in 172 innings pitched. Through the end of August 1987, he was 3–6 with a 4.94 ERA, though he was 3–1 with a 3.71 ERA since returning from the tendonitis injury.

Toronto Blue Jays (1987–1990)
Flanagan had been quite successful against Toronto in his career, as his 17–10 record was the best of any pitcher against the franchise since they were created in 1977. He was traded from the Orioles to the Toronto Blue Jays for Oswaldo Peraza on August 31, 1987, in a transaction that was completed four days later on September 4 when José Mesa was sent to Baltimore. When Flanagan joined the Blue Jays, the team released Phil Niekro to make room for him on their roster. His most memorable performance with the Blue Jays took place at Tiger Stadium on October 3, 1987, the penultimate game of the regular season. With Toronto in a first-place tie with Detroit and having lost its last five contests, Flanagan outlasted Jack Morris by pitching 11 innings before departing with the match deadlocked at 2–2. The Blue Jays ended up losing the game 3–2 one inning later and the AL East championship the following afternoon. Morris said after the game, "Flanagan was so great, so competitive, that I considered my job to be survival – somehow keep us tied until he left the game. We weren't going to get to the playoffs beating him, we could only get there surviving him." In seven games (all starts) for the Blue Jays in 1987, he had a 3–2 record and a 2.37 ERA. His combined stats between Baltimore and Toronto that season were a 6–8 record, a 4.06 ERA, 93 strikeouts, 51 walks, and 148 hits allowed in 144 innings over 23 games (all starts).

Against the Tigers on June 26, 1988, Flanagan won his 150th game, holding Detroit to one run over eight innings in a 4–1 victory. Healthy all season, he pitched 211 innings, topping the 200-inning mark for the first time since 1984 and last time in his career. He also won 10 or more games for the eighth and last time in his career. In 34 games (all starts), he had a 13–13 record, a 4.18 ERA, 99 strikeouts, 80 walks, and 220 hits allowed.

Though his record was only 6–6, Flanagan had a 3.33 ERA for the Blue Jays through July 21, 1989. Thereafter, he posted a 5.02 ERA, going 2–4. In 30 games (all starts), he had an 8–10 record, a 3.93 ERA, 47 strikeouts, 47 walks, and 186 hits allowed in  innings. Even though he had a losing record, the Blue Jays won the AL East, and Flanagan had his only postseason experience with the Blue Jays. Starting Game 4 in the ALCS against the Athletics, he pitched  innings, giving up five runs and three home runs. One of the latter was Jose Canseco's 480-foot (146.30 meters) shot in the third inning, which was the first home run to land in the top deck of the SkyDome. He took the loss in the game, and the Athletics went on to win the series in five games.

Flanagan's final appearance with Toronto was a start that resulted in a 3–1 loss at home to the Tigers on May 4, 1990, as he surrendered all 3 runs in  innings. He was released on May 8. In five starts, he had posted a 2–2 record, a 5.31 ERA, five strikeouts, eight walks, and 28 hits allowed in  innings pitched. His overall record with the Blue Jays was 26–27. He did not pitch again that season, instead thinking about what he wanted to do next.

Second stint with the Baltimore Orioles (1991–1992)
After being invited to Oriole training camp on a minor league contract in 1991, Flanagan made the team as a relief pitcher. His best moment as a reliever came on July 13 against Oakland. He was called to the plate in the seventh inning after starter Bob Milacki, who had thrown six no-hit innings, was struck by a line drive and had to leave the game. Flanagan walked one but pitched a hitless seventh, middle reliever Mark Williamson pitched a hitless eighth, and closer Gregg Olson pitched a hitless ninth, giving the four a combined no-hitter. On September 27, manager Johnny Oates brought him in to record the last two outs by an Oriole pitcher in the final baseball game played at Memorial Stadium, a 7–1 loss to the Tigers. In 64 games (just one of which was a start), he had a 2–7 record, a 2.38 ERA, 55 strikeouts, 25 walks, and 84 hits allowed in  innings. He also recorded three saves, giving him a total of four in his career, as he had previously recorded one in 1977.

Baltimore's first season at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, 1992, was Flanagan's last. He appeared in his final game on September 27, pitching two scoreless innings in a 6–1 loss to the Red Sox. In 42 games, all in relief, he had no record, an 8.05 ERA, 17 strikeouts, 23 walks, and 50 hits allowed in  innings.

Legacy
In an 18-season career, Flanagan posted a 167–143 record with a 3.90 ERA, 1,491 strikeouts, 890 walks, and 2,806 hits allowed in 2,770 innings pitched. He ranks among the Orioles' all-time leaders in many categories. His 143 wins rank fourth (behind Palmer's 268, Dave McNally's 181, and Mike Mussina's 147) and his 1,297 strikeouts rank fourth (behind Palmer's 2,212, Mussina's 1,535, and McNally's 1,476). He is third with 328 games started (behind Palmer's 521 and McNally's 384) and third with  innings pitched (behind Palmer's 3,948 and McNally's ). Flanagan also ranks 10th with 98 complete games and 17 shutouts. Among the franchise's single-season record-holders, his 23 wins in 1979 are tied with Mike Cuellar's 1969 total and Palmer's 1975 total for sixth-best and his 40 starts in 1978 are tied with several others for first. The Orioles inducted Flanagan into their Hall of Fame in 1994.

Sense of humor
Flanagan was noted for his sense of humor, especially when it involved using puns to create nicknames. In his baseball column in the Sunday issues of The Boston Globe during the late-1970s, Peter Gammons ran a regular feature called the "Mike Flanagan Nickname of the Week". One example was John "Clams" Castino, which was a play on clams casino. Another was "Mordecai Six Toe" Lezcano, based on Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown and given to Sixto Lezcano. When the Blue Jays allowed Tony Solaita to sign with the Nippon-Ham Fighters after the 1979 campaign, he was dubbed "Tony Obsolaita". During the 1980 season, Flanagan called himself "Cy Young", Jim Palmer "Cy Old", Steve Stone "Cy Present" and Scott McGregor "Cy Future." When Storm Davis, whose pitching motion resembled Palmer's, joined the Orioles two years later in 1982, he was "Cy Clone." Flanagan added that pitchers became "Cy-bex" if they were injured and "Cy-onara" when they were no longer effective. Two monikers that stuck were "Full Pack" and "Stan the Man Unusual", both of which were coined for Don Stanhouse; the former nickname referred to the relief pitcher's causing manager Earl Weaver to smoke a full pack of cigarettes while Stanhouse was pitching, and the latter nickname was a play on "Stan the Man" Musial's nickname. This nickname concept was later popularized by ESPN's Chris Berman, who was inspired by the feature in Gammons' column.

Post-playing days
After his playing career ended, Flanagan remained involved with the Orioles in various capacities. His career as a color commentator on Orioles telecasts began when he made broadcasts for Home Team Sports (HTS) in 1994. In 1995, he served as the Orioles pitching coach under manager Phil Regan. After that, he was appointed by HTS as the color commentator alongside Mel Proctor in early January 1996, following the controversial dismissal of John Lowenstein, a former Oriole teammate of Flanagan's. He also teamed with Michael Reghi in 1997. In 1998, he was succeeded by Rick Cerone as he again became the pitching coach for the Orioles, this time under Miller.

Flanagan rejoined Reghi in the broadcast booth in 1999. He continued as a commentator through the 2002 season, during which HTS evolved into Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. After the 2002 season, Buck Martinez was hired as a broadcaster, as Flanagan and Jim Beattie were named co-vice presidents of baseball operations for the Orioles in December 2002. When Beattie was dismissed following the 2005 season, Flanagan became the Orioles' executive vice president of baseball operations, a position equal to the status of general manager. He served in this role until 2007, when Andy MacPhail replaced him as the team's top executive. Flanagan remained with the team in a lesser capacity until his contract expired after the 2008 season.

In 2010, Flanagan went back behind the microphone, joining the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) as the Orioles' secondary analyst after Martinez became the Blue Jays' lead broadcaster on Rogers Sportsnet. Both Flanagan and Palmer provided color commentary along with rotating play-by-play announcers Gary Thorne and Jim Hunter through the 2011 season.

Pitching style
Flanagan's pitch selection included a slow curve, a heavy sinker, a fastball, and the changeup McGregor taught him in 1979. According to Dempsey, who caught Flanagan with the Orioles, "On the days he didn't have good stuff, he just kept coming at you. He would change his rhythm, change his speed, drop down, throw a sidearm curveball—use every weapon in his arsenal to get you out. And then on the days when he had good stuff, you had no chance against him." His fastball was not one of baseball's fastest, but he compensated for this by relying on the other three pitches to win ballgames.

Personal life
Flanagan married his first wife, Kathy Walsh, in January 1977. Their oldest daughter Kerry Ellen was the fourth American born through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and the first IVF baby not born by Caesarean section. The conception was performed at the Eastern Virginia Medical School. She was born at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center on July 9, 1982. Mike and Kathy had a second daughter, Kathryn "Katie" Kendall. Later, they divorced, and Mike married Alex Lynn Debes, with whom he had a third daughter, Kendall.

Death
When Flanagan's wife Alex did not hear from her husband on August 24, 2011, she phoned a neighbor for help. The neighbor went to the home and called 9-1-1 after failing to find him. Police discovered a body on the property but could not immediately determine the identity because the wounds were so severe. The body was later identified as Flanagan, with the cause of death determined to be a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.

Police said that Flanagan was distressed about financial issues. WBAL-TV reported that Flanagan was still despondent about his perceived failures during his tenure in the Orioles' front office. About one year after her husband's death, Alex Flanagan told Dan Rodricks of the Baltimore Sun that her husband had struggled with depression, seeing a therapist for over 20 years. She also said that he had an alcohol problem.

The Orioles wore a black patch bearing the text "Flanny" on the right sleeves of their jerseys for the rest of the 2011 season in tribute. Since 2012, the Baltimore Orioles have kept Flanagan's number 46 out of circulation, with Jeremy Guthrie being the last player to wear the number in 2011.

See also
 List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders

Notes

References

External links
, or Baseball Almanac, or Retrosheet, or Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
Weaver's tirade after Flanagan called for a balk, 9/17/1980

1951 births
2011 deaths
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
American League All-Stars
American League wins champions
American men's basketball players
Asheville Orioles players
Baltimore Orioles announcers
Baltimore Orioles coaches
Baltimore Orioles executives
Baltimore Orioles players
Baseball coaches from New Hampshire
Baseball players from Manchester, New Hampshire
Basketball players from New Hampshire
Cy Young Award winners
Falmouth Commodores players
Hagerstown Suns players
Major League Baseball general managers
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball pitching coaches
Miami Orioles players
Navegantes del Magallanes players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Rochester Red Wings players
Suicides by firearm in Maryland
Toronto Blue Jays players
UMass Minutemen baseball players
UMass Minutemen basketball players
2011 suicides

Mike Flanagan (baseball)


Pengshan Air Base is a People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) air base, located approximately 1 km east of Gongyi Town, in Pengshan County, Sichuan province, Southwestern China.

Beginning in 1949, it was part of the PLAAF Second Aviation School. The Second Aviation School was established on the basis of the 138th Division. The Third Training Regiment had 16 B-5s and 32 BT-5s (PRC manufactured Ilyushin Il-28s) at Pengshan airfield as late as 1986.

History
Built during World War II, the base was used by the United States Army Air Forces XX Bomber Command 468th Bombardment Group as an airfield to stage Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombing missions from India to attack Japan.  It was known by the Americans as Pengshan  Airfield (A-7).  It was one of four B-29 bases established by the Americans in China.

Staging through Pengshan from its base at Kharagpur Airfield, India, on June 15, 1944, the 468th BG participated in the first USAAF attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the Doolittle raid in 1942. Operating from bases in India, and at times staging through fields in China, the group struck transportation centers, naval installations, iron works, and aircraft plants in Burma, Thailand, China, Japan, Indonesia, and Formosa. The 468th BG received a Distinguished Unit Citation for bombing iron and steel works at Yawata, Japan, on August 20, 1944.

When the B-29 bombers were moved from India in February 1945 to the newly captured bases in the Mariana Islands, the B-29 use of Pengshan Airfield ended.  The Americans used the airfield as a communications station and turned over the airfield to the Chinese government on 30 June 1945.

See also

 Operation Matterhorn

References

 Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .

Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in China
Airports in Sichuan
Chinese Air Force bases

Pengshan Air Base


Portland Bill is a peninsula off the south coast of England. It has strong tidal currents. The nearby town of Weymouth was a sailing venue for London 2012.

The Bill is a narrow promontory at the southern end of the Isle of Portland. It is the southernmost point of Dorset, England. One of Portland's most popular destinations is the Portland Bill Lighthouse.

Dorset

Portland Bill


Vladimir Šubic (23 May 1894 – 16 November 1946) was a Slovene architect. He designed many buildings, most notably Nebotičnik in Ljubljana, which was the tallest building in Yugoslavia upon its completion.

Life
Šubic was born in Ljubljana, then the capital of the Duchy of Carniola, part of Austria-Hungary. He began his studies at the Technical University of Vienna in 1912, studying mechanical engineering. He studied shipbuilding at the University of Graz a year later, and in 1919 enrolled in the department of architecture at VTŠ in Prague. He passed his final examinations in 1922 and began his career as an architect and engineer.

He returned to Ljubljana, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and soon became a successful architect. His interest in contemporary architectural developments led him to design the first Slovene skyscraper, based on the most recent architectural developments.

After World War II his career became endangered because of his liberal worldview, regarded as hostile by the new Communist authorities. He was first imprisoned on secret charges and sentenced to forced labor, and then released and denied work. In 1946, he was sent by the Titoist regime of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia to the work brigade in Bosnia, to work as an engineer on the construction of the Brčko-Banovići railway line. He died in Lukavac building the line the same year under unknown circumstances, although the cause of death was officially reported as a heart attack. He is buried in the Škofja Loka cemetery.

Buildings

Vladimir Šubic was the architect of many buildings. Below is a list of his more notable accomplishments:

The Nebotičnik high-rise
The Koehler Mansion
The Meksika apartment house
The Chamber of Labour (Delavska zbornica), now the seat of the Slovenian Cinematheque
Several apartment blocks for the Pension Fund Institution (Pokojninski zavod)
The tomb for the Jelačin family
The Šubic Mansion
The Palace of Trade
The Grafika Palace
The Palace of Trade Academy
The Udarnik Cinema in Maribor
"Putnikov paviljon" in Celje

References

External links

Vladimir Šubic , Arhitekturni vodnik

1894 births
1946 deaths
Architects from Ljubljana
TU Wien alumni
University of Graz alumni

Vladimir Šubic


Bonlanden is a former municipality in the Esslingen district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

It was first recorded in the 12th century as Bonlandum.

In 1975 it was merged with the municipalities Bernhausen, Plattenhardt, Sielmingen and Harthausen to form the new town Filderstadt. Bonlanden is today a quartier of Filderstadt, formally named Filderstadt-Bonlanden. It has 10,296 inhabitants.

Villages in Baden-Württemberg
Former municipalities in Baden-Württemberg

Bonlanden


Rain of the Children is a 2008 feature film written, directed and produced by Vincent Ward. It stars Rena Owen and Temuera Morrison.

In Rain of the Children, Ward further explores the subject of his earlier film, In Spring One Plants Alone when, as a young film student he travelled to the Ureweras and documented the lives of an elderly Māori woman (Puhi) and her schizophrenic son (Niki).

Cast
 Rena Owen, star of Once Were Warriors features as Puhi Tatu. Miriama Rangi, Mikaira Tawhara Harmony Wihapi and Melody Wihapi all play Puhi at different stages of her life, along with other Tuhoe actresses.
 Temuera Morrison from Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Once Were Warriors plays the prophet Rua Kenana, to whose community in Maungapohatu Puhi belonged as an adolescent.
 Waihoroi Shortland plays the part of Puhi's adult son Niki.
 Other featured cast include Taungaroa Emile, Mahue Tawa, Mikira Jenkem, Katarina Nohopai Tangiwai, Kimikimi Mane and Ray Pomare.
 Many Tuhoe descendants played parts, recreating scenes their ancestors had experienced.
 Key Tuhoe elders and historians are interviewed in the film.
 Vincent Ward plays himself in the film.

Production
Rain of The Children was filmed on location in Tuhoe country in the Urewera ranges in New Zealand. The production returned to the places Puhi had lived and the sacred mountain, Maungapohatu, where traces of Rua's community still remain.

Release
Rain of The Children world premiere was at the Sydney Film Festival (In Competition) on 7 June 2008.

Voted by the audience from 250 feature films, Rain of the Children won the Grand Prix at Era New Horizons Film Festival—a major international film festival in Poland. The film was also nominated for best director and won best composer at the Qantas Film and TV Awards in New Zealand. Vincent Ward was also nominated for best director at the Australian Directors Guild Awards. The film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

External links

Rain of the Children at Vincent Ward Films
Sydney Film Festival
New Zealand International Film Festival
Review in The Hollywood Reporter

2008 films
New Zealand drama films
Films directed by Vincent Ward
Films shot in New Zealand
Films about Māori people
2000s English-language films
2000s New Zealand films

Rain of the Children


The 1986 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season.  In their fifth season under head coach Jerry Claiborne, the Wildcats compiled a 5–5–1 record (2–4 against SEC opponents), finished in a tie for seventh place in the SEC, and outscored their opponents, 228 to 206.  The team played its home games in Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

The team's statistical leaders included Bill Ransdell with 1,610 passing yards, Ivy Joe Hunter with 621 rushing yards, and Cornell Burbage with 331 receiving yards. This season was the last time Kentucky defeated Florida until 2018 and the last win over Florida at home until 2021.

Schedule

References

Kentucky
Kentucky Wildcats football seasons
Kentucky Wildcats football

1986 Kentucky Wildcats football team


Dirty Martini (born Linda Marraccini) is an American burlesque dancer, pin-up model and dance teacher.

She is best known for her over-the-top performance acts, which mostly incorporate various classic burlesque styles such as the fan dance, balloon striptease, and shadow stripping.

Martini lives and performs in New York City, but tours extensively throughout North America and Europe. She has performed on stages that range from weekly burlesque venues, gay leather bars, the London Palladium and  Carnegie Hall.

In 2004, Dirty Martini was crowned Miss Exotic World.

Biography

Born to an opera singer/visual artist mother and a band director father, she was raised in New Jersey, where she studied dance since the age of six. Martini later honed her choreography skills at SUNY-Purchase, where she graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance.

Performance

Martini moved to New York City and started out working in collaborative theater and modern dance groups.  She then viewed some old burlesque reels when she was searching for a style that was conducive to performing solo and showcasing her voluptuous figure. Shen then started with developing and performing a fan dancing act. Among Martini's notable acts are her homage to Mae West, Jennie Lee, Zorita and Sally Rand.

In May 2001, Martini performed in the first new burlesque convention, "Tease-o-rama", in New Orleans. Later that year, at the Miss Exotic World 2001, she won the Sally Rand Award for Fan Dance. In 2004 she was awarded the main title and the Jennie Lee award for tassel twirling at Miss Exotic World.

Martini has worked with comedian and drag king personality, Murray Hill, playwright/performer Taylor Mac in Red Tide Blooming, follow burlesque performer Julie Atlas Muz and Penny Arcade in Bad Reputation and New York Values.  She also performed in Margaret Cho's 2007 burlesque-style variety show, The Sensuous Woman.

On 6 December 2017 Dirty Martini opened Off-Broadway in Jack and the Beanstalk, the first large-scale pantomime to be presented in New York for over a century, at the Playhouse Theater of the Henry Street Settlement. Adapted from the fairy tale of the same title by Mat Fraser, and directed by Julie Atlas Muz, the production also starred David Ilku, Michael Johnnie Lynch, Matt Roper and a cast of downtown performers. Awarded the NYT Critic's Pick, the production closed on 23 December 2017 and enjoyed a revival the following year at the same theatre, running for three weeks during the 2018 holiday season. Martini played the role of the Good Fairy.

She presently tours theatres and opera houses across the world with Dita Von Teese.

TV and film appearances

She has appeared on the AMC TV series, "Into Character", in the 2004 documentary The Velvet Hammer Burlesque, in John Cameron Mitchell's 2006 film Shortbus, and in Mitchell's video for "Filthy/Gorgeous" by the Scissor Sisters.

She has been the featured subject in two documentaries.  One is the 2009 short film Dirty Martini by Iban Del Campo, which won the best documentary film award at the 2010 FreeNetWorld International Film Fest held in Serbia.  The other is the 2010 feature length Dirty Martini and the New Burlesque by Gary Beeber, which is about Martini and her colleagues in the Neo-Burlesque scene.

Martini also appears in the Burlesque Undressed documentary with Immodesty Blaize, Catherine D'lish, Satan's Angel, and Michelle L'amour, and in Exotic World & the Burlesque Revival, which focuses on the history of Dixie Evans' Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum (formerly The Exotic World Museum).

Martini, alongside burlesque performers including Mimi Le Meaux, Kitten on the Keys, Julie Atlas Muz, Evie Lovelle and Roky Roulette, were featured in Mathieu Amalric's 2010 Cannes-award winning film, Tournee.  A drawing of her is used for the film's promotional poster.

Print media

Martini has been featured in the books, "Striptease, from Gaslight to Spotlight" by Jessica Glasscock, "Burlesque, The New Bump and Grind" by Michelle Baldwin and Katherina Bosse's "New Burlesque". Martini is also featured in "Neo-Burlesque: Striptease As Transformation" by Lynn Sally, released in October 2021.

For the spring 2010 edition of V Magazine, she was featured in a fashion spread shot by Karl Lagerfeld at the House of Chanel.

References

External links

 Dirty Martini on MySpace
 Dirty Martini profile on Jac Bowie's website

American neo-burlesque performers
American female erotic dancers
American erotic dancers
Living people
Miss Exotic World winners
American beauty pageant winners
American vedettes
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American women

Dirty Martini (burlesque)


Roger Bertrand (born July 26, 1947) is an economist, civil servant and former political figure in Quebec. He represented Portneuf in the Quebec National Assembly as a Parti Québécois member from 1993 to 2003.

He was born in Donnacona, Quebec, the son of Georges Bertrand and Françoise Roy, and was educated at the Université Laval and the Université de Paris X. He was a research assistant at the Université Laval from 1971 to 1973, was employed with the Bureau de la statistique du Québec from 1973 to 1978 and with the Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor from 1980 to 1984, and was director general for the Conseil de la santé et des services sociaux in the Québec region.

He was first elected in a by-election in 1993, then re-elected in the 1994 general election, and again in 1998. Bertrand served as President of the National Assembly from 1994 to 1996. He was a member of the Quebec cabinet, serving as Minister of Revenue from 1996 to 1997, Minister of Industry and Commerce from 1997 to 1998 and Minister of Health, Social Services, Youth Protection and Rehabilitation from 2002 to 2003. Bertrand was defeated by Jean-Pierre Soucy when he ran for reelection in 2003.

In 2005, he was named president of the Groupe de Promotion pour la Prévention en Santé.

References

External links

1947 births
Living people
French Quebecers
Parti Québécois MNAs
Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec
21st-century Canadian politicians
Université Laval alumni

Roger Bertrand


Béligneux is a commune. It is found in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the Ain department in the east of France. In 2010, 2,905 people lived in the commune. The inhabitants are the Bélignards. The most important monuments in the commune are a neo-gothic church from the 19th century and the Saint-André chapel from the 13th century. The commune is twinned with Ostfildern in Germany since 1978.

Communes in Ain

Béligneux


The roles of women in Hungary have changed significantly over the past 200 years. Historically, in the present day territory of Hungary, discourses on women's roles, rights, and political access, along with feminist movements, have developed within the context of extremely traditional gender roles that were influenced by Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Calvinism. More recently, the Communist doctrine on women's place in society was also influential. The post-communist era in Hungary has produced a number of organizations to address the needs of the nation's women and mobilize female voters, and several universities now have gender studies programs. In the 21st century, the entry in the European Union has led to a more 'Westernized' culture.

Pre-WWI
In 1790, a man named Péter Bárány petitioned the National Gathering of Hungarian Noblemen to grant female nobles the right to observe the Gathering's proceedings. He argued that these women would be better prepared to raise politically active, patriotic sons, but the assembly did not accept his petition. The first women's organization to form in Hungary was the Pester Women's Charitable Society, founded in 1817; by the end of the nineteenth century there were several hundred similar organizations throughout the kingdom, although, for the most part, they had little involvement in politics. When women gained access to secondary education in the mid-nineteenth century, the large presence of active women's groups helped win the students a more academic curriculum, rather than one that focused on being a wife and mother. In 1895, women were first allowed to study philosophy, medicine, and pharmacy at the university level.

In addition to the advocacy of women's groups, these advances were due, in part, to the Hungarian push to elevate its status as a power in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, and present itself as an increasingly modernized region.

In 1904, Rózsika Bédy-Schwimmer (Rosika Schwimmer), a pacifist and women's rights advocate, founded the Association of Feminists. The group pushed for women's suffrage and helped bring the issue to a parliamentary vote on three separate occasions, although each attempt was unsuccessful. The Men's League for Women's Suffrage was founded in 1910, and in 1913 the 7th Congress of the International Women's Suffrage Alliance met in Budapest. The Association of Feminists worked closely with the city council of Budapest to establish a women's aid office and day care centers; they also published a journal on women's issues that helped to raise public awareness of women's concerns. Other groups active in the early twentieth century included female members of the Social Democrats, and the National Federation of Women Clerical Workers, which sought improvements in the rights of female professionals.

Between the Wars
Following World War I, an independent Hungary began to define itself in a "national framework," and the women's movement shifted to fit into this new framework effectively.

Following the brief Communist seizure of power by Béla Kun in 1919, feminist groups, and other organizations considered revolutionary, became smaller, covert, and less influential; finding themselves in similar circumstances, some feminists, Communists, and other radicals formed working relationships. On 25 March 1920, Margit Slachta was elected as a member of the National Assembly in the 1st district of Budapest. She became the first woman Member of Parliament in the history of Hungary. Hungarian women won partial suffrage and the right to serve in parliament, while the emergence of a party system of government gave women a new, socially accepted avenue for recognition and involvement. Women were particularly active in the National Unity Party and the Christian Women's Camp. As their political opportunities expanded, Hungarian women were simultaneously gaining attention and support in a very traditional role: as mothers and caretakers of the nation's children. Beginning in 1941, women's groups began to diverge further, due mainly to political events leading up to World War II.

Suffrage and politics
Women attained limited suffrage in 1918 (voting for the first time in 1922); and full suffrage in 1945, but as in other communist states, civil rights of both men and women were symbolic, as the system was an authoritarian one. During the communist era, women were members of the parliament (they made up 18% of members in 1949 and 30% in 1980), but this was merely for the facade, as they had little power in practice, with the key players deciding policies being men. Hungary held its first free elections after the fall of communism, and only 7% of the elected members were women in 1990. As of 2018, women made up 12.6% of the parliament.

Communist era
Women were seen as a vital part of the productivity of the state, both as mothers and wives of male workers, and as workers themselves. Although women were included in the workforce in a more equal way under communist rule, they generally were placed under greater state control with regard to their personal freedoms, especially concerning reproductive rights, sexuality, and family life. Despite the official discourse on equality, the communist regime did not seek to genuinely address the deep social fabric of gender subordination. Nevertheless, women did see some gains under communism, despite remaining subordinate to men; they received greater access to secondary and university education, especially in technical fields.

Post-communist era
Beginning in 1989, women's and feminist groups formed and established strong organizations which have worked to address the needs of Hungarian women. The post-communist economy has been particularly hard on blue-collar women who, in addition to providing income, are responsible for maintaining a home and caring for the family. Another important issue for women in the early 1990s was the restriction of abortion rights by conservative political parties. The Feminist Network, which emerged in May 1990, has been a leader in carrying on the movement for women's equality, and the Federation of Young Democrats has been an important political party for female youth and women's movements. The issue of domestic violence has also come to public attention during the past two decades; an important change was the removal of the marital exemption from the rape law in 1997. Hungary has also ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in 2013.
In December 2020, Hungary's Family Minister, Katalin Novák, published a video, lecturing women on how to achieve success, advising, among else, not to expect to get an equal pay.

Family life, fertility and reproductive health
As in most other European countries, in the 21st century, family dynamics have become more liberal, with cohabitation growing in popularity, and the link between fertility and marriage decreasing. In 2015, 47.9% of births were to unmarried women. Hungary has a sub-replacement fertility rate; the total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.43 children born/woman in 2015. The maternal mortality rate in Hungary is 21 deaths/100,000 live births (as of 2010).

See also
 Gender roles in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe

References

External links

 Central European University-Budapest Gender Studies Website

Feminism in Hungary
Hungarian women
Hungary

Women in Hungary


Samsville is an unincorporated community in northern Edwards County, Illinois, United States. Samsville is located on Illinois Route 130.

History
One of the first families to make a permanent home in Edwards County was Lot Sams.  He along with Thomas Carney, John Bell and Isaac Greathouse came in 1815.  In 1821, Lot Sams settled in section 25.

Lot had been a resident of Kentucky and Tennessee before coming to the state of Illinois with his family.  Pack horses carried their belongings all the way to this state.

By thrift, energy, and endurance, Lot Sams had accumulated a considerable amount of property, and the little hamlet of six or seven families (at the time) in Samsville, in Shelby precinct, has the honor of bearing his name.

In 1864 a post office was established there.  The old Shiloh Church was established east about one-quarter of a mile with a cemetery.  Two other cemeteries, Samsville (or Potter), and Ebenezer are located near Samsville.

In June 2006, strong straight-line winds destroyed the Ebenezer United Methodist Church that was located by the Cemetery.  The church was rebuilt in 2007 on the same location as the old church.

In the early 1960s Curma Hoeszle purchased the Samsville store in Samsville.  He also entered into business with Glen Taylor operating the Southern Illinois Tractor & Machine Salvage Company.  This was located across the road from the Samsville store.  These businesses continued till his death in the 1980s.

References

Unincorporated communities in Edwards County, Illinois
Unincorporated communities in Illinois
Populated places established in 1864

Samsville, Illinois


Jeff Sheng (born California) is an American artist and photographer. He was a visiting guest professor of photography at Harvard University in 2011.  He taught as a visiting assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara for the departments of Studio Art and Asian American studies between 2007 and 2012. He is a recipient of The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans.

Sheng's photography work has been described as "historic" in capturing the social progress experienced by the LGBT community in the United States in the early 21st century.

His 2009-2011 photography series "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" documented almost 100 closeted LGBT United States military service members affected by the Don't ask, don't tell policy, that forbid United States military service members from openly identifying as gay or lesbian. Sheng's photographs of these closeted service members were widely published and reported on by the media during the Congressional repeal of the policy between 2010 and 2011, including in TIME Magazine, Newsweek, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, ABC World News, CBS Evening News, NPR, and the BBC News; and his photographs were extensively circulated among service members, military officials in the Pentagon, as well as members of Congress during the repeal process.  Commenting about Sheng's work, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Leonard Pitts wrote, "There is something sharply poignant in these images of those who do dangerous work most of us never have, make sacrifices most of us never will, yet are forced to hide their faces for fear of what it would mean if we knew who they are... The result was this stirring work that has been featured everywhere from the New York Times to the Los Angeles Times to CNN to the BBC."

On June 23, 2012, Sheng photographed the civil union of Will Behrens and air force service member Erwynn Umali, the first public same-sex wedding ceremony held on a United States military base and officiated by a military chaplain, since the official repeal of Don't ask, don't tell on September 20, 2011.

Sheng first became known for his photographic project "Fearless", a series of portraits of athletes on high school and college sports teams who also openly identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Sheng began the project in 2003, and by 2012, the series had over 150 portraits of athletes from the United States and Canada. Sheng has exhibited the project at over fifty colleges and high schools across the United States. "Fearless" has also been exhibited at the headquarters of sports media network ESPN, the 2009 LGBT Human Rights Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, and Nike World Headquarters.

For the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sheng released a 10-minute video slideshow of "Fearless" that was exhibited at Pride House 2012 as part of the London Olympics, which marked the debut of the project in Great Britain.

In August 2008, Sheng collaborated with former N.B.A. basketball player and fellow activist John Amaechi in Beijing, China during the 2008 Summer Olympics, on a blog in partnership with Amnesty International.  Amaechi utilized Sheng's knowledge of Mandarin and previous experience as an American exchange student in Beijing to get behind the scenes in many situations and to gather candid interviews with local people and Olympic athletes.

In 2004, Sheng photographed Evan Wolfson and Mary Bonauto for The New York Times Magazine for an in-depth article written by David J. Garrow about the struggle over the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and the United States.

Sheng attended Harvard University and studied under the mentorship of British photographer and Harvard professor Chris Killip in the Visual and Environmental Studies Department.  For his senior thesis submitted to Harvard in 2002 for his BA degree, Sheng created a small photo album titled "Thesis Album," consisting of sixty 4" by 6" photographs of his personal same-sex relationship from college, with just half a page of writing. His senior thesis was awarded a Latin honors grade of summa cum laude, nominated for a Thomas T. Hoopes, Class of 1919, Prize, and Sheng was given the college's Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts by then President of Harvard University Lawrence Summers.  In 2002 and 2003, Sheng interned for gallery owner and art curator WM Hunt (Bill Hunt) in New York City, and then briefly assisted for the celebrity/fashion photographer Greg Gorman in Los Angeles.

Sheng received his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Studio Art from the University of California, Irvine in 2007.  His MFA Thesis Exhibition included a large forty foot wide by six foot high digitally constructed panoramic photographic installation, titled "Where Matthew Lay Dying: Laramie, Wyoming," originally shot and taken from the spot and vantage point where the hate crime/murder victim Matthew Shepard was found on a fence post outside Laramie, Wyoming.

Sheng is currently a doctoral PhD candidate in Sociology at Stanford University.

External links
 Jeff Sheng's official site
 FearlessProject.org

References

Living people
American people of Taiwanese descent
American photographers
American gay artists
American LGBT people of Asian descent
American LGBT rights activists
American people of Chinese descent
Harvard University alumni
Paul & Daisy Soros Fellows
Stanford University alumni
University of California, Irvine alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)

Jeff Sheng


Wahidin Soedirohoesodo (1852–1917) (in modern EYD spelling Wahidin Sudirohusodo) was a medical doctor and education reformer in the Dutch East Indies who co-founded the Javanese self-improvement society Budi Utomo. Therefore, he is sometimes considered an early figure in the Indonesian National Awakening. In 1973 he was declared a National Hero of Indonesia.

Biography
Wahidin was born on 7 January 1852, in Sleman, Yogyakarta, in the Dutch East Indies. Although he was mainly of Javanese Priyayi (noble) descent, he was also descended from Daeng Kraeng Nobo, an aristocrat from Makassar who left for Java during the conquest of the Mataram Sultanate by the Dutch.

In his youth, he studied in the Tweede Europesche Lager School in Yogyakarta before studying at the STOVIA school in Batavia and becoming a medical doctor. After graduating from there, he was obliged to work for ten years as a government doctor. During this time he became well known for his efforts to improve the health of the common Javanese people.

After retiring as a medical doctor, Wahidin took an interest in improving educational opportunities for elite Javanese youth. He was not a radical anti-colonialist, but believed that Javanese culture could be brought up to a higher level with access to European-style education. This fit with the Dutch policy of the time, called Ethical Policy, which aimed to selectively improve education for elite Indonesians. In 1907, while touring to raise funds for the aforementioned educational goals, he visited the students in STOVIA in Batavia, where he met Soetomo, who was a young student there at the time. This encounter was to lead to the foundation of Budi Utomo in May 1908. In the first congress of Budi Utomo, Wahidin was elected as president of the organization after Raden Atmodirono stood aside from the final vote. However, before long he stood aside to allow younger leaders to take charge of the organization.

He died on 26 May 1917, in Yogyakarta.

Honors
In 1973, he was declared a National Hero of Indonesia. A grand mosque in Sleman Regency, completed in 1990, was named after him.

On 14 January 2022, a hospital ship bearing his name, KRI dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo, entered service with the Indonesian Navy.

References

National Heroes of Indonesia
1852 births
1917 deaths
Indonesian Muslims
People from Sleman Regency
Physicians from the Dutch East Indies

Wahidin Soedirohoesodo