En name	Tuva Republic
Ru name	Республика Тыва
Loc name1	Тыва Республика
Loc lang1	Tuvan
Anthem	''Tooruktug Dolgay Tangdym''
Political status	Republic
Political status link	Republics of Russia
Federal district	Siberian
Economic region	East Siberian
Adm ctr type	Capital
Adm ctr name	Kyzyl
Official lang list	Tuvan
Official lang ref
Pop 2010census	307900
Pop 2010census rank	77th
Urban pop 2010census	53.1%
Rural pop 2010census	46.9%
Pop 2010census ref
Pop 2002census	305510
Pop 2002census rank	77th
Urban pop 2002census	51.5%
Rural pop 2002census	48.5%
Pop 2002census ref
Area km2	170500
Area km2 rank	21st
Established date	October 13, 1944
License plates	17
Iso	RU-TY
Gov as of	November 2008
Leader title	Chairman of the Government
Leader title ref
Leader name	Sholban Kara-ool
Leader name ref
Legislature	Great Khural
Legislature ref
Basic law type	Constitution
Basic law title	Constitution of the Tuva Republic
Website	http://gov.tuva.ru/
Date	August 2010 }}

The Tyva Republic (; , ''Tyva Respublika''; , ''Bugd Nairamdakh Tuva Uls''), or Tuva (), is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). It lies in the geographical centre of Asia, in Southern Siberia. The Republic borders the Altai Republic, Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and Buryatia in Russia and Mongolia to the south. Forests, mountains, and steppe make up a large part of the geography. A majority of the people are Tuvans who speak the Tuvan language, but Russian is also spoken extensively. The capital city is Kyzyl. Tuva is governed by the Great Khural which elects a chairman for a four-year term. The current chairman is Sholban Kara-ool.

Geography

The republic is situated in the far south of Siberia. Its capital city of Kyzyl is located near the geographic "center of Asia". The eastern part of the republic is forested and elevated, and the west is a drier lowland.

''Borders:''

*''internal:'' Republic of Khakassia (NW/N), Krasnoyarsk Krai (N), Irkutsk Oblast (N/NE), Buryat Republic (E), Altai Republic (SW/W)

''international'': Mongolia (S) (border line length:

Highest point: Mount Mongun-Tayga, Maximum N->S distance: Maximum E->W distance: over Area: (2 x Austria or 1 x Florida)

Biosphere reserve

Ubsunur Hollow is a biosphere reserve, an environmentally protected zone and a top attraction.

Rivers

There are over 8,000 rivers in the republic. The area includes the upper course of the Yenisei River, the fifth longest river in the world. Most of the republic's rivers are Yenisei tributaries. There are also numerous mineral springs in the area.

Major rivers include:

Bolshoy Yenisei River (also called Ulug-Khem)

Kantegir River

Khemchik River

Maly Yenisei River (also called Ka-Khem or Kaa-Khem)

Upper Yenisei River (also called Biy-Khem or Bii-Khem)

Lakes

There are numerous lakes on the republic's territory, many of which are glacial and salt lakes. Major lakes include:

Todzha Lake, a.k.a. Azas Lake (100 km²)—the largest in the republic

Uvs Nuur - shared with Mongolia and a World Heritage Site

Kadysh Lake

Many-Khol Lake

Mountains

The area of the republic is a mountain basin, ca. 600 m high, encircled by the Sayan and Tannu-Ola ranges. Mountains and hills cover over 80% of the republic's territory. Mount Mongun-Tayga 'Silver Mountain' (3,970 m) is the highest point in Siberia and is named from its glacier.

Natural resources

Major natural mineral resources of Tuva include coal, iron ore, gold, and cobalt. Asbestos was formerly important. Wildlife is varied: wolves and bears, snow leopards, ground squirrels, flying foxes, eagles, and fish - some very large.

Climate

''Average January temperature'': ''Average July temperature'': ''Average annual precipitation'': (plains) to (mountains)

Much of the country is affected by permafrost

History

The historic region of Tannu Uriankhai, of which Tuva is a part, was controlled by the Mongols from 1207 to 1757, when it was brought under Manchu rule (Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty of China) until 1911.

During the 1911 revolution in China, tsarist Russia formed a separatist movement among the Tuvans. Tuva became nominally independent as the Urjanchai Republic before being brought under Russian protectorate as ''Uryankhay Kray'' under Tsar Nicholas II on 17 April 1914. A Tuvan capital was established, called Belotsarsk (Белоца́рск; literally, "Town of White Tsar"). Meanwhile, in 1911, Mongolia became independent, though under Russian protection.

Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 which ended the imperial autocracy, most of Tuva was occupied from 5 July 1918 to 15 July 1919 by Aleksandr Kolchak's "White" Russian troops. Pyotr Ivanovich Turchaninov was named governor of the territory. In the autumn of 1918 the southwestern part was occupied by Chinese troops and the southern part by Mongol troops led by Khatanbaatar Magsarjav. From July 1919 to February 1920 the communist Red Army controlled Tuva, but from 19 February 1920 to June 1921 it was occupied by China (governor was Yan Shichao [traditional, Wade-Giles transliteration: Yan Shi-chao]).

On August 14, 1921 the Bolsheviks (supported by Russia) established a Tuvan People's Republic, popularly called ''Tannu-Tuva''. In 1926, the capital (Belotsarsk; Khem-Beldyr since 1918) was renamed Kyzyl, meaning "Red"). Tuva was ''de jure'' an independent state between the World Wars.

The Soviet Union annexed Tuva outright in 1944, apparently with the approval of Tuva's Little Khural (parliament), though there was no Tuva-wide vote on the issue. The exact circumstances surrounding Tannu-Tuva's incorporation into the USSR in 1944 remain obscure. Salchak Toka, the leader of Tuvan communists, was given the title of First Secretary of the Tuvan Communist Party, and became the de-facto ruler of Tuva until his death in 1973. Tuva was made the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast and then became the Tuva ASSR on October 10, 1961. The Soviet Union kept Tuva closed to the outside world for nearly fifty years.

In February 1990, the Tuvan Democratic Movement was founded by Kaadyr-ool Bicheldei, a philologist at Kyzyl University. The party aimed to provide jobs and housing (both were in short supply), and also to improve the status of Tuvan language and culture. Later on in the year there was a wave of attacks against Tuva's sizeable Russian community, resulting in 88 deaths. Russian troops eventually were called in. Many Russians moved out of the republic during this period. To this day, Tuva remains remote and difficult to access.

Tuva was a signatory to the March 31, 1992, treaty that created the Russian Federation. A new constitution for the republic was drawn up on October 22, 1993. This created a 32-member parliament (Supreme Khural) and a Grand Khural, which is responsible for foreign policy and any possible changes to the constitution, and ensures that Tuvan law is given precedence. The constitution also allowed for a referendum if Tuva ever sought independence. This constitution was passed by 53.9% (or 62.2%, according to source) of Tuvans in a referendum on December 12, 1993. At the same time, the official name was changed from Tuva (Тува) to Tyva (Тыва). However, the Constitution of the Russian Federation is legally the primary law for every federal subject, therefore following the text and the spirit of the Federal Constitution any reference to "sovereignty" or "foreign policy" or any other attribute of an independent state in the Tyvan Constitution is illegal and practically meaningless.

Politics

The head of the government in Tuva is the Chairman of the Government, who is elected for a four-year term. The first Chairman of the Government was Sherig-ool Oorzhak. As of 2007, the Chairman of the Government was Sholban Kara-ool. Tuva's legislature, the Great Khural, has 162 seats; each deputy is elected to serve a four-year term.

The present flag of Tuva — yellow for prosperity, blue for courage and strength, white for purity — was adopted on September 17, 1992. See below under Religion.

The republic's Constitution was adopted on October 23, 1993.

On April 3, 2007, Russian president Vladimir Putin nominated Sholban Kara-ool, 40, a former champion wrestler, as the Chairman of the Government of Tuva. Sholban's candidacy was approved by the Khural on April 9, 2007.

Economy

Tuva has a developing mining industry (coal, cobalt, gold, and more). Food processing, timber, and metal working industries are also well-developed. Most of the industrial production is concentrated in the capital Kyzyl and in Ak-Dovurak. According to the HDI, the republic of Tuva is the poorest region of Russia.

Transportation

Tuva has as yet no railway - although (in)famous postage stamps, designed in Moscow during the time of Tuvan independence, mistakenly depict locomotives as demonstrating Soviet-inspired progress there.

There are three roads leading to Tuva, a dirt track over the mountains from Khakassia to Ak Dovurak, and an asphalt road over the passes between Khakassia (Abakan) and Kyzyl: both of these are cut off by snowfall and avalanches from time to time in winter. The third road goes south, turning into a track before entering Mongolia. The only external bus and taxi services are between Khakassia (Abakan) and Kyzyl.

Kyzyl has both large public buses and private minibus services, and buses and taxis also connect Kyzyl with the larger settlements.

Passenger ferries ply the Greater Yenisei (Bii-Khem) between Kyzyl and Toora-Khem in Todzha (Upper Tuva) when there is neither too little nor too much water over the rapids.

There is a small airfield in Kyzyl with intermittent flights.

Culture

The Tuvan people are famous for Tuvan throat singing.

Khuresh, the Tuvan form of wrestling, is a very popular sport. Competitions are held at the annual Naadym festival at Tos-Bulak.

Sainkho Namtchylak is one of the few singers from Tuva to have an international following. She is also very involved with Tuvan culture. Every year she invites Western musicians to perform in Kyzyl and to learn about the country, its culture and its music. In recent years Kongar-ool Ondar has become well-known in the West as well, in large part because of the film Genghis Blues featuring Ondar and American blues singer Paul Pena. Huun-Huur-Tu has been one of the most well known Tuvan music ensembles since the late 1990s, while the Alash ensemble came to prominence in the early 2000s.

The Tuvan language is Turkic, although with many loan-words from Mongolian. It is currently written with a modified Cyrillic alphabet, previously used Turkic runes, later Mongolian, then Latin alphabets. When part of China, Tuva was administered as part of Outer Mongolia, and the language difference was a determining factor in Tuva seeking full independence following the collapse of the Chinese Empire.

Oral traditions

The Tuvan people have a rich tradition of orally transmitted folklore, including many genres, ranging from very brief riddles and aphorisms, to tongue twisters, magical tales, hero tales, scary stories, and epics that would take many hours to recite. A few examples and excerpts of the epic genres, such as ''Boktu-Kirish, Bora-Sheelei'' have been published. This art form is now endangered as the traditional tale-tellers grow old and are not replaced by younger practitioners.

Religion

Three religions are widespread among the people of Tuva: Tibetan Buddhism, Orthodox Christianity and shamanism. Tibetan Buddhism's present-day spiritual leader is Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama. In September 1992, the fourteenth Dalai Lama visited Tuva for three days. On September 20, he blessed and consecrated the new yellow-blue-white flag of Tuva, which had just been officially adopted three days previously.

The Tuvan people - along with the Yellow Uyghurs in China - are one of the only two Turkic groups who are mainly adherents to Tibetan Buddhism, combined with native Shamanism. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Tibetan Buddhism gained increasing popularity in Tuva. An increasing number of new and restored temples are coming into use, as well as novices being trained as monks and lamas.

Religious practice declined under the restrictive policies of the Soviet period but is now flourishing.

Education

The most important facilities of higher education include the Tuvan State University and the Tuvan Institute of Humanities, both located in the capital Kyzyl.

Administrative divisions

Demographics

Population: 305,510 (2002)(comparable to Iceland)

*''Urban'': 157,299 (51.5%)

*''Rural'': 148,211 (48.5%)

*''Male'': 144,961 (47.4%)

*''Female'': 160,549 (52.6%)

Females per 1000 males: 1,108

Average age: 25.5 years

*''Urban'': 26.4 years

*''Rural'': 24.5 years

*''Male'': 25.2 years

*''Female'': 27.6 years

Number of households: 82,882 (with 299,510 people)

*''Urban'': 47,073 (with 152,542 people)

*''Rural'': 35,809 (with 146,968 people)

Vital statistics

:Source: Russian Federal State Statistics Service

!	! Births	! Deaths	! Birth rate	! Death rate
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008

Average life expectancy: Tuva: 56.5 (average male and female, UNDP data); Russia: (UN data) Male 59 (world rank 166); Female 73 (127)

Ethnic groups

According to the 2002 Census, Tuvans, a Turkic people, make up 77.0% of the republic's population. Other groups include Russians (20.1%), Khakas (1,219, or 0.4%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.

!	! 1959 census	! 1970 census	! 1979 census	! 1989 census	! 2002 census
Tuvans	97,996 (57.0%)	135,306 (58.6%)	161,888 (60.5%)	198,448 (64.3%)	235,313 (77.0%)
Russians	68,924 (40.1%)	88,385 (38.3%)	96,793 (36.2%)	98,831 (32.0%)	61,442 (20.1%)
Khakas	1,726 (1.0%)	2,120 (0.9%)	2,193 (0.8%)	2,258 (0.7%)	1,219 (0.4%)
Others	3,282 (1.9%)	5,053 (2.2%)	6,725 (2.5%)	9,020 (2.9%)	7,526 (2.5%)

As can be seen above, during the period 1959-2002 there has been more than a doubling of ethnic Tuvans. The Russian population growth slowed by the 1980s and has now begun to shrink.

Official languages are Tuvan (Turkic) and Russian (Slavic). Outside Kyzyl, settlements have few if any Russian inhabitants and in general Tuvans use their original language as their first language. However, there is a small population of Old believers in the republic scattered in some of the most isolated areas. Before the Soviet rule, there were a number of large ethnic Russian old believer villages, but as the atheist ideology crept in, the believers moved deeper and deeper in to the Taiga in order to avoid contact with outsiders. Major Old believer villages are Erzhei, Uzhep, Unzhei, Zhivei and Bolee Malkiye (all in the Kaa-Khemsky District). Smaller ultra-Orthodox settlements are found further upstream.

Ethnic Russians make up majority in Kaa-Khemsky District, one of the most remote regions in Tyva. The population is mostly Old believers.

Tuvans are closely related ethnically and linguistically to the Khakas to their north and the Altai to their west, but closer culturally to the Mongolians to their south and the related Buryats to their east, with whom they share their Buddhism.

Miscellaneous

In the 1920s and 1930s, postage stamps from Tuva were issued. Many philatelists, including the physicist Richard Feynman, have been fascinated with Tuva because of these stamps. The stamps were issued mainly during the brief period of Tuvan independence, and had many philatelists in a furor, as they did not conform to philatelic standards. Feynman's efforts to reach Tuva are chronicled in the book ''Tuva or Bust!'' and the video ''The Quest For Tannu Tuva: Richard Feynman - The Last Journey of a Genius'' (1988) which can be viewed online through Google Video.

Tuva was featured prominently in the award-winning documentary ''Genghis Blues''.

United Nations Human Development Index: Russian Federation - Republic of Tyva, rank: 79/79 (the lowest).

Tuvan stamps are mentioned in a line of Gregory Corso's poem Marriage.

Tuvan Sergey Shoygu, Russia's Minister for Emergency Situations since 1994, is Russia's longest-serving minister, and a leader of Russia's governing party 'Unity'.

Tuvans make wishes each morning, sprinkling milk on the ground, to the north, south, east and west, with a special wooden spoon with nine small hollows for the various milk products made.

According to Ilya Zakharov of Moscow's Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, genetic evidence suggests that the modern Tuvan people are the closest genetic relatives to the native peoples of North and South America.

Some Tuvans, even near Kyzyl, still live in traditional yurts, round, demountable and portable dwellings with sectional lath trellis walls, decorated pole roofs and covered with white felt and canvas, with colourful cloth lining. There is a central smoke-hole above the hearth or stove. It is used to tell the time as the sunlight moves around inside the yurt. The interior is arranged with the man's side to the left, the woman's to the right of the door facing East, with the altar cupboard facing that.

Tuvans, as traditional nomads, knew no fixed national borders, which has led to small numbers being in areas outside the present Republic's boundaries, including as follows.

*China - Xinjiang: 'Tuwa' by Lake Kanas, Altay Prefecture.

*Russia - Irkutsk Oblast: 'Tofa' adjacent to north-east Tyva; Buryatia: 'Soyot' of the Upper Oka river.

*Mongolia - northern: 'Tsaatan'; north-western: 'Dukha/Duva'; western: 'Tsengel'.

Sayan Mountains in Tuva was featured in Bear Grylls Man vs Wild popular adventure TV show.

See also

Tannu Uriankhai

List of Tuvans

Music of Tuva

Tuvan language

Notes

References

DONAHOE, Brian 2002. "Hey, you! Get offa my taiga!": Comparing the sense of property rights among the Tofa and Tozhu-Tyva. Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology working papers, nº 38. Halle/Saale: Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. ISSN 1615-4568

Sources and external links

Official website of Tuva photos from Tuva by Stanislav Krupar http://www.krupar.com/index.php?file=www/en/gallery/gallery.html&cat;=20

WorldStatesmen- Russia

Singing Stones -The Republic of Tuva

Website of Tuva Friends of Tuva website Friends of Tuva, Japan Some Tuvan stamps issued in 1920s/1930s ''Genghis Blues'', official movie site Animated slideshow presentations of Tuva More completed collection of Tuva Stamps(1926-1943) TyvaWiki:Main Page The Tuva Trader; Tuva and Richard Feynman media, products and information Buga-shadara A traditional Tuvan boardgame

Audio of the Tuvan national anthem recorded by the Tuvan National Orchestra. The orchestral arrangement was composed by Ayana Samiyaevna Mongush.

Category:States and territories established in 1944 Category:Republics of Russia

ace:Republik Tuva af:Tiwa ar:توفا az:Tıva Respublikası ba:Тыва Республикаһы be:Тува be-x-old:Тува bs:Tuva bg:Тува bxr:Тува Республика ca:Tuvà cs:Tuva da:Tuva de:Tuwa et:Tõva el:Δημοκρατία της Τιβά myv:Тува Республикась es:Tuvá eo:Tuvio eu:Tuva fa:تووا fr:Touva ga:Túva gag:Tuva xal:Сойд таңһч ko:투바 공화국 hi:तूवा hr:Tuva id:Tuva os:Тыва it:Tuva he:טובה (רפובליקה) ka:ტუვა kk:Тыуа kv:Тува la:Tuva lv:Tuva lt:Tuva hu:Tuva mk:Тува mr:तुवा प्रजासत्ताक ms:Tuva mn:Бүгд Найрамдах Тува Улс nl:Toeva ja:トゥヴァ共和国 no:Tuva (republikk) nn:Tyva pnb:تووا pl:Tuwa pt:Tuva ro:Tuva ru:Тыва sah:Тыва sq:Tëvaja simple:Tuva sk:Tuviansko sl:Tuva sr:Тива sh:Tuva fi:Tuva sv:Tuva tl:Tuva tt:Тыва tg:Ҷумҳурии Тува tr:Tuva Cumhuriyeti udm:Тува uk:Тува ug:تۇۋا vi:Tuva war:Tuva diq:Tuva zh:图瓦共和国

Kongar-ol Ondar (Tuvan: Коңгар-оол Ондар) is a master Tuvan throat singer and a member of the Great Khural of Tuva. Ondar was born in 1962 near the Khemchik River in western Tuva. Considered a living treasure by the Republic of Tuva, Ondar is granted a stipend and an apartment for the musical skills he possesses. Jovial and personable, Ondar is probably the best-known face of ''khöömei'' (Tuvan: хөөмей) throat singing to Westerners, appearing on the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' and in interviews for CNN and other networks.

In the Central Asian tradition of self-fulfilling child naming, ''Kongar-ol'' literally translates to "Loud Boy".

Ondar is also known outside Tuva for inviting American blues musician Paul Pena to Tuva. Pena, who had learned throat singing before coming to Tuva, was the subject of the documentary ''Genghis Blues'' in which Ondar was also featured.

He also appears on the Béla Fleck and the Flecktones albums ''Outbound'' , album/DVD ''Live at the Quick'' and "Jingle All the Way".

References

External links

Kongar-ol Ondar's homepage

Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:Russian folk singers Category:Russian politicians Category:Throat singing Category:Tuvan music Category:Tuvan people

name	David Letterman
pseudonym	Earl Hofert
birth date	April 12, 1947
birth place	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
medium	Stand-up, talk show
nationality	American
genre	Observational comedy, surreal humor, deadpan
subject	Self-deprecation, everyday life
influences	Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, Jack Paar, Paul Dixon
influenced
website	CBS.com/latenight/lateshow
active	1974–present
domesticpartner	Regina Lasko (1986-2009)
spouse	Michelle Cook (1969–1977)Regina Lasko (2009–present)
Religion	Lutheran
notable work	Host of ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (NBC)Host of ''Late Show with David Letterman'' (CBS)
signature	David Letterman Autograph.svg

}} David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, ''Late Show with David Letterman'', broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman'' on NBC. Only Letterman's friend and mentor Johnny Carson had a longer late-night hosting career in the United States.

Letterman is also a television and film producer. His company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as its network follow-up ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', currently in syndication.

In 1996, David Letterman was ranked #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.

Early life and career

Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joseph Letterman (April 1915 – February 1973), was a florist of British descent; his mother Dorothy Letterman (''née'' Hofert, now Dorothy Mengering), a Presbyterian church secretary of German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays.

Letterman lived on the north side of Indianapolis (Broad Ripple area), not far from Speedway, IN, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he enjoyed collecting model cars, including racers. In 2000, he told an interviewer for ''Esquire'' that, while growing up, he admired his father's ability to tell jokes and be the life of the party. Harry Joseph Letterman survived a heart attack at age 36, when David was a young boy. The fear of losing his father was constantly with Letterman as he grew up. The elder Letterman died of a second heart attack at age 57.

Letterman attended his hometown's Broad Ripple High School at the same time as Marilyn Tucker Quayle (wife of the former Vice President) and worked as a stock boy at the local Atlas supermarket. According to the ''Ball State Daily News'', he originally had wanted to attend Indiana University, but his grades weren't good enough, so he decided to attend Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana. He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and he graduated from what was then the Department of Radio and Television, in 1969. A self-described average student, Letterman endowed a scholarship for what he called "C students" at Ball State.

Though he registered for the draft and passed his physical after graduating from college, he was not drafted for service in Vietnam due to receiving a draft lottery number of 352 (out of 365).

Letterman began his broadcasting career as an announcer and newscaster at the college's student-run radio station—WBST—a 10-watt campus station which now is part of Indiana Public Radio. He was fired for treating classical music with irreverence.

Letterman then became involved with the founding of another campus station—WAGO-AM 570 (now WWHI, 91.3).

Letterman credits Paul Dixon—host of the ''Paul Dixon Show'', a Cincinnati-based talk show also shown in Indianapolis while Letterman was growing up—for inspiring his choice of career: :"I was just out of college [in 1969], and I really didn't know what I wanted to do. And then all of a sudden I saw him doing it [on TV]. And I thought: That's really what I want to do!"

Weatherman

Letterman began his career as a radio talk show host on WNTS (AM), and on Indianapolis television station WLWI (now called WTHR) as a local anchor and weatherman. He received some attention for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included congratulating a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane and predicting hail stones "the size of canned hams." He would also occasionally report the weather and the day's very high and low temps for fictitious cities ("Eight inches of snow in Bingree and surrounding areas.") while on another occasion saying that a state border had been erased. ("From space you can see the border between Indiana and Ohio has been erased. I'm not in favor of this.") He also starred in a local kiddie show, made wisecracks as host of a late night TV show called "Freeze-Dried Movies" (he once acted out a scene from "Godzilla" using plastic dinosaurs), and hosted a talk show that aired early on Saturday mornings called "Clover Power," in which he interviewed 4-H members about their projects.

In 1971, Letterman appeared as a pit road reporter for ABC Sports' tape-delayed coverage of the Indianapolis 500. David is initially introduced as Chris Economaki in his job as a corner reporter. He interviews Mario Andretti who has just crashed out of the race and asks him a question about traffic on the course.

Move to Los Angeles

In 1975, encouraged by his then-wife Michelle and several of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, Letterman moved to Los Angeles, California, with hope of becoming a comedy writer. He started off by writing material for comedian Jimmie Walker. He also began performing stand-up comedy at The Comedy Store, a proving ground for unknown comics.

Letterman appeared in the summer of 1977 on the short-lived ''Starland Vocal Band Show''. He has since joked about how fortunate he was that nobody would ever see his performance on the program (due to its low ratings).

Letterman had a stint as a cast member on Mary Tyler Moore's variety show, ''Mary''; a guest appearance on ''Mork & Mindy'' (as a parody of EST leader Werner Erhard); and appearances on game shows such as ''The $20,000 Pyramid'', ''The Gong Show'', ''Password Plus'' and ''Liar's Club''. He also hosted a 1977 pilot for a game show entitled ''The Riddlers'' that was never picked up. He was also screen tested for the lead role in ''Airplane!'', a role that eventually went to Robert Hays.

His dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of scouts for ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', and Letterman was soon a regular guest on the show. Letterman became a favorite of Carson's and was a regular guest host for the show beginning in 1978. Letterman credits Carson as the person who influenced his career the most.

NBC

Morning show

On June 23, 1980, Letterman was given his own morning comedy show on NBC, ''The David Letterman Show''. It was originally 90 minutes long, but was shortened to 60 minutes in August 1980. The show was a critical success, winning two Emmy Awards, but was a ratings disappointment and was canceled in October 1980.

''Late Night with David Letterman''

NBC kept Letterman under contract to try him in a different time slot. ''Late Night with David Letterman'' debuted February 1, 1982; the first guest on the first show was Bill Murray. The show ran Monday through Thursday at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time, immediately following ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (a Friday night broadcast was added in June 1987. It was seen as being edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following (particularly among college students). Letterman's reputation as an acerbic interviewer was borne out in verbal sparring matches with Cher (who even called him an asshole on the show), Shirley MacLaine, Charles Grodin, and Madonna. The show also featured comedy segments and running characters, in a style heavily influenced by the 1950s and '60s programs of Steve Allen. Although Ernie Kovacs is often cited as an influence on the show, Letterman has denied this.

The show often featured quirky, genre-mocking regular features, including "Stupid Pet Tricks", dropping various objects off the roof of a five-story building, demonstrations of unorthodox clothing (such as suits made of Alka-Seltzer, Velcro and suet), a recurring Top 10 list, the Monkey-Cam (and the Audience Cam), and a facetious letter-answering segment. The Top 10 list, several "Film[s] by My Dog Bob" in which a camera was mounted on Letterman's own dog (often with comic results), Stupid Human Tricks, Small Town News, and Stupid Pet Tricks (which had its origins on Letterman's morning show) all eventually moved with Letterman to CBS.

Other memorable moments included Letterman using a bullhorn to interrupt a live interview on ''The Today Show'', announcing that he was the NBC president while not wearing any pants; interrupting Al Roker on WNBC-TV's broadcast of ''Live at Five'' by walking into their studio (which occupied the same floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza as Letterman's studio); and staging "elevator races", complete with commentary by NBC Sports' Bob Costas. In one infamous appearance, in 1982, Andy Kaufman (who was already wearing a neck brace) appeared to be slapped and knocked to the ground by professional wrestler Jerry Lawler (though Lawler and Kaufman's friend Bob Zmuda later revealed that the event was staged.) In another memorable exchange, sex expert Dr. Ruth Westheimer included cucumbers in a list of handy sex objects that women could find at home. The following night, guest Ted Koppel asked Letterman "May I insert something here?" and Dave responded "OK, as long as it's not a cucumber."

''Late Show with David Letterman''

In 1992, Johnny Carson retired, and many fans believed that Letterman would become host of ''The Tonight Show''. When NBC instead gave the job to Jay Leno, Letterman departed NBC to host his own late-night show on CBS, opposite ''The Tonight Show'' at 11:30 p.m., called the ''Late Show with David Letterman''. The new show debuted on August 30, 1993 and was taped at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater, where Ed Sullivan taped his eponymous variety series from 1948 to 1971. For Letterman's arrival, CBS spent $8 million in renovations. In addition to that cost, CBS also signed Letterman to a lucrative three-year, $14 million/year contract, doubling his ''Late Night'' salary. The total cost for everything (renovations, negotiation right paid to NBC, signing Letterman, announcer Bill Wendell, Shaffer, the writers and the band) was over $140 million.

But while the expectation was that Letterman would retain his unique style and sense of humor with the move, ''Late Show'' was not an exact replica of his old NBC program. Recognizing the more formal mood (and wider audience) of his new time slot and studio, Letterman eschewed his trademark blazer with khaki pants and white sneakers wardrobe combination in favor of expensive shoes and tailored suits. The monologue was lengthened and Paul Shaffer and the "World's Most Dangerous Band" followed Letterman to CBS, but they added a brass section and were rebranded the "CBS Orchestra" as a short monologue and a small band were mandated by Carson while Letterman occupied the 12:30 slot. Additionally, because of intellectual property disagreements, Letterman was unable to import many of his ''Late Night'' segments verbatim, but he sidestepped this problem by simply renaming them (the "Top Ten List" became the "Late Show Top Ten", "Viewer Mail" became the "CBS Mailbag", etc.)

Popularity

The main competitor of ''The Late Show'' is NBC's ''The Tonight Show'', which was hosted by Jay Leno for nearly 16 years, but from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, was hosted by Conan O'Brien. In 1993 and 1994, ''The Late Show'' consistently gained higher ratings than ''Tonight''. But in 1995, ratings dipped and Leno's show consistently beat Letterman's in the ratings; Leno typically attracted about 5 million nightly viewers between 1999 and 2009. ''The Late Show'' lost nearly half its audience during its competition with Leno, attracting 7.1 million viewers nightly in its 1993–94 season and about 3.8 million per night as of Leno's departure in 2009. In the final months of his first stint as host of ''The Tonight Show'', Leno beat Letterman in the ratings by a 1.3 million viewer margin (5.2 million to 3.9 million), and ''Nightline'' and ''The Late Show'' were virtually tied. Once O'Brien took over ''Tonight'', however, Letterman closed the gap in the ratings. O'Brien initially drove the median age of ''Tonight Show'' viewers from 55 to 45, with most older viewers opting to watch ''The Late Show'' instead.

Following Leno's return to ''The Tonight Show'', however, Leno has regained his lead.

Letterman's shows have garnered both critical and industry praise, receiving 67 Emmy Award nominations, winning 12 times in his first 20 years in late night television. From 1993–2009, Letterman ranked higher than Leno in the annual Harris Poll of ''Nation's Favorite TV Personality'' 12 times. For example, in 2003 and 2004 Letterman ranked second in that poll, behind only Oprah Winfrey, a year that Leno was ranked fifth. Leno was higher than Letterman on that poll three times during the same period, in 1998, 2007, and 2008.

Hosting the Academy Awards

On March 27, 1995, Letterman acted as the host for the 67th Academy Awards ceremony. Critics blasted Letterman for what they deemed a poor hosting of the Oscars, noting that his irreverent style undermined the traditional importance and glamor of the event. In a joke about their unusual names (inspired by a similar joke by Woody Allen), he started off by introducing Uma Thurman to Oprah Winfrey, and then the both of them to Keanu Reeves: "Oprah...Uma. Uma...Oprah," "Have you kids met Keanu?" This and many of his other jokes fell flat. Although Letterman attracted the highest ratings to the annual telecast since 1983, many felt that the bad publicity garnered by Letterman's hosting caused a decline in the ''Late Show'''s ratings.

Letterman recycled the apparent debacle into a long-running gag. On his first show after the Oscars, he joked, "Looking back, I had no idea that thing was being televised." He lampooned his stint two years later, during Billy Crystal's opening Oscar skit, which also parodied the plane-crashing scenes from that year's chief nominated film, ''The English Patient''.

For years afterward, Letterman recounted his hosting the Oscars, although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continued to hold Letterman in high regard and they had invited him to host the Oscars again. On September 7, 2010, he made an appearance on the premiere of the 14th season of ''The View'', and confirmed that he had been considered for hosting again.

Heart surgery hiatus

On January 14, 2000, a routine check-up revealed that an artery in Letterman's heart was severely obstructed. He was rushed to emergency surgery for a quintuple bypass.

During the initial weeks of his recovery, reruns of the ''Late Show'' were shown and introduced by friends of Letterman including Drew Barrymore, including Dr. O. Wayne Isom and physician Louis Aronne, who frequently appears on the show. In a show of emotion, Letterman was nearly in tears as he thanked the health care team with the words "These are the people who saved my life!" The episode earned an Emmy nomination. For a number of episodes, Letterman continued to crack jokes about his bypass, including saying, "Bypass surgery: it's when doctors surgically create new blood flow to your heart. A bypass is what happened to me when I didn't get ''The Tonight Show!'' It's a whole different thing." In a later running gag he lobbied his home state of Indiana to rename the freeway circling Indianapolis (I-465) "The David Letterman Bypass." He also featured a montage of faux news coverage of his bypass surgery, which included a clip of Dave's heart for sale on the Home Shopping Network. Letterman became friends with his doctors and nurses. In 2008, a ''Rolling Stone'' interview stated "he hosted a doctor and nurse who'd helped perform the emergency quintuple-bypass heart surgery that saved his life in 2000. 'These are people who were complete strangers when they opened my chest,' he says. 'And now, eight years later, they're among my best friends.' "

Additionally, Letterman invited the band Foo Fighters to play "Everlong", introducing them as "my favorite band, playing my favorite song." During a later Foo Fighters appearance, Letterman said that Foo Fighters had been in the middle of a South American tour which they canceled to come play on his comeback episode.

Letterman again handed over the reins of the show to several guest hosts (including Bill Cosby, Brad Garrett, Elvis Costello, John McEnroe, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, Bonnie Hunt, Luke Wilson and bandleader Paul Shaffer) in February 2003, when he was diagnosed with a severe case of shingles. Later that year, Letterman made regular use of guest hosts—including Tom Arnold and Kelsey Grammer—for new shows broadcast on Fridays. In March 2007, Adam Sandler—who had been scheduled to be the lead guest—served as a guest host while Letterman was ill with a stomach virus.

Re-signing with CBS

In March 2002, as Letterman's contract with CBS neared expiration, ABC offered him the time slot for long-running news program ''Nightline'' with Ted Koppel. Letterman was interested as he believed he could never match Leno's ratings at CBS due to Letterman's complaint of weaker lead-ins from the network's late local news programs, but was reluctant to replace Koppel. Letterman addressed his decision to re-sign on the air, stating that he was content at CBS and that he had great respect for Koppel.

On December 4, 2006, CBS revealed that Letterman signed a new contract to host ''The Late Show with David Letterman'' through the fall of 2010. "I'm thrilled to be continuing on at CBS," said Letterman. "At my age you really don't want to have to learn a new commute." Letterman further joked about the subject by pulling up his right pants leg, revealing a tattoo, presumably temporary, of the ABC logo.

"Thirteen years ago, David Letterman put CBS late night on the map and in the process became one of the defining icons of our network," said Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corporation. "His presence on our air is an ongoing source of pride, and the creativity and imagination that the ''Late Show'' puts forth every night is an ongoing display of the highest quality entertainment. We are truly honored that one of the most revered and talented entertainers of our time will continue to call CBS 'home.'"

According to a 2007 article in ''Forbes'' magazine, Letterman earned $40 million a year. A 2009 article in ''The New York Times'', however, said his salary was estimated at $32 million per year. In June 2009, Letterman's Worldwide Pants and CBS reached agreement to continue the ''Late Show'' until at least August 2012. The previous contract had been set to expire in 2010, and the two-year extension is shorter than the typical three-year contract period negotiated in the past. Worldwide Pants agreed to lower its fee for the show, though it had remained a "solid moneymaker for CBS" under the previous contract.

On the February 3, 2011 edition of the ''Late Show'', during an interview with Howard Stern, Letterman said he would continue to do his talk show for "maybe two years, I think."

2007–2008 writers' strike

The Late Show went off air for eight weeks during the months of November and December because of the Writers Guild of America strike. Letterman's production company—Worldwide Pants—was the first company to make an individual agreement with the WGA, thus allowing his show to come back on air on January 2, 2008. On his first episode since being off air, he surprised the viewing audience with his newly grown beard, which signified solidarity with the strike. His beard was shaved off during the show on January 7, 2008.

Letterman and Carson

NBC's decision to select Jay Leno and not Letterman to succeed Johnny Carson as host of ''The Tonight Show'' was an embarrassment to Carson, who had all but promised the succession to Letterman. Letterman maintained a close relationship with Carson through his break with NBC. Three years after he left for CBS, HBO produced a made-for-television movie called ''The Late Shift'', based on a book by ''New York Times'' reporter Bill Carter, chronicling the battle between Letterman and Leno for the coveted ''Tonight Show'' hosting spot. Letterman would mock the film for months afterward, specifically on how the actor playing him, John Michael Higgins, did not resemble him in the least. ("They took a guy who looked nothing like me and with make-up and special camera angles, turned him into a guy who looked nothing like me, with red hair.")

Carson later made a few cameo appearances as a guest on Letterman's show. Carson's final television appearance came May 13, 1994 on a ''Late Show'' episode taped in Los Angeles, when he made a surprise appearance during a 'Top 10 list' segment. The audience went wild as Letterman stood up and proudly invited Carson to sit at his desk. The applause was so protracted that Carson was unable to say anything, and he finally returned backstage as the applause continued (it was later explained that Carson had laryngitis, though Carson can be heard talking to Letterman during his appearance).

In early 2005, it was revealed that Carson still kept up with current events and late-night TV right up to his death that year, and that he occasionally sent jokes to Letterman, who used these jokes in his monologue; according to CBS senior vice president Peter Lassally (a onetime producer for both men), Carson got "a big kick out of it." Letterman would do a characteristic Johnny Carson golf swing after delivering one of Carson's jokes. In a tribute to Carson, all of the opening monologue jokes during the first show following Carson's death were written by Carson.

Lassally also claimed that Carson had always believed Letterman, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor." Letterman also frequently employs some of Carson's trademark bits on his show, including "Carnac the Magnificent" (with Paul Shaffer as Carnac), "Stump the Band" and the "Week in Review."

Letterman and Oprah Winfrey

On September 10, 2007, Letterman made his first appearance on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He shared pictures of his son and live-in girlfriend. The so-called feud between Letterman and Winfrey apparently ended in 2005 when Winfrey appeared on CBS's ''Late Show with David Letterman'' on December 2, in an event Letterman jokingly referred to as "the Super Bowl of Love". Winfrey had previously appeared on Letterman's show when he was hosting NBC's ''Late Night'' on May 2, 1989.

Winfrey and Letterman also appeared together in a Late Show promo that aired during CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLI in February 2007, with the two sitting next to each other on the couch watching the game. Since the game was played between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, the Indianapolis-born Letterman wears a Peyton Manning jersey, while Winfrey—who tapes her show in Chicago—is in a Brian Urlacher jersey. Three years later, during CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLIV, the two appeared again, this time with Winfrey sitting on a couch between Letterman and Jay Leno. The appearance was Letterman's idea: Leno flew to New York City in an NBC corporate jet, sneaking into the Ed Sullivan Theater during the ''Late Show'''s February 4 taping wearing a disguise, meeting Winfrey and Letterman at a living room set created in the theater's balcony where they taped their promo.

Response to Internet death threat

On August 17, 2011 it was reported that a Muslim militant had posted a death threat against Letterman on a website frequented by Al-Qaeda supporters, calling on American Muslims to kill Letterman for making a joke about the death of an Al-Qaeda leader killed in a drone strike in Pakistan in June 2011. In his show on August 22, Letterman joked about the threat, saying "State Department authorities are looking into this. They're not taking this lightly. They’re looking into it. They're questioning, they're interrogating, there's an electronic trail — but everybody knows it's Leno."

Appearances in other media

Letterman appeared in issue 239 of the Marvel comic book ''The Avengers'', in which the title characters are guests on ''Late Night''. A parody of Letterman, named "David Endochrine," is gassed to death along with his bandleader named "Paul" and their audience in Frank Miller's ''The Dark Knight Returns''.

Letterman appeared in the pilot episode of the short-lived 1986 series "Coach Toast", and he appears with a bag over his head as a guest on Bonnie Hunt's ca. 1993 sitcom ''The Building''. He also appears in The Simpsons, as himself in a couch gag when The Simpsons find themselves (and the couch) in "Late Night with David Letterman." He had a cameo in the feature film ''Cabin Boy'', with Chris Elliott, who worked as a writer on Letterman's show. In this and other appearances, Letterman is listed in the credits as "Earl Hofert", the name of Letterman's maternal grandfather. He also appeared as himself in the Howard Stern biopic Private Parts as well as the 1999 Andy Kaufman biopic ''Man on the Moon'', in a few episodes of Garry Shandling's 1990s TV series ''The Larry Sanders Show'' and in "The Abstinence", a 1996 episode of the sitcom ''Seinfeld''. Letterman also made an uncredited appearance in the first episode of the third season of the sitcom The Nanny.

Letterman provided vocals for the Warren Zevon song "Hit Somebody" from ''My Ride's Here'', and provided the voice for Butt-head's father in the 1996 animated film ''Beavis and Butt-head Do America''.

In 2010, a documentary ''Dying to Do Letterman'' was released directed by Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina featuring Steve Mazan, a stand up comic, who has cancer and wants to appear on the Letterman Show. The film won Best Documentary and Jury Awards at the Cinequest Film Festival. Steve Mazan published a same-titled book (full title, ''Dying to Do Letterman: Turning Someday into Today'' about his own saga.

Other projects

Worldwide Pants

Letterman started his own production company—Worldwide Pants Incorporated—which produced his show and several others, including ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', ''The Late Late Show'', and several critically acclaimed, but short-lived television series for Bonnie Hunt. Worldwide Pants also produced the dramedy program ''Ed'', which aired on NBC from 2000–2004. It was Letterman's first association with NBC since he left the network in 1993. During ''Ed's'' run, the star, Tom Cavanagh, appeared as a guest on ''The Late Show'' several times.

In 2005, Worldwide Pants produced its first feature film, ''Strangers with Candy'', which was a prequel to the Comedy Central TV series of the same title. In 2007, Worldwide Pants produced the ABC comedy series, ''Knights of Prosperity''.

Worldwide Pants made significant news in December 2007 when it was announced that Letterman's company had independently negotiated its own contract with the Writers Guild of America, East, thus allowing Letterman, Craig Ferguson, and their writers to return to work, while the union continued its strike against production companies, networks and studios who had not reached an agreement.

Record company

In late April 2010, several music industry websites reported that Letterman started a record label named Clear Entertainment/C.E. Music and signed his first artist, Runner Runner. Lucy Walsh announced on her MySpace page that she has been signed by Letterman and Clear Entertainment/C.E. Music and is working on her album.

Rahal Letterman Racing

Rahal Letterman Racing (RLR) is an auto racing team that currently races in the American Le Mans Series, and part-time in the Indy Racing League. It is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal and Letterman himself, and is based in Hilliard, Ohio. The team won the 2004 Indianapolis 500 with driver Buddy Rice. Letterman was a pit reporter for ABC in the 1971 Indianapolis 500.

American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming

American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming is Letterman's private foundation. Through it, Letterman has donated millions of dollars to charities and other non-profits in Indiana and Montana, celebrity-affiliated organizations such as Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, universities such as Ball State, and other organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Salvation Army, and Doctors Without Borders.

Personal life

Marriages and long-term relationships

In 1969, Letterman married Michelle Cook; the marriage ended by divorce in 1977. He also had a long-term relationship with former head writer and producer on ''Late Night'', Merrill Markoe. In fact, Markoe was the mind behind several ''Late Night'' staples, such as "Stupid Pet/Human Tricks".

Letterman has a son, Harry Joseph Letterman (born on November 3, 2003), with Regina Lasko. Harry is named after Letterman's father. In 2005, police discovered a plot to kidnap Harry Letterman and ransom him for $5 million. Kelly Frank, a house painter who had worked for Letterman, was charged in the conspiracy.

Letterman and Lasko, who had been together since 1986, wed on March 19, 2009, during a quiet courthouse civil ceremony in Choteau, Montana, where he purchased a ranch in 1999. Letterman announced the marriage during the taping of his March 23 show, shortly after congratulating Bruce Willis for getting married the previous week. Letterman told the audience he nearly missed the ceremony because his truck became stuck in mud two miles from their house. The family resides in North Salem, New York, on a estate.

Stalking incidents

Beginning in May 1988, Letterman was stalked by Margaret Mary Ray, a woman suffering from schizophrenia. She once stole his Porsche, repeatedly broke into his house, and camped out on his tennis court. Her exploits drew national attention, and Letterman occasionally joked about her behavior in his show, although never mentioning her name. After she committed suicide in 1998, Letterman told the ''New York Times'' that he had had great compassion for her, and publicly expressed sympathy.

Extortion attempt and revelation of affairs

On his October 1, 2009 show, Letterman announced that he had been the victim of an extortion attempt by someone threatening to reveal that he had had sex with several of his female employees, confirming the relationships. He stated that three weeks earlier (on September 9, 2009) someone had left a package in his car with material he said he would write into a screenplay and a book if Letterman did not pay him $2 million. Letterman said that he contacted the Manhattan District Attorney's office, ultimately cooperating with them to conduct a sting operation involving giving the man a phony check. Subsequently, Robert J. "Joe" Halderman, a producer of the CBS true crime journalism series ''48 Hours'', was arrested after trying to deposit the check. He was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury and pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted grand larceny on October 2, 2009. Eventually, on March 9, 2010, he pleaded guilty to this same felony and served a 6-month jail sentence, followed by probation and community service.

A central figure in the case and one of the women Letterman had had a sexual relationship with was his longtime personal assistant Stephanie Birkitt who often appeared with him in his show. She had also worked for ''48 Hours''. Until a month prior to the revelations she had shared a residence with Halderman, who allegedly had copied her personal diary and used it, along with private emails, in the blackmail package.

On October 3, 2009, a former CBS employee, Holly Hester, announced that she and Letterman had engaged in a year-long "secret" affair in the early 1990s while she was his intern and a student at New York University.

In the days following the initial announcement of the affairs and the arrest, several prominent women, including Kathie Lee Gifford, co-host of NBC's ''Today Show'', and NBC news anchor Ann Curry questioned whether Letterman's affairs with subordinates created an unfair working environment. A spokesman for Worldwide Pants said that the company's sexual harassment policy did not prohibit sexual relationships between managers and employees. According to business news reporter Eve Tahmincioglu, "CBS suppliers are supposed to follow the company's business conduct policies" and the CBS 2008 Business Conduct Statement states that "If a consenting romantic or sexual relationship between a supervisor and a direct or indirect subordinate should develop, CBS requires the supervisor to disclose this information to his or her Company's Human Resources Department..."

On October 5, 2009, Letterman devoted a segment of his show to a public apology to his wife and staff. Three days later, Worldwide Pants announced that Birkitt had been placed on a "paid leave of absence" from the ''Late Show''. On October 15, CBS News announced that the company's Chief Investigative Correspondent, Armen Keteyian, had been assigned to conduct an "in-depth investigation" into Halderman's blackmail of Letterman.

Awards and honors

Awards

In his capacities as either a writer, producer, performer, or as part of a writing team, Letterman is among the most nominated people in Emmy Award history with 52 nominations, winning two Daytime Emmys and five Primetime Emmys since 1981. His nomination record is second only to producer Jac Venza, who holds the record for the most Emmy nominations for an individual (57). Letterman has been nominated every year since 1984, when he first appeared on late night television as the host of ''Late Night with David Letterman.'' Additionally, he has won four American Comedy Awards. Letterman was the first recipient of the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence at The Comedy Awards in 2011.

David Letterman Communication and Media Building

On September 7, 2007, Letterman visited his alma mater, Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, for the dedication of a communications facility named in his honor for his dedication to the university throughout his career as a comedian. The $21 million, David Letterman Communication and Media Building opened for the 2007 Fall semester. It features state-of-the-art recording equipment and facilities. Thousands of Ball State students, faculty, and local residents welcomed Letterman back to Indiana. Letterman's emotional speech touched on his struggles as a college student and his late father, and also included the "top ten good things about having your name on a building", finishing with, "if reasonable people can put my name on a $21 million building, anything is possible."

At the same time, Letterman also received a Sagamore of the Wabash award given by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, which recognizes distinguished service to the state of Indiana.

References

External links

David Letterman's Feb. 24, 1978 appearance on ''90 Minutes Live''

Official ''Late Show'' biography

1999 article on Letterman from Salon.com

Tape of Letterman announcing affairs/extortion attempt on Late Show

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople Category:American people of German descent Category:American television talk show hosts Category:Ball State University alumni Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Indianapolis, Indiana television anchors Category:Indy Racing League owners Category:People from Indianapolis, Indiana Category:Weather presenters

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name	Paul Pena
background	solo_singer
birth name	Paul Pena
born	January 26, 1950Hyannis, Massachusetts
died	October 01, 2005San Francisco, California
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Rock, pop, blues-rock, psychedelic rock, Tuvan throat singing
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
years active	1969(?)-1973(?), 1995–2005
label	Capitol, Hybrid
website	paulpena.com
notable instruments	}}

Paul Pena (January 26, 1950 – October 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist of Cape Verdean descent.

His music from the first half of his career touched on Delta blues, jazz, morna, flamenco, folk and rock and roll. Pena is probably best known for writing the song "Jet Airliner," a major 1977 hit for the Steve Miller Band and a staple of classic rock radio; and for appearing in the 1999 documentary film ''Genghis Blues'', wherein he displayed his abilities in the field of Tuvan throat singing.

Early years

Pena was born in Hyannis, Massachusetts. His grandparents were from the islands of Brava and Fogo in the Cape Verde islands off the western coast of Africa, and emigrated to the United States in 1919. Pena spoke Cape Verdean Creole with his family while growing up. His grandfather, Francisco Pena, and father, Joaquim "Jack" Pena, were both professional musicians, and taught Paul to play Cape Verdean music, including Morna. Pena performed professionally with his father, including a summer spent in Spain and Portugal, where he studied flamenco music.

Pena was born with congenital glaucoma. He attended the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts from the age of 5, and graduated in 1967. He then attended Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Pena was completely blind by the time he was 20.

Musical career

In February 1969, Pena's band played for a week at The Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, opening twice for both Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and The Grateful Dead. Pena performed in the Contemporary Composer's Workshop at the Newport Folk Festival the same year. He also played in the T-Bone Walker Blues Band during the early 1970s, including an appearance in the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1972. He played bass guitar and provided backup vocals on Bonnie Raitt's debut album.

After moving to San Francisco in 1971, Pena called the Grateful Dead office, which helped find him work. He opened for Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders at the Keystone in Berkeley and other area clubs many times over the course of the next three years. Pena said of Keystone owner Freddie Herrera, "His idea of an audition was for me to come and open up for Garcia and Saunders. That went on for some time. Whenever he would have somebody, not knowing who would open, he would call me."

Pena's debut album was the self-titled ''Paul Pena'', recorded with guitarist Jeff Baxter, drummer Juma Santos, and former Perkins classmate and Ellis Hall on bass and released by Capitol Records in 1972. His followup album ''New Train'' was recorded in 1973 by Bearsville Records and was produced by Ben Sidran (keyboardist for the Steve Miller Band). ''New Train'' featured Ellis Hall on vocals, along with Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders, and The Persuasions. Albert Grossman, the owner of Bearsville Records (and best known as the manager of Bob Dylan), stopped release of the record after a dispute with Pena and his then-manager, Dr. Gunther Weil. Pena remained contractually obligated to Grossman, and was unable to record for another label.

Ben Sidran gave an unreleased copy of ''New Train'' to musician Steve Miller, who recorded a song from that album called "Jet Airliner" with the Steve Miller Band for the 1977 album ''Book of Dreams''. Miller's version of "Jet Airliner" was a hit single, and went to #8 on the charts. Pena's primary source of income in his later years were royalties from that single, which was a song about Pena's airplane trip from Boston to Montreal to play the first-ever date with T-Bone Walker's band.

Pena temporarily suspended his musical career to care for his wife, Babe, who was suffering from kidney failure. She died in 1991.

''New Train'' was finally released in 2000, 27 years after it was recorded. In 2001 Pena conducted his last tour, playing a number of dates in support of the album. He opened shows for The String Cheese Incident in March of that year, and for Bob Weir's Ratdog in April. He was a presenter at the 22nd annual W. C. Handy Awards in May. He then appeared on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' on June 8, 2001, and played "Jet Airliner".

"Gonna Move," a song from ''New Train'', has been covered by a number of artists, including Les Dudek on his 1978 album ''Ghost Town Parade'', Susan Tedeschi on her 2002 album ''Wait for Me'', the Derek Trucks Band on their 2004 album Live at Georgia Theatre, and by Taylor Hicks on 2006's Taylor Hicks.

Throat singing

While searching for a Korean language lesson on shortwave radio on December 29, 1984, Pena was intrigued by an example of Tuvan throat-singing he heard on a Radio Moscow broadcast. Seven years later he found a Tuvan record at a local record store called ''Tuva: Voices From the Center of Asia'', and listened to it "continuously". Based on that record and extended experimentation, he was able to teach himself the vocal techniques called Khoomei, Sygyt and Kargyraa:

:''After playing the CD continuously for several months and driving many of my friends away by making weird noises while experimenting with my voice, I finally learned a few of the basic techniques of this fascinating group of vocal styles by remembering the styles of some of the blues greats of the past — especially Charlie Patton, Tommy McClennan, and Chester "Howlin' Wolf" Burnett.''

Pena also taught himself Tuvan. There were no Tuvan to English translation dictionaries, so Pena used two dictionaries: a Tuvan to Russian and Russian to English. He used a device called an Optacon to scan the pages and convert the printed words into tactile sensations he could read with his finger.

Pena attended a performance of Tuvan throat-singing at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco on February 6, 1993. He performed an impromptu Tuvan song in the kargyraa style, which impressed famous Tuvan throatsinger Kongar-ol Ondar. Ondar invited Pena to sing in the second international Khoomei Symposium in 1995 in Kyzyl, Tuva. Pena travelled to Tuva and was the first westerner to compete in the Symposium. He placed first in the Kargyraa contest and also won the "audience favorite" category.

Tuvans affectionately call him "Cher Shimjer" (Earthquake), because of the deepness of his voice. Pena said "My voice is lower than most Tuvans. They have a style that makes your voice lower. When I use that, there's a slow song when I hit a note that's four white keys from the left of the piano."

The 1999 film ''Genghis Blues'' documented Pena's journey to Tuva. It won the 1999 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for a Documentary. It was also nominated for an Academy Award in 2000 in the Documentary Feature category.

Health issues

In 1997 Pena was severely injured after his bedroom caught fire. He suffered smoke inhalation and was in a coma for 4 days.

Pena suffered from diabetes. He also waged a long battle with pancreatic illness, and was originally mis-diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He began chemotherapy treatments and doctors gave him six months to live. In 2000 he was properly diagnosed with pancreatitis, a life-threatening illness.

Pena died in his San Francisco, California apartment of complications from diabetes and pancreatitis on October 1, 2005.

Discography

Studio albums

''Paul Pena'', released in 1972 by Capitol Records (currently out of print)

''New Train'', recorded in 1973, released in 2000 by Hybrid Recordings

''Deep in the Heart of Tuva: Cowboy Music From the Wild East'', (various artists) released in 1996 by Ellipsis Arts

''Genghis Blues'', released in 2000 by Six Degrees Records

Live recordings

''Fly Walker Airlines'', the T-Bone Walker Blues Band, 1972 by Polydor Records. T-Bone Walker guitar and vocals; Paul Pena lead guitar and vocals; Hartley Severns, saxophones and violin; Johnny Summers, bass guitar; Vinnie Johnson, drums. Recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival June 17–20, 1972

''Stormy Monday'', released in 1996, the T-Bone Walker Blues Band, by Delta Music. This is a bootleg version of the album "Fly Walker Airlines" taken from the radio broadcast of the June 17, 1972 concert in Montreux, Switzerland. The CD incorrectly lists a recording date of 1968.

''Giant Killers'', Big Bones and Paul Pena. Recorded live at the Freight and Salvage Coffee House in Berkeley, California in February 1991.

Filmography

''Genghis Blues'', released in 1999 by Wadi Rum Productions

References

External links

Pena's official web site

''Genghis Blues'' film site

Paul Pena page on the Friends of Tuva website

Tuva Online: American Bluesman Who Mastered Tuvan Throat-Singing Dies

Paul Pena at the Internet Movie Database

Half-hour 2003 interview with Paul Pena by The Human Chorus, in Real Audio format

Category:1950 births Category:2005 deaths Category:People from Barnstable, Massachusetts Category:Deaths from diabetes Category:Deaths from pancreatitis Category:Clark University alumni Category:American blues guitarists Category:Blind musicians Category:Flamenco musicians Category:American musicians of Cape Verdean descent

da:Paul Pena de:Paul Pena fr:Paul Pena simple:Paul Pena

Name	Richard Feynman
Birth date	May 11, 1918
Birth place	Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, U.S.
Death date	February 15, 1988
Death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Residence	United States
Nationality	American
Fields	Physics
Workplaces	Manhattan ProjectCornell UniversityCalifornia Institute of Technology
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S.),Princeton University (Ph.D.)
Doctoral advisor	John Archibald Wheeler
Academic advisors	Manuel Sandoval Vallarta
Doctoral students	F. L. Vernon, Jr.Willard H. WellsAl HibbsGeorge ZweigGiovanni Rossi LomanitzThomas Curtright
Notable students	Douglas D. OsheroffRobert BarroW. Daniel Hillis
Known for	Feynman diagramsFeynman pointFeynman–Kac formulaFeynman sprinklerFeynman Long Division PuzzlesHellmann–Feynman theoremFeynman slash notationFeynman parametrizationSticky bead argumentOne-electron universeQuantum cellular automata
Influences	Paul Dirac
Spouse	Arline Greenbaum (1941-1945)Mary Lou Bell (1952-1954)Gweneth Howarth (1960-1989)
Awards	Albert Einstein Award (1954) Nobel Prize in Physics (1965)Oersted Medal (1972)
Religion	Atheist
Signature	Richard Feynman signature.svg
Footnotes	He was the father of Carl Feynman and adoptive father of Michelle Feynman. He was the brother of Joan Feynman. }}

Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics (he proposed the parton model). For his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman, jointly with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965. He developed a widely used pictorial representation scheme for the mathematical expressions governing the behavior of subatomic particles, which later became known as Feynman diagrams. During his lifetime, Feynman became one of the best-known scientists in the world.

He assisted in the development of the atomic bomb and was a member of the panel that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. In addition to his work in theoretical physics, Feynman has been credited with pioneering the field of quantum computing, and introducing the concept of nanotechnology. He held the Richard Chace Tolman professorship in theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology.

Feynman was a keen popularizer of physics through both books and lectures, notably a 1959 talk on top-down nanotechnology called ''There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom'' and ''The Feynman Lectures on Physics''. Feynman also became known through his semi-autobiographical books (''Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!'' and ''What Do You Care What Other People Think?'') and books written about him, such as ''Tuva or Bust!''

Feynman also had a deep interest in biology, and was a friend of the geneticist and microbiologist Esther Lederberg, who developed replica plating and discovered bacteriophage lambda. They had several mutual physicist friends who, after beginning their careers in nuclear research, moved for moral reasons into genetics, among them Max Delbruck, Leó Szilárd, Guido Pontecorvo, and Aaron Novick.

Biography

Early life

Richard Phillips Feynman was born on May 11, 1918, in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York. His family originated from Russia and Poland; both of his parents were Jewish. They were not religious and by his youth Feynman described himself as an "avowed atheist". Feynman (in common with the famous physicist Edward Teller) was a late talker; by his third birthday he had yet to utter a single word. The young Feynman was heavily influenced by his father, Melville, who encouraged him to ask questions to challenge orthodox thinking. From his mother, Lucille, he gained the sense of humor that he had throughout his life. As a child, he delighted in repairing radios and had a talent for engineering. His younger sister Joan also became a professional physicist.

Education

In high school, his IQ was determined to be 125—high, but "merely respectable" according to biographer James Gleick. Feynman later scoffed at psychometric testing. By 15, he had learned differential and integral calculus. Before entering college, he was experimenting with and re-creating mathematical topics, such as the half-derivative, utilizing his own notation. In high school, he was developing the mathematical intuition behind his Taylor series of mathematical operators. A member of the Arista Honor Society, in his last year in high school, Feynman won the New York University Math Championship; the large difference between his score and those of his closest competitors shocked the judges.

He applied to Columbia University, but was not accepted. Instead he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1939, and in the same year was named a Putnam Fellow. While there, Feynman took every physics course offered, including a graduate course on theoretical physics while only in his second year.

He obtained a perfect score on the graduate school entrance exams to Princeton University in mathematics and physics—an unprecedented feat—but did rather poorly on the history and English portions. Attendees at Feynman's first seminar included Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Pauli, and John von Neumann. He received a Ph.D. from Princeton in 1942; his thesis advisor was John Archibald Wheeler. Feynman's thesis applied the principle of stationary action to problems of quantum mechanics, inspired by a desire to quantize the Wheeler–Feynman absorber theory of electrodynamics, laying the groundwork for the "path integral" approach and Feynman diagrams, and was entitled "The Principle of Least Action in Quantum Mechanics".

The Manhattan Project

At Princeton, the physicist Robert R. Wilson encouraged Feynman to participate in the Manhattan Project—the wartime U.S. Army project at Los Alamos developing the atomic bomb. Feynman said he was persuaded to join this effort to build it before Nazi Germany developed their own bomb.

He was assigned to Hans Bethe's theoretical division, and impressed Bethe enough to be made a group leader. He and Bethe developed the Bethe–Feynman formula for calculating the yield of a fission bomb, which built upon previous work by Robert Serber.

He immersed himself in work on the project, and was present at the Trinity bomb test. Feynman claimed to be the only person to see the explosion without the very dark glasses or welder's lenses provided, reasoning that it was safe to look through a truck windshield, as it would screen out the harmful ultraviolet radiation.

As a junior physicist, he was not central to the project. The greater part of his work was administering the computation group of human computers in the Theoretical division (one of his students there, John G. Kemeny, later went on to co-write the computer language BASIC). Later, with Nicholas Metropolis, he assisted in establishing the system for using IBM punched cards for computation. Feynman succeeded in solving one of the equations for the project that were posted on the blackboards. However, they did not "do the physics right" and Feynman's solution was not used.

Feynman's other work at Los Alamos included calculating neutron equations for the Los Alamos "Water Boiler", a small nuclear reactor, to measure how close an assembly of fissile material was to criticality. On completing this work he was transferred to the Oak Ridge facility, where he aided engineers in devising safety procedures for material storage so that criticality accidents (for example, due to sub-critical amounts of fissile material inadvertently stored in proximity on opposite sides of a wall) could be avoided. He also did theoretical work and calculations on the proposed uranium hydride bomb, which later proved not to be feasible.

Feynman was sought out by physicist Niels Bohr for one-on-one discussions. He later discovered the reason: most physicists were too in awe of Bohr to argue with him. Feynman had no such inhibitions, vigorously pointing out anything he considered to be flawed in Bohr's thinking. Feynman said he felt as much respect for Bohr as anyone else, but once anyone got him talking about physics, he would become so focused he forgot about social niceties.

Due to the top secret nature of the work, Los Alamos was isolated. In Feynman's own words, "There wasn't anything to ''do'' there". Bored, he indulged his curiosity by learning to pick the combination locks on cabinets and desks used to secure papers. Feynman played many jokes on colleagues. In one case he found the combination to a locked filing cabinet by trying the numbers a physicist would use (it proved to be 27–18–28 after the base of natural logarithms, ''e'' = 2.71828...), and found that the three filing cabinets where a colleague kept a set of atomic bomb research notes all had the same combination. He left a series of notes as a prank, which initially spooked his colleague, Frederic de Hoffman, into thinking a spy or saboteur had gained access to atomic bomb secrets. On several occasions, Feynman drove to Albuquerque to see his ailing wife in a car borrowed from Klaus Fuchs, who was later discovered to be a real spy for the Soviets, transporting nuclear secrets in his car to Santa Fe.

On occasion, Feynman would find an isolated section of the mesa to drum in the style of American natives; "and maybe I would dance and chant, a little". These antics did not go unnoticed, and rumors spread about a mysterious Indian drummer called "Injun Joe". He also became a friend of laboratory head J. Robert Oppenheimer, who unsuccessfully tried to court him away from his other commitments after the war to work at the University of California, Berkeley.

Feynman alludes to his thoughts on the justification for getting involved in the Manhattan project in ''The Pleasure of Finding Things Out''. As mentioned earlier, he felt the possibility of Nazi Germany developing the bomb before the Allies was a compelling reason to help with its development for the US. However, he goes on to say that it was an error on his part not to reconsider the situation when Germany was defeated. In the same publication, Feynman also talks about his worries in the atomic bomb age, feeling for some considerable time that there was a high risk that the bomb would be used again soon so that it was pointless to build for the future. Later he describes this period as a "depression."

Early academic career

Following the completion of his Ph.D. in 1942, Feynman held an appointment at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an assistant professor of physics. The appointment was spent on leave for his involvement in the Manhattan project. In 1945, he received a letter from Dean Mark Ingraham of the College of Letters and Science requesting his return to UW to teach in the coming academic year. His appointment was not extended when he did not commit to return. In a talk given several years later at UW, Feynman quipped, "It's great to be back at the only university that ever had the good sense to fire me".

After the war, Feynman declined an offer from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, despite the presence there of such distinguished faculty members as Albert Einstein, Kurt Gödel, and John von Neumann. Feynman followed Hans Bethe, instead, to Cornell University, where Feynman taught theoretical physics from 1945 to 1950. During a temporary depression following the destruction of Hiroshima by the bomb produced by the Manhattan Project, he focused on complex physics problems, not for utility, but for self-satisfaction. One of these was analyzing the physics of a twirling, nutating dish as it is moving through the air. His work during this period, which used equations of rotation to express various spinning speeds, soon proved important to his Nobel Prize-winning work. Yet because he felt burned out, and had turned his attention to less immediately practical but more entertaining problems, he felt surprised by the offers of professorships from renowned universities. He gained a reputation for taking great care when giving explanations to his students and for making it a moral duty to make the topic accessible. His guiding principle was that if a topic could not be explained in a freshman lecture, it was not yet fully understood. Feynman gained great pleasure from coming up with such a "freshman-level" explanation, for example, of the connection between spin and statistics. What he said was that groups of particles with spin 1/2 "repel", whereas groups with integer spin "clump." This was a brilliantly simplified way of demonstrating how Fermi–Dirac statistics and Bose–Einstein statistics evolved as a consequence of studying how fermions and bosons behave under a rotation of 360°. This was also a question he pondered in his more advanced lectures and to which he demonstrated the solution in the 1986 Dirac memorial lecture. In the same lecture, he further explained that antiparticles must exist, for if particles only had positive energies, they would not be restricted to a so-called "light cone."

He opposed rote learning or unthinking memorization and other teaching methods that emphasized form over function. He put these opinions into action whenever he could, from a conference on education in Brazil to a State Commission on school textbook selection. ''Clear thinking'' and ''clear presentation'' were fundamental prerequisites for his attention. It could be perilous even to approach him when unprepared, and he did not forget the fools or pretenders.

During one sabbatical year, he returned to Newton's ''Principia Mathematica'' to study it anew; what he learned from Newton, he passed along to his students, such as Newton's attempted explanation of diffraction.

Caltech years

Feynman did significant work while at Caltech, including research in:

Quantum electrodynamics. The theory for which Feynman won his Nobel Prize is known for its accurate predictions. This theory was begun in the earlier years during Feynman's work at Princeton as a graduate student and continued while he was at Cornell. This work consisted of two distinct formulations, and it is a common error to confuse them or to merge them into one. The first is his path integral formulation, and the second is his Feynman diagrams. Both formulations contained his sum over histories method in which every possible path from one state to the next is considered, the final path being a ''sum'' over the possibilities (also referred to as sum-over-paths.) For a number of years he lectured to students at Caltech on his path integral formulation of quantum theory. The lecture notes have recently and very lovingly been reedited by Daniel F. Styer and published as a Dover paperback. Not only did Styer correct several hundred typographical and other minor errors, but he included many footnotes explaining, for example, several places where the author used heuristic or plausible reasoning. The second formulation of quantum electrodynamics (using Feynman diagrams) was specifically mentioned by the Nobel committee. The logical connection with the path integral formulation is interesting. Feynman did not prove that the rules for his diagrams followed mathematically from the path integral formulation. Some special cases were later proved by other people, but only in the real case, so the proofs don't work when spin is involved. The second formulation should be thought of as starting anew, but guided by the intuitive insight provided by the first formulation. Freeman Dyson published a paper in 1949 which, among many other things, added new rules to Feynman's which told how to actually implement Renormalization. Students everywhere learned and used the powerful new tool that Feynman had created. Eventually computer programs were written to compute Feynman diagrams, providing a tool of unprecedented power. It is possible to write such programs because the Feynman diagrams constitute a Formal language with a grammar.

Physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, where helium seems to display a complete lack of viscosity when flowing. Applying the Schrödinger equation to the question showed that the superfluid was displaying quantum mechanical behavior observable on a macroscopic scale. This helped with the problem of superconductivity; however, the solution eluded Feynman. It was solved with the BCS theory of superconductivity, proposed by John Bardeen, Leon Neil Cooper, and John Robert Schrieffer.

A model of weak decay, which showed that the current coupling in the process is a combination of vector and axial currents (an example of weak decay is the decay of a neutron into an electron, a proton, and an anti-neutrino). Although E. C. George Sudarshan and Robert Marshak developed the theory nearly simultaneously, Feynman's collaboration with Murray Gell-Mann was seen as seminal because the weak interaction was neatly described by the vector and axial currents. It thus combined the 1933 beta decay theory of Enrico Fermi with an explanation of parity violation.

He also developed Feynman diagrams, a bookkeeping device which helps in conceptualizing and calculating interactions between particles in spacetime, notably the interactions between electrons and their antimatter counterparts, positrons. This device allowed him, and later others, to approach time reversibility and other fundamental processes. Feynman's mental picture for these diagrams started with the ''hard sphere'' approximation, and the interactions could be thought of as ''collisions'' at first. It was not until decades later that physicists thought of analyzing the nodes of the Feynman diagrams more closely. Feynman famously painted Feynman diagrams on the exterior of his van.

From his diagrams of a small number of particles interacting in spacetime, Feynman could then model all of physics in terms of those particles' spins and the range of coupling of the fundamental forces. Feynman attempted an explanation of the strong interactions governing nucleons scattering called the parton model. The parton model emerged as a complement to the quark model developed by his Caltech colleague Murray Gell-Mann. The relationship between the two models was murky; Gell-Mann referred to Feynman's partons derisively as "put-ons". In the mid 1960s, physicists believed that quarks were just a bookkeeping device for symmetry numbers, not real particles, as the statistics of the Omega-minus particle, if it were interpreted as three identical strange quarks bound together, seemed impossible if quarks were real. The Stanford linear accelerator deep inelastic scattering experiments of the late 1960s showed, analogously to Ernest Rutherford's experiment of scattering alpha particles on gold nuclei in 1911, that nucleons (protons and neutrons) contained point-like particles which scattered electrons. It was natural to identify these with quarks, but Feynman's parton model attempted to interpret the experimental data in a way which did not introduce additional hypotheses. For example, the data showed that some 45% of the energy momentum was carried by electrically neutral particles in the nucleon. These electrically neutral particles are now seen to be the gluons which carry the forces between the quarks and carry also the three-valued color quantum number which solves the Omega-minus problem. Feynman did not dispute the quark model; for example, when the fifth quark was discovered in 1977, Feynman immediately pointed out to his students that the discovery implied the existence of a sixth quark, which was duly discovered in the decade after his death.

After the success of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman turned to quantum gravity. By analogy with the photon, which has spin 1, he investigated the consequences of a free massless spin 2 field, and was able to derive the Einstein field equation of general relativity, but little more. However, the computational device that Feynman discovered then for gravity, "ghosts", which are "particles" in the interior of his diagrams which have the "wrong" connection between spin and statistics, have proved invaluable in explaining the quantum particle behavior of the Yang–Mills theories, for example QCD and the electro-weak theory.

In 1965, Feynman was appointed a foreign member of the Royal Society. At this time in the early 1960s, Feynman exhausted himself by working on multiple major projects at the same time, including a request, while at Caltech, to "spruce up" the teaching of undergraduates. After three years devoted to the task, he produced a series of lectures that eventually became the ''Feynman Lectures on Physics'', one reason that Feynman is still regarded as one of the greatest teachers of physics. He wanted a picture of a drumhead sprinkled with powder to show the modes of vibration at the beginning of the book. Outraged by many rock and roll and drug connections that could be made from the image, the publishers changed the cover to plain red, though they included a picture of him playing drums in the foreword. Feynman later won the Oersted Medal for teaching, of which he seemed especially proud.

His students competed keenly for his attention; he was once awakened when a student solved a problem and dropped it in his mailbox; glimpsing the student sneaking across his lawn, he could not go back to sleep, and he read the student's solution. The next morning his breakfast was interrupted by another triumphant student, but Feynman informed him that he was too late.

Partly as a way to bring publicity to progress in physics, Feynman offered $1000 prizes for two of his challenges in nanotechnology, claimed by William McLellan and Tom Newman, respectively. He was also one of the first scientists to conceive the possibility of quantum computers.

Many of his lectures and other miscellaneous talks were turned into books, including ''The Character of Physical Law'' and ''QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter''. He gave lectures which his students annotated into books, such as ''Statistical Mechanics'' and ''Lectures on Gravity''. ''The Feynman Lectures on Physics'' occupied two physicists, Robert B. Leighton and Matthew Sands as part-time co-authors for several years. Even though they were not adopted by most universities as textbooks, the books continue to be bestsellers because they provide a deep understanding of physics. As of 2005, ''The Feynman Lectures on Physics'' has sold over 1.5 million copies in English, an estimated 1 million copies in Russian, and an estimated half million copies in other languages.

In 1974, Feynman delivered the Caltech commencement address on the topic of cargo cult science, which has the semblance of science but is only pseudoscience due to a lack of "a kind of scientific integrity, a principle of scientific thought that corresponds to a kind of utter honesty" on the part of the scientist. He instructed the graduating class that "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool. So you have to be very careful about that. After you've not fooled yourself, it's easy not to fool other scientists. You just have to be honest in a conventional way after that."

In 1984–86, he developed a variational method for the approximate calculation of path integrals which has led to a powerful method of converting divergent perturbation expansions into convergent strong-coupling expansions (variational perturbation theory) and, as a consequence, to the most accurate determination of critical exponents measured in satellite experiments.

In the late 1980s, according to "Richard Feynman and the Connection Machine", Feynman played a crucial role in developing the first massively parallel computer, and in finding innovative uses for it in numerical computations, in building neural networks, as well as physical simulations using cellular automata (such as turbulent fluid flow), working with Stephen Wolfram at Caltech. His son Carl also played a role in the development of the original Connection Machine engineering; Feynman influencing the interconnects while his son worked on the software.

Feynman diagrams are now fundamental for string theory and M-theory, and have even been extended topologically. The ''world-lines'' of the diagrams have developed to become ''tubes'' to allow better modeling of more complicated objects such as ''strings'' and ''membranes''. However, shortly before his death, Feynman criticized string theory in an interview: "I don't like that they're not calculating anything," he said. "I don't like that they don't check their ideas. I don't like that for anything that disagrees with an experiment, they cook up an explanation—a fix-up to say, 'Well, it still might be true. These words have since been much-quoted by opponents of the string-theoretic direction for particle physics.

Challenger disaster

Feynman played an important role on the Presidential Rogers Commission, which investigated the ''Challenger'' disaster. Feynman devoted the latter half of his book ''What Do You Care What Other People Think?'' to his experience on the Rogers Commission, straying from his usual convention of brief, light-hearted anecdotes to deliver an extended and sober narrative. Feynman's account reveals a disconnect between NASA's engineers and executives that was far more striking than he expected. His interviews of NASA's high-ranking managers revealed startling misunderstandings of elementary concepts. He concluded that the NASA management's space shuttle reliability estimate was fantastically unrealistic. He warned in his appendix to the commission's report, "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." He also rebuked some mathematicians for their exclusivity, saying "I have great suspicion that [mathematicians] don't know, that this stuff is wrong, and that they're intimidating people."

Personal life

While researching for his Ph.D., Feynman married his first wife, Arline Greenbaum (often spelled ''Arlene''). She was diagnosed with tuberculosis, but she and Feynman were careful, and he never contracted it. She succumbed to the disease in 1945. This portion of Feynman's life was portrayed in the 1996 film ''Infinity'', which featured Feynman's daughter Michelle in a cameo role.

He was married a second time in June 1952, to Mary Louise Bell of Neodesha, Kansas; this marriage was brief and unsuccessful: He later married Gweneth Howarth from Ripponden, Yorkshire, who shared his enthusiasm for life and spirited adventure. Besides their home in Altadena, California, they had a beach house in Baja California, purchased with the prize money from Feynman's Nobel Prize, his one third share of $55,000. They remained married until Feynman's death. They had a son, Carl, in 1962, and adopted a daughter, Michelle, in 1968. Mathematics was a common interest for father and son; they both entered the computer field as consultants and were involved in advancing a new method of using multiple computers to solve complex problems—later known as parallel computing. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory retained Feynman as a computational consultant during critical missions. One co-worker characterized Feynman as akin to Don Quixote at his desk, rather than at a computer workstation, ready to do battle with the windmills.

Feynman traveled a great deal, notably to Brazil, where he gave courses at the CBPF (Brazilian Center for Physics Research) and near the end of his life schemed to visit the Russian land of Tuva, a dream that, because of Cold War bureaucratic problems, never became reality. The day after he died, a letter arrived for him from the Soviet government giving him authorization to travel to Tuva. Out of his enthusiastic interest in reaching Tuva came the phrase "Tuva or Bust" (also the title of a book about his efforts to get there), which was tossed about frequently amongst his circle of friends in hope that they, one day, could see it firsthand. The documentary movie ''Genghis Blues'' mentions some of his attempts to communicate with Tuva, and chronicles the successful journey there by his friends.

Responding to Hubert Humphrey's congratulation for his Nobel Prize, Feynman admitted to a long admiration for the then vice president. In a letter to an MIT professor dated December 6, 1966, Feynman expressed interest in running for the governor of California.

Feynman took up drawing at one time and enjoyed some success under the pseudonym "Ofey", culminating in an exhibition dedicated to his work. He learned to play a metal percussion instrument (''frigideira'') in a samba style in Brazil, and participated in a samba school.

In addition, he had some degree of synesthesia for equations, explaining that the letters in certain mathematical functions appeared in color for him, even though invariably printed in standard black-and-white.

According to ''Genius'', the James Gleick–authored biography, Feynman tried LSD during his professorship at Caltech. Somewhat embarrassed by his actions, Feynman largely sidestepped the issue when dictating his anecdotes; he mentions it in passing in the "O Americano, Outra Vez" section, while the "Altered States" chapter in ''Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!'' describes only marijuana and ketamine experiences at John Lilly's famed sensory deprivation tanks, as a way of studying consciousness.

Death

Feynman developed two rare forms of cancer, Liposarcoma and Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, dying shortly after a final attempt at surgery for the former on February 15, 1988, aged 69. His last recorded words are noted as "I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring."

Popular legacy

On May 4, 2005, the United States Postal Service issued the ''American Scientists'' commemorative set of four 37-cent self-adhesive stamps in several configurations. The scientists depicted were Richard Feynman, John von Neumann, Barbara McClintock and Josiah Willard Gibbs. Feynman's stamp, sepia-toned, features a photograph of a 30-something Feynman and eight small Feynman diagrams. The stamps were designed by artist Victor Stabin under the direction of U.S. Postal Service art director Carl T. Herrman.

The main building for the Computing Division at Fermilab is named the "Feynman Computing Center" in his honor.

The principal character in Thomas A. McMahon's well-regarded 1970 novel, ''Principles of American Nuclear Chemistry: A Novel'', is modeled on Feynman.

Real Time Opera premiered its opera ''Feynman'' at the Norfolk (CT) Chamber Music Festival in June 2005.

On the 20th anniversary of Feynman's death, composer Edward Manukyan dedicated a piece for solo clarinet to his memory. It was premiered by Doug Storey, the principal clarinetist of the Amarillo Symphony.

In 2009 and 2010, respectively, clips of an interview with Feynman were used by composer John Boswell as part of the Symphony of Science project in the second and fifth installment of his science educational videos, "We Are All Connected" and "The Poetry of Reality".

In 1998, a photo of Richard Feynman giving a lecture was part of the poster series commissioned by Apple Computer for their "Think Different" advertising campaign.

Bibliography

Selected scientific works

Textbooks and lecture notes

''The Feynman Lectures on Physics'' is perhaps his most accessible work for anyone with an interest in physics, compiled from lectures to Caltech undergraduates in 1961–64. As news of the lectures' lucidity grew, a number of professional physicists and graduate students began to drop in to listen. Co-authors Robert B. Leighton and Matthew Sands, colleagues of Feynman, edited and illustrated them into book form. The work has endured, and is useful to this day. They were edited and supplemented in 2005 with "Feynman's Tips on Physics: A Problem-Solving Supplement to the Feynman Lectures on Physics" by Michael Gottlieb and Ralph Leighton (Robert Leighton's son), with support from Kip Thorne and other physicists.

Includes ''Feynman's Tips on Physics'' (with Michael Gottlieb and Ralph Leighton), which includes four previously unreleased lectures on problem solving, exercises by Robert Leighton and Rochus Vogt, and a historical essay by Matthew Sands.

Popular works

''Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!'': Adventures of a Curious Character, with contributions by Ralph Leighton, W. W. Norton & Co, 1985, ISBN 0-393-01921-7.

''What Do You Care What Other People Think?'': Further Adventures of a Curious Character, with contributions by Ralph Leighton, W. W. Norton & Co, 1988, ISBN 0-393-02659-0.

''No Ordinary Genius: The Illustrated Richard Feynman'', ed. Christopher Sykes, W. W. Norton & Co, 1996, ISBN 039331393X.

''Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher'', Perseus Books, 1994, ISBN 0-201-40955-0.

''Six Not So Easy Pieces: Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry and Space-Time'', Addison Wesley, 1997, ISBN 0-201-15026-3.

''The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist'', Perseus Publishing, 1999, ISBN 0738201669.

''The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman'', edited by Jeffrey Robbins, Perseus Books, 1999, ISBN 0738201081.

''Classic Feynman: All the Adventures of a Curious Character'', edited by Ralph Leighton, W. W. Norton & Co, 2005, ISBN 0-393-06132-9. Chronologically reordered omnibus volume of ''Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!'' and ''What Do You Care What Other People Think?'', with a bundled CD containing one of Feynman's signature lectures.

Audio and video recordings

''Safecracker Suite'' (a collection of drum pieces interspersed with Feynman telling anecdotes)

''Los Alamos From Below'' (talk given by Feynman at Santa Barbara on February 6, 1975)

''Six Easy Pieces'' (original lectures upon which the book is based)

''Six Not So Easy Pieces'' (original lectures upon which the book is based)

The Feynman Lectures on Physics: The Complete Audio Collection

Samples of Feynman's drumming, chanting and speech are included in the songs "Tuva Groove (Bolur Daa-Bol, Bolbas Daa-Bol)" and "Kargyraa Rap (Dürgen Chugaa)" on the album ''Back Tuva Future, The Adventure Continues'' by Kongar-ool Ondar. The hidden track on this album also includes excerpts from lectures without musical background.

The Messenger Lectures, given at Cornell in 1964, in which he explains basic topics in physics. Available on Project Tuva for free (See also the book ''The Character of Physical Law'')

Take the world from another point of view [videorecording] / with Richard Feynman; Films for the Hu (1972)

The Douglas Robb Memorial Lectures Four public lectures of which the four chapters of the book QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter are transcripts. (1979)

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out (1981) (not to be confused with the later published book of same title)

Richard Feynman: Fun to Imagine Collection, BBC Archive of 6 short films of Feynman talking in a style that is accessible to all about the physics behind common to all experiences. (1983)

''Elementary Particles and the Laws of Physics'' (1986)

''The Last Journey of a Genius'', a BBC TV production in association with WGBH Boston (1989)

See also

Feynman diagram

Feynman checkerboard

Flexagon

Foresight Nanotech Institute Feynman Prize

List of physicists

List of theoretical physicists

Negative probability

One-electron universe

Stückelberg–Feynman interpretation

Wheeler–Feynman absorber theory

Notes

References

, foreword by Timothy Ferris. (Published in the UK under the title: ''Don't You Have Time to Think?'', with additional commentary by Michelle Feynman, Allen Lane, 2005, ISBN 0-7139-9847-4.)

Further reading

Articles

''Physics Today'', American Institute of Physics magazine, February 1989 Issue. (Vol.42, No.2.) Special Feynman memorial issue containing non-technical articles on Feynman's life and work in physics.

Books

Brown, Laurie M. and Rigden, John S. (editors) (1993) ''Most of the Good Stuff: Memories of Richard Feynman'' Simon and Schuster, New York, ISBN 0883188708. Commentary by Joan Feynman, John Wheeler, Hans Bethe, Julian Schwinger, Murray Gell-Mann, Daniel Hillis, David Goodstein, Freeman Dyson, and Laurie Brown

Dyson, Freeman (1979) ''Disturbing the Universe''. Harper and Row. ISBN 0-06-011108-9. Dyson's autobiography. The chapters "A Scientific Apprenticeship" and "A Ride to Albuquerque" describe his impressions of Feynman in the period 1947–48 when Dyson was a graduate student at Cornell

Gleick, James (1992) ''Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman''. Pantheon. ISBN 0679747044

Krauss, Lawrence M. (2011) ''Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science''. W.W. Norton & Company. 350 pages, biography. ISBN 0393064719,

LeVine, Harry, III (2009) ''The Great Explainer: The Story of Richard Feynman'' (''Profiles in Science'' series) Morgan Reynolds, Greensboro, North Carolina, ISBN 978-1-59935-113-1; for high school readers

Mehra, Jagdish (1994) ''The Beat of a Different Drum: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-853948-7

Gribbin, John and Gribbin, Mary (1997) ''Richard Feynman: A Life in Science''. Dutton, New York, ISBN 052594124X

Milburn, Gerard J. (1998) ''The Feynman Processor: Quantum Entanglement and the Computing Revolution'' Perseus Books, ISBN 0-7382-0173-1

Mlodinow, Leonard (2003) ''Feynman's Rainbow: A Search For Beauty In Physics And In Life'' Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-69251-4 Published in the United Kingdom as ''Some Time With Feynman''

Schweber, Silvan S. (1994) "Chapter 8: Richard Feynman and the Visualization of Space-Time Processes" ''QED and the Men Who Made It: Dyson, Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga'' (Princeton Series in Physics) Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, pp. 373–473, ISBN 0691036853

Sykes, Christopher, ed., (1994) ''No Ordinary Genius: The Illustrated Richard Feynman''. W W Norton & Co. Inc. ISBN 0393036219

Films and plays

''Infinity'', a movie directed by Matthew Broderick and starring Matthew Broderick as Feynman, depicting Feynman's love affair with his first wife and ending with the Trinity test. 1996.

Parnell, Peter (2002) "QED" Applause Books, ISBN 978-1557835925, (play).

Whittell, Crispin (2006) "Clever Dick" Oberon Books, (play)

"The Pleasure of Finding Things Out" A film documentary autobiography of Richard Feynman, Nobel laureate and theoretical physicist extraordinary. 1982, BBC TV 'Horizon' and PBS 'Nova' (50 mins film). See Christopher Sykes Productions http://www.sykes.easynet.co.uk/

"The Quest for Tannu Tuva", with Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton. 1987, BBC TV 'Horizon' and PBS 'Nova' (under the title "Last Journey of a Genius") (50 mins film)

"No Ordinary Genius" A two-part documentary about Feynman's life and work, with contributions from colleagues, friends and family. 1993, BBC TV 'Horizon' and PBS 'Nova' (a one-hour version, under the title "The Best Mind Since Einstein") (2 x 50 mins films)

External links

About Richard Feynman

Leonard Susskind">14 minute talk about Dick Feynman by his friend Leonard Susskind

Gallery of Drawings by Richard P. Feynman

Biography and Bibliographic Resources, from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, United States Department of Energy

MIT OpenCourseWare STS.042J / 8.225J : Einstein, Oppenheimer, Feynman: Physics in the 20th Century Free, independent study course that explores the changing roles of physics and physicists during the 20th century.

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