Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten. Carbon and other elements act as a hardening agent, preventing dislocations in the iron atom crystal lattice from sliding past one another. Varying the amount of alloying elements and the form of their presence in the steel (solute elements, precipitated phase) controls qualities such as the hardness, ductility, and tensile strength of the resulting steel. Steel with increased carbon content can be made harder and stronger than iron, but such steel is also less ductile than iron.

Alloys with a higher than 2.1% carbon content are known as cast iron because of their lower melting point and good castability. Steel is also distinguishable from wrought iron, which can contain a small amount of carbon, but it is included in the form of slag inclusions. Two distinguishing factors are steel's increased rust resistance and better weldability.

Though steel had been produced by various inefficient methods long before the Renaissance, its use became more common after more-efficient production methods were devised in the 17th century. With the invention of the Bessemer process in the mid-19th century, steel became an inexpensive mass-produced material. Further refinements in the process, such as basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS), lowered the cost of production while increasing the quality of the metal. Today, steel is one of the most common materials in the world, with more than 1.3 billion tons produced annually. It is a major component in buildings, infrastructure, tools, ships, automobiles, machines, appliances, and weapons. Modern steel is generally identified by various grades defined by assorted standards organizations.

Material properties

Iron is found in the Earth's crust only in the form of an ore, i.e., combined with other elements such as oxygen or sulfur. Typical iron-containing minerals include Fe₂O₃—the form of iron oxide found as the mineral hematite, and FeS₂—pyrite (fool's gold). Iron is extracted from ore by removing oxygen and combining the ore with a preferred chemical partner such as carbon. This process, known as smelting, was first applied to metals with lower melting points, such as tin, which melts at approximately and copper, which melts at approximately . In comparison, cast iron melts at approximately . All of these temperatures could be reached with ancient methods that have been used since the Bronze Age. Since the oxidation rate itself increases rapidly beyond , it is important that smelting take place in a low-oxygen environment. Unlike copper and tin, liquid iron dissolves carbon quite readily. Smelting results in an alloy (pig iron) containing too much carbon to be called steel. The excess carbon and other impurities are removed in a subsequent step.

Other materials are often added to the iron/carbon mixture to produce steel with desired properties. Nickel and manganese in steel add to its tensile strength and make austenite more chemically stable, chromium increases hardness and melting temperature, and vanadium also increases hardness while reducing the effects of metal fatigue. To prevent corrosion, at least 11% chromium is added to steel so that a hard oxide forms on the metal surface; this is known as stainless steel. Tungsten interferes with the formation of cementite, allowing martensite to form with slower quench rates, resulting in high speed steel. On the other hand, sulfur, nitrogen, and phosphorus make steel more brittle, so these commonly found elements must be removed from the ore during processing.

The density of steel varies based on the alloying constituents, but usually ranges between , or .

Even in the narrow range of concentrations which make up steel, mixtures of carbon and iron can form a number of different structures, with very different properties. Understanding such properties is essential to making quality steel. At room temperature, the most stable form of iron is the body-centered cubic (BCC) structure α-ferrite. It is a fairly soft metallic material that can dissolve only a small concentration of carbon, no more than 0.021 wt% at , and only 0.005% at . If steel contains more than 0.021% carbon at steelmaking temperatures then it transforms into a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure, called austenite or γ-iron. It is also soft and metallic but can dissolve considerably more carbon, as much as 2.1% carbon at , which reflects the upper carbon content of steel.

When steels with less than 0.8% carbon, known as a hypoeutectoid steel, are cooled from an austenitic phase the mixture attempts to revert to the ferrite phase, resulting in an excess of carbon. One way for carbon to leave the austenite is for cementite to precipitate out of the mix, leaving behind iron that is pure enough to take the form of ferrite, resulting in a cementite-ferrite mixture. Cementite is a hard and brittle intermetallic compound with the chemical formula of Fe₃C. At the eutectoid, 0.8% carbon, the cooled structure takes the form of pearlite, named after its resemblance to mother of pearl. For steels that have more than 0.8% carbon the cooled structure takes the form of pearlite and cementite.

Perhaps the most important polymorphic form is martensite, a metastable phase which is significantly stronger than other steel phases. When the steel is in an austenitic phase and then quenched it forms into martensite, because the atoms "freeze" in place when the cell structure changes from FCC to BCC. Depending on the carbon content the martensitic phase takes different forms. Below approximately 0.2% carbon it takes an α ferrite BCC crystal form, but higher carbon contents take a body-centered tetragonal (BCT) structure. There is no thermal activation energy for the transformation from austenite to martensite. Moreover, there is no compositional change so the atoms generally retain their same neighbors.

Martensite has a lower density than austenite does, so that transformation between them results in a change of volume. In this case, expansion occurs. Internal stresses from this expansion generally take the form of compression on the crystals of martensite and tension on the remaining ferrite, with a fair amount of shear on both constituents. If quenching is done improperly, the internal stresses can cause a part to shatter as it cools. At the very least, they cause internal work hardening and other microscopic imperfections. It is common for quench cracks to form when water quenched, although they may not always be visible.

Heat treatment

There are many types of heat treating processes available to steel. The most common are annealing and quenching and tempering. Annealing is the process of heating the steel to a sufficiently high temperature to soften it. This process occurs through three phases: recovery, recrystallization, and grain growth. The temperature required to anneal steel depends on the type of annealing and the constituents of the alloy.

Quenching and tempering first involves heating the steel to the austenite phase, then quenching it in water or oil. This rapid cooling results in a hard and brittle martensitic structure.

Steel production

When iron is smelted from its ore by commercial processes, it contains more carbon than is desirable. To become steel, it must be melted and reprocessed to reduce the carbon to the correct amount, at which point other elements can be added. This liquid is then continuously cast into long slabs or cast into ingots. Approximately 96% of steel is continuously cast, while only 4% is produced as cast steel ingots. The ingots are then heated in a soaking pit and hot rolled into slabs, blooms, or billets. Slabs are hot or cold rolled into sheet metal or plates. Billets are hot or cold rolled into bars, rods, and wire. Blooms are hot or cold rolled into structural steel, such as I-beams and rails. In modern foundries these processes often occur in one assembly line, with ore coming in and finished steel coming out. Sometimes after a steel's final rolling it is heat treated for strength, however this is relatively rare.

History of steelmaking

Ancient steel

Steel was known in antiquity, and may have been produced by managing bloomeries, iron-smelting facilities, where the bloom contained carbon.

The earliest known production of steel is a piece of ironware excavated from an archaeological site in Anatolia (Kaman-Kalehoyuk) and is about 4,000 years old. Other ancient steel comes from East Africa, dating back to 1400 BC. In the 4th century BC steel weapons like the Falcata were produced in the Iberian Peninsula, while Noric steel was used by the Roman military. The Chinese of the Warring States (403–221 BC) had quench-hardened steel, while Chinese of the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) created steel by melting together wrought iron with cast iron, gaining an ultimate product of a carbon-intermediate steel by the 1st century AD. The Haya people of East Africa discovered a type of high-heat blast furnace which allowed them to forge carbon steel at nearly 2,000 years ago. This ability was not duplicated until centuries later in Europe during the Industrial Revolution.

Wootz steel and Damascus steel

Evidence of the earliest production of high carbon steel in the Indian Subcontinent was found in Samanalawewa area in Sri Lanka. Wootz steel was produced in India by about 300 BC. Along with their original methods of forging steel, the Chinese had also adopted the production methods of creating Wootz steel, an idea imported into China from India by the 5th century AD. In Sri Lanka, this early steel-making method employed the unique use of a wind furnace, blown by the monsoon winds, that was capable of producing high-carbon steel. Also known as Damascus steel, wootz is famous for its durability and ability to hold an edge. It was originally created from a number of different materials including various trace elements. It was essentially a complicated alloy with iron as its main component. Recent studies have suggested that carbon nanotubes were included in its structure, which might explain some of its legendary qualities, though given the technology available at that time, they were produced by chance rather than by design. Natural wind was used where the soil containing iron was heated up with the use of wood. The ancient Sinhalese managed to extract a ton of steel for every 2 tons of soil, a remarkable feat at the time. One such furnace was found in Samanalawewa and archaeologists were able to produce steel as the ancients did long ago.

Crucible steel, formed by slowly heating and cooling pure iron and carbon (typically in the form of charcoal) in a crucible, was produced in Merv by the 9th to 10th century AD. In the 11th century, there is evidence of the production of steel in Song China using two techniques: a "berganesque" method that produced inferior, inhomogeneous steel and a precursor to the modern Bessemer process that utilized partial decarbonization via repeated forging under a cold blast.

Modern steelmaking

Since the 17th century the first step in European steel production has been the smelting of iron ore into pig iron in a blast furnace. Originally using charcoal, modern methods use coke, which has proven to be a great deal cheaper.

Processes starting from bar iron

In these processes pig iron was "fined" in a finery forge to produce bar iron (wrought iron), which was then used in steel-making.

The production of steel by the cementation process was described in a treatise published in Prague in 1574 and was in use in Nuremberg from 1601. A similar process for case hardening armour and files was described in a book published in Naples in 1589. The process was introduced to England in about 1614. It was produced by Sir Basil Brooke at Coalbrookdale during the 1610s. The raw material for this were bars of wrought iron. During the 17th century it was realised that the best steel came from oregrounds iron from a region of Sweden, north of Stockholm. This was still the usual raw material in the 19th century, almost as long as the process was used.

Crucible steel is steel that has been melted in a crucible rather than being forged, with the result that it is more homogeneous. Most previous furnaces could not reach high enough temperatures to melt the steel. The early modern crucible steel industry resulted from the invention of Benjamin Huntsman in the 1740s. Blister steel (made as above) was melted in a crucible or in a furnace, and cast (usually) into ingots.

Processes starting from pig iron

The modern era in steelmaking began with the introduction of Henry Bessemer's Bessemer process in 1858. His raw material was pig iron. This enabled steel to be produced in large quantities cheaply, thus mild steel is now used for most purposes for which wrought iron was formerly used. The Gilchrist-Thomas process (or ''basic Bessemer process'') was an improvement to the Bessemer process, lining the converter with a basic material to remove phosphorus. Another improvement in steelmaking was the Siemens-Martin process, which complemented the Bessemer process.

These were rendered obsolete by the Linz-Donawitz process of basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS), developed in the 1950s, and other oxygen steelmaking processes. Basic oxygen steelmaking is superior to previous steelmaking methods because the oxygen pumped into the furnace limits impurities. Now, electric arc furnaces (EAF) are a common method of reprocessing scrap metal to create new steel. They can also be used for converting pig iron to steel, but they use a great deal of electricity (about 440 kWh per metric ton), and are thus generally only economical when there is a plentiful supply of cheap electricity.

Steel industry

It is common today to talk about "the iron and steel industry" as if it were a single entity, but historically they were separate products. The steel industry is often considered to be an indicator of economic progress, because of the critical role played by steel in infrastructural and overall economic development.

In 1980, there were more than 500,000 U.S. steelworkers. By 2000, the number of steelworkers fell to 224,000.

The economic boom in China and India has caused a massive increase in the demand for steel in recent years. Between 2000 and 2005, world steel demand increased by 6%. Since 2000, several Indian and Chinese steel firms have risen to prominence like Tata Steel (which bought Corus Group in 2007), Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation and Shagang Group. ArcelorMittal is however the world's largest steel producer.

In 2005, the British Geological Survey stated China was the top steel producer with about one-third of the world share; Japan, Russia, and the US followed respectively.

In 2008, steel started to be traded as a commodity in the London Metal Exchange. At the end of 2008, the steel industry faced a sharp downturn that led to many cut-backs.

Recycling

Contemporary steel

Modern steels are made with varying combinations of alloy metals to fulfill many purposes. Carbon steel, composed simply of iron and carbon, accounts for 90% of steel production. High strength low alloy steel has small additions (usually < 2% by weight) of other elements, typically 1.5% manganese, to provide additional strength for a modest price increase. Low alloy steel is alloyed with other elements, usually molybdenum, manganese, chromium, or nickel, in amounts of up to 10% by weight to improve the hardenability of thick sections. Stainless steels and surgical stainless steels contain a minimum of 11% chromium, often combined with nickel, to resist corrosion (rust). Some stainless steels are magnetic, while others are nonmagnetic.

Some more modern steels include tool steels, which are alloyed with large amounts of tungsten and cobalt or other elements to maximize solution hardening. This also allows the use of precipitation hardening and improves the alloy's temperature resistance. Tool steel is generally used in axes, drills, and other devices that need a sharp, long-lasting cutting edge. Other special-purpose alloys include weathering steels such as Cor-ten, which weather by acquiring a stable, rusted surface, and so can be used un-painted.

Many other high-strength alloys exist, such as dual-phase steel, which is heat treated to contain both a ferritic and martensitic microstructure for extra strength. Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steel involves special alloying and heat treatments to stabilize amounts of austentite at room temperature in normally austentite-free low-alloy ferritic steels. By applying strain to the metal, the austentite undergoes a phase transition to martensite without the addition of heat. Maraging steel is alloyed with nickel and other elements, but unlike most steel contains almost no carbon at all. This creates a very strong but still malleable metal. Twinning Induced Plasticity (TWIP) steel uses a specific type of strain to increase the effectiveness of work hardening on the alloy. Eglin Steel uses a combination of over a dozen different elements in varying amounts to create a relatively low-cost metal for use in bunker buster weapons. Hadfield steel (after Sir Robert Hadfield) or manganese steel contains 12–14% manganese which when abraded forms an incredibly hard skin which resists wearing. Examples include tank tracks, bulldozer blade edges and cutting blades on the jaws of life.

Most of the more commonly used steel alloys are categorized into various grades by standards organizations. For example, the Society of Automotive Engineers has a series of grades defining many types of steel. The American Society for Testing and Materials has a separate set of standards, which define alloys such as A36 steel, the most commonly used structural steel in the United States.

Though not an alloy, galvanized steel is a commonly used variety of steel which has been hot-dipped or electroplated in zinc for protection against rust.

Uses

Iron and steel are used widely in the construction of roads, railways, other infrastructure, appliances, and buildings. Most large modern structures, such as stadiums and skyscrapers, bridges, and airports, are supported by a steel skeleton. Even those with a concrete structure will employ steel for reinforcing. In addition, it sees widespread use in major appliances and cars. Despite growth in usage of aluminium, it is still the main material for car bodies. Steel is used in a variety of other construction materials, such as bolts, nails, and screws. Other common applications include shipbuilding, pipeline transport, mining, offshore construction, aerospace, white goods (e.g. washing machines), heavy equipment such as bulldozers, office furniture, steel wool, tools, and armour in the form of personal vests or vehicle armour (better known as rolled homogeneous armour in this role).

Historical

Before the introduction of the Bessemer process and other modern production techniques, steel was expensive and was only used where no cheaper alternative existed, particularly for the cutting edge of knives, razors, swords, and other items where a hard, sharp edge was needed. It was also used for springs, including those used in clocks and watches. With the advent of speedier and thriftier production methods, steel has been easier to obtain and much cheaper. It has replaced wrought iron for a multitude of purposes. However, the availability of plastics in the latter part of the 20th century allowed these materials to replace steel in some applications due to their lower cost and weight.

Long steel

As reinforcing bars and mesh in reinforced concrete

Railroad tracks

Structural steel in modern buildings and bridges

Wires

Flat carbon steel

Major appliances

Magnetic cores

The inside and outside body of automobiles, trains, and ships.

Stainless steel

Cutlery

Rulers

Surgical equipment

Wrist watches

Low-background steel

Steel manufactured after World War II became contaminated with radionuclides due to nuclear weapons testing. Low-background steel, steel manufactured prior to 1945, is used for certain radiation-sensitive applications such as Geiger counters and radiation shielding.

See also

Global steel industry trends

Iron in folklore

Knife metal

Machinability

Pelletizing

Rolling

Rolling mill

Rust Belt

Second industrial revolution

Silicon steel

Steel abrasive

Steel mill

Tamahagane, used in Samurai swords.

Tinplate

References

Bibliography

.

Gernet, Jacques (1982). ''A History of Chinese Civilization''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Further reading

Duncan Burn; ''The Economic History of Steelmaking, 1867–1939: A Study in Competition''. Cambridge University Press, 1961.

Harukiyu Hasegawa, ''The Steel Industry in Japan: A Comparison with Britain''. 1996.

J. C. Carr and W. Taplin, ''History of the British Steel Industry''. Harvard University Press, 1962.

H. Lee Scamehorn, ''Mill & Mine: The Cf&I; in the Twentieth Century''. University of Nebraska Press, 1992.

Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China'': Volume 4, Part 1 & Part 3. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.

Warren, Kenneth, ''Big Steel: The First Century of the United States Steel Corporation, 1901–2001''. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2001.

External links

World Steel Association (worldsteel)

steeluniversity.org: Online steel education resources from worldsteel and the University of Liverpool

Extensive picture gallery of iron and steel production methods in North America and Europe

Interactive knife steel composition chart and comparison graph builder

Huge archive on steels, Cambridge University

Steel classification chart

Category:Building materials

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Coordinates	45°30′″N73°40′″N
name	Steel Panther
background	group_or_band
alias	Danger KittyMetal ShopMetal Skool
origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
genre	Glam metal, heavy metal, hard rock, comedy rock| years_active 2000–present
label	Universal Republic
associated acts	L.A. GunsFight
website	www.steelpantherrocks.com
current members	Michael StarrSatchelLexxi FoxxxStix Zadinia}}

Steel Panther are a glam metal band from Los Angeles, California and are mostly known for their profane and humorous lyrics as well as their exaggerated on-stage personas. Formed in 2000, the band has formerly been known as Danger Kitty, Metal Shop and Metal Skool.

The Aldo Nova song "Fantasy" was remade by the band into a faster paced song for the MTV original series ''Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory''. The remake was released on iTunes on December 8, 2009 and their album ''Feel the Steel'' was released in June 2009.

Biography

Metal Skool

The quartet began to gain popularity in the Sunset Strip at the beginning of the new millennium under the name Metal Shop (soon changed into Metal Skool, then into Steel Panther). Their lineup consists of vocalist Ralph Saenz ("Michael Starr"), drummer Darren Leader ("Stix Zadinia"), bassist Travis Haley ("Lexxi Foxxx"), and guitarist Russ Parrish ("Satchel"). The band did weekly shows on Monday nights at the Viper Room, playing covers of 1980s hair metal hits while parodying the bands that made the songs famous. Despite presenting themselves under different stage names, two members of the band were already in other heavy metal acts. Frontman Michael Starr, using his name Ralph Saenz, had been in glam metal band L.A. Guns between 1997 and 1998, publishing the 6 tracks EP Wasted. Before this, Saenz was the frontman of a Van Halen tribute band called Atomic Punks. Guitarist Satchel was part of War & Peace, founded by ex Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson and the band Fight, founded by Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford. He was also a member of Atomic Punks together with Saenz. Years before, he played in the band Electric Fence with Racer X members Paul Gilbert and Jeff Martin.

The band, under the name Danger Kitty, published in 2002 the promotional single "Love Rocket". Steel Panther jokingly claims to be a glam metal band which had failed to gain mainstream success during the '80s. This is why their official biography claims they have been active since 1988. Thanks to the use of hair-sprayed looks, leather jackets and zebra spandex and to their experience in the Van Halen tribute band, they finally managed to gain some success. In 2003 Steel Panther published Hole Patrol, their auto-produced debut. The band appeared in a Discover Card advertisement as Danger Kitty and in the sitcom Drew Carey Show as themselves. Also in 2003, their song "Death to All But Metal" was included in a compilation CD called "Hey, That's What I Call Sludge! Vol. 1" put out by the Metal Sludge web site. Their cover of the song "Fantasy" by Aldo Nova was used as the opening musical theme for the MTV program Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory. On November 27, 2007 Metal Skool played original songs as well as covers of KISS songs at the Gene Simmons roast, they can be seen in the background of Gene Simmons reality show Gene Simmons Family Jewels. That year, they also appeared as themselves on Las Vegas in the episode "The High Price of Gas".

Steel Panther

In April 2008 the band decided to change their name from Metal Skool to Steel Panther, making a new debut at The Rockin' Saddle Club in Redlands, California. In May 2008, the band signed a contract with Republic Records (owned by record label Universal Records) announcing plans for a new studio album. The first single, an updated version of "Death to All but Metal", first appeared on iTunes on 27 January 2009, whereas the album, entitled ''Feel the Steel'' and produced by Jay Ruston, was published on 9 June, during the same year. A promotional video, directed by actor Dean Cameron, was shot for the song "Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)".

Thanks to their increased popularity their live performances began to be attended by a growing number of fans. Some celebrities also appeared on stage during their concerts, including Criss Angel, Kenny Loggins, Paul Stanley, Kip Winger, Corey Taylor, David Draiman, Hal Sparks, David Bryan, Tony Romo, Dane Cook, Chris Jericho, Corey Feldman, Evan Seinfeld, Tera Patrick, Sully Erna, Drew Carey, Mike Starr, Chad Kroeger, Ryan Cabrera, Jerry Cantrell, Justin Hawkins, Kelly Clarkson, Phil Anselmo, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tom Morello, P!nk, Scott Ian, Justin Parks, M Shadows and Avril Lavigne in February 2009. Steel Panther succeeded in becoming one of the most popular cover bands in California, winning the contest of "Best Tribute Band in the Universe". After a several month run at the House of Blues Sunset Strip, Steel Panther returned to its weekly Monday night shows at the new-managed Sunset Live Presents Key Club Hollywood.

According to a recent interview with RockSource360, the band is currently recording songs for their next album. They performed their new song "Critter" at the UK Ozzfest 2010 and have posted footage of rehearsals in the studio for a new song, under the working title of "If You Really, Really, Really Love Me." In December 2010 their website offered a free download of their new Christmas song "Sexy Santa". In January 2011 Michael Starr confirmed the songs, "Tigerwoods", "Tongue Punch in the Fart Box", "Summertime", "I Like Drugs", "Supersonic Sex Machine", "Do You Wanna Do Me" and "17 Girls In A Row" for the new album in 2011.

Lexxi Foxxx mentioned that guests on the new Steel Panther record would be Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Gene Simmons (KISS), Stephen Pearcy (Ratt), and Scott Ian (Anthrax).

In July, 2011, Steel Panther wrote on their Facebook page "IT'S CUMMING! ROCKTOBER 18TH!" which implies that the new album will be released on October 18, 2011.

On the Steel Panther app, Michael Starr wrote that the new album will be called "Balls Out". On 22nd August They Released The Single Off ''Balls Out'' Titled ''If You Really Really Love Me''

On August 27, 2011, Freddie Wong released a YouTube video homage to the Crossfire board game which featured Steel Panther covering the Crossfire theme.

Members

Michael Starr (Ralph Saenz) - lead vocals, acoustic guitars

Satchel (Russ Parrish) - rhythm, lead and acoustic guitars, backing vocals

Lexxi Foxxx (Travis Haley) - bass, backing vocals

Stix Zadinia (Darren Leader) - drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chartpositions
		! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"
2003		* Release date: 2003	* Label: self-released	—	—	—
2009		* Release date: October 6, 2009	* Label: Universal Records	98	42	3
2011		* Release date: October 18, 2011	* Label: Universal Records	—	—	—

Singles

! Year	! Single	! Album
2002
2003
			If You Really Really Love Me (Balls Out)

Videography

''Fat Girl (Thar She Blows) - The Video'' (2005) - Home DVD featuring the music-video for ''Fat Girl'' and behind-the-scenes footage.

Behind The Music: Steel Panther (2009) - iTunes Podcast Featuring a fake 'Behind The Music' story for Steel Panther. (Features Stars Like Matt Sorum, Kat Von-D, Jani Lane, and Dave Navarro)

Music videos

''Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)'' (2005)

''Death to All but Metal'' (2009)

''Community Property'' (2009)

References

External links

http://www.bringmetalback.com/ - Steel Panther's Fansite

Category:Glam metal musical groups Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles, California Category:Musical groups established in 2000 Category:Heavy metal musical groups from California Category:Comedy rock

de:Steel Panther es:Steel Panther fr:Steel Panther it:Steel Panther nl:Steel Panther ja:スティール・パンサー pt:Steel Panther fi:Steel Panther sv:Steel Panther

Coordinates	45°30′″N73°40′″N
name	Hugh Jackman
birth name	Hugh Michael Jackman
birth date	October 12, 1968
birth place	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
occupation	Actor
years active	1994–present
spouse	Deborra-Lee Furness (1996–present) }}

Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.

Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters. He is known for his role as Wolverine in the ''X-Men'' series, as well as for his leads in ''Kate & Leopold'', ''Van Helsing'', ''The Prestige'', and ''Australia''. Jackman is a singer, dancer, and actor in stage musicals, and won a Tony Award for his role in ''The Boy from Oz''.

In November 2008, ''Open Salon'' named Jackman one of the sexiest men alive. Later that same month, ''People'' magazine named Jackman "Sexiest Man Alive."

A three-time host of the Tony Awards, winning an Emmy Award for one of these appearances, Jackman also hosted the 81st Academy Awards on 22 February 2009.

Early life

Jackman was born in Sydney, New South Wales, the youngest of five children of English parents Chris Jackman and Grace Watson, and the second child to be born in Australia (he also has a younger half sister, from his mother's re-marriage). One of his paternal great-grandfathers was Greek. His parents divorced when he was eight, and he remained with his accountant father and siblings, while his mother moved back to England. As a child, Jackman liked the outdoors, spending a lot of time at the beach and on camping trips and vacations all over Australia. He wanted to see the world: "I used to spend nights looking at atlases. I decided I wanted to be a chef on a plane. Because I'd been on a plane and there was food on board, I presumed there was a chef. I thought that would be an ideal job."

Jackman went to primary school at Pymble Public School and later attended the all-boys Knox Grammar School, where he starred in its production of ''My Fair Lady'' in 1985, and became the captain of the school in 1986. Following graduation, he spent a gap year working at Uppingham School in England. On his return, he studied at the University of Technology, Sydney, graduating in 1991 with a BA in Communications. In his final year of university, he took a drama course to make up additional credits. The class did Václav Havel's The Memorandum with Jackman as the lead. He later commented, "In that week I felt more at home with those people than I did in the entire three years [at university]".

After obtaining his BA, Jackman completed the one-year course "The Journey" at the Actors' Centre in Sydney. About studying acting full-time, he stated, "It wasn't until I was 22 that I ever thought about my hobby being something I could make a living out of. As a boy, I'd always had an interest in theater. But the idea at my school was that drama and music were to round out the man. It wasn't what one did for a living. I got over that. I found the courage to stand up and say, 'I want to do it'." After completing "The Journey", he was offered a role on the popular soap opera ''Neighbours'' but turned it down to attend the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts of Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia, from which he graduated in 1994.

Career

Early work

On the night of his final Academy graduation performance, Jackman received a phone call offering him a role on ''Correlli'': "I was technically unemployed for thirteen seconds." ''Correlli'', devised by Australian actress Denise Roberts, was a 10-part drama series on ABC, Jackman's first major professional job, and where he met his future wife Deborra-Lee Furness: "Meeting my wife was the greatest thing to come out of it." The show lasted only one season.

After ''Correlli'' Jackman went on the stage in Melbourne. In 1996, Jackman played Gaston in the local Walt Disney production of ''Beauty and the Beast'', and Joe Gillis in ''Sunset Boulevard''. During his stage musical career in Melbourne, he starred in the 1998 Midsumma festival cabaret production ''Summa Cabaret''. He also hosted Melbourne's Carols by Candlelight and Sydney's Carols in the Domain.

Jackman's early film work includes ''Erskineville Kings'' and ''Paperback Hero'' (1999), and his television work includes ''Law of the Land'', ''Halifax f.p.'', ''Blue Heelers,'' and ''Banjo Paterson's The Man from Snowy River''.

''Oklahoma!''

Jackman became known outside of Australia in 1998, when he played the leading role of Curly in the Royal National Theatre's acclaimed stage production of ''Oklahoma!'', in London's West End. The performance earned him an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. Jackman said "I totally felt like it can't get any better than this. On some level that production will be one of the highlights of my career." He also starred in the 1999 film version of the same stage musical, which has been screened in many countries.

''X-Men''

In 1999, Jackman was cast as Wolverine in Bryan Singer's ''X-Men'' (2000), replacing Dougray Scott. His co-stars included Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, and Ian McKellen. According to a CBS interview in November 2006, Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness told him not to take the role, a comment she later told him she was glad he ignored.

Wolverine was tough for Jackman to portray because he had few lines, but a lot of emotion to convey in them. To prepare, he watched Clint Eastwood in the ''Dirty Harry'' movies and Mel Gibson in ''Road Warrior''. "Here were guys who had relatively little dialogue, like Wolverine had, but you knew and felt everything. I'm not normally one to copy, but I wanted to see how these guys achieved it." Jackman was adamant about doing his own stunts for the movie. "We worked a lot on the movement style of Wolverine, and I studied some martial arts. I watched a lot of Mike Tyson fights, especially his early fights. There's something about his style, the animal rage, that seemed right for Wolverine. I kept saying to the writers, 'Don't give me long, choreographed fights for the sake of it. Don't make the fights pretty."

Jackman also had to get used to wearing Wolverine's claws. "Every day in my living room, I'd just walk around with those claws, to get used to them. I've got scars on one leg, punctures straight through the cheek, on my forehead. I'm a bit clumsy. I'm lucky I didn't tell them that when I auditioned."

Jackman, at 6'2½ (1.89 m), stands a foot taller than Wolverine, who is said in the original comic book to be 5' 3". Hence, the filmmakers were frequently forced to shoot Jackman at unusual angles or only from the waist up to make him appear shorter than he actually is, and his co-stars wore platform soles. Jackman was also required to add a great deal of muscle for the role, and in preparing for the fourth film in the series, he bench-pressed over 300 pounds. An instant star upon the film's release, Jackman later reprised his role in 2003's ''X2: X-Men United'', 2006's ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', and 2009's ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''. He also cameos as Wolverine in 2011's ''X-Men: First Class''.

2001

Jackman starred as Leopold in the 2001 romantic comedy film ''Kate & Leopold,'' a role for which he received a Best Actor Golden Globe nomination. Jackman plays a Victorian English duke who accidentally time-travels to 21st-century Manhattan, where he meets Kate (Meg Ryan), a cynical advertising executive. In 2001, Jackman also starred in the action/drama ''Swordfish'' with John Travolta and Halle Berry. This was the second time Jackman worked with Berry, and the two have worked together twice more in the ''X-Men'' movies.

He hosted an episode of ''Saturday Night Live'' in 2001.

Stage 2002–2009

In 2002, Jackman sang the role of Billy Bigelow in the musical ''Carousel'' in a special concert performance at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's.

In 2004, Jackman won the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for his 2003–2004 Broadway portrayal of Australian songwriter and performer Peter Allen in the hit musical ''The Boy from Oz'', which he also performed in Australia in 2006. In addition, Jackman hosted the Tony Awards in 2003, 2004, and 2005, garnering positive reviews. His hosting of the 2004 Tony Awards earned him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performer in a Variety, Musical or Comedy program.

Jackman co-starred with Daniel Craig on Broadway at the Schoenfeld Theatre in a limited engagement of the play ''A Steady Rain'', which opened in previews on 10 September 2009 and closed on 6 December 2009.

Films 2003–2008

After 2003's ''X2: X-Men United'', Jackman played the title role of monster killer Gabriel Van Helsing in the 2004 film ''Van Helsing''. Jackman and the film were noted in Bruce A. McClelland's book "Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead".

Jackman was one of the choices to play James Bond in 2006's ''Casino Royale'', but eventually lost out to Daniel Craig. Jackman starred in the 2006 film ''The Prestige'', directed by Christopher Nolan and co-starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson. As Robert Angier, Jackman portrayed a magician who built up a rivalry with contemporary Alfred Borden in attempt to one-up each other in the art of deception. Jackman stated that his main reason for doing ''The Prestige'' was to work with the musician David Bowie, who played scientist Nikola Tesla.

Jackman portrayed three different characters in Darren Aronofsky's science-fiction film ''The Fountain'': Tommy Creo, a neuroscientist, who's torn between his wife, Izzi (Rachel Weisz) who is dying of a brain tumor, and his work at trying to cure her; Captain Tomas Creo, a Spanish Conquistador in 1532 Seville; and a future astronaut, Tom, travelling to a golden nebula in an eco-spacecraft seeking to be reunited with Izzi. Jackman said ''The Fountain'' was his most difficult film thus far due to the physical and emotional demands of the part.

Jackman also starred in Woody Allen's 2006 film ''Scoop'' opposite Scarlett Johansson. He rounded out 2006 with two animated films: ''Happy Feet'', directed by George Miller, in which he voiced the part of Memphis, an emperor penguin; and ''Flushed Away'', where Jackman supplied the voice of a rat named Roddy who ends up being flushed down a family's toilet into the London sewer system. ''Flushed Away'' co-starred Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen (Jackman's fourth time working with him).

In 2007, Jackman produced and guest-starred in the television musical-dramedy series ''Viva Laughlin'', which was canceled by CBS after two episodes. Jackman's 2008 movies included ''Deception'' (which he starred in and produced), ''Uncle Jonny'', and ''Australia''.

''Australia''

In 2008, director Baz Luhrmann cast Jackman to replace Russell Crowe as the male lead in his much-publicized epic film, ''Australia'', which co-starred Nicole Kidman. The movie was released in late November 2008 in Australia and the U.S.

Jackman played a tough, independent cattle drover, who reluctantly helps an English noblewoman in her quest to save both her philandering husband's Australian cattle station and the half-caste Aboriginal child she finds there.

Of the movie, Jackman said, "This is pretty much one of those roles that had me pinching myself all the way through the shoot. I got to shoot a big-budget, shamelessly old-fashioned romantic epic set against one of the most turbulent times in my native country's history, while, at the same time, celebrating that country's natural beauty, its people, its cultures.... I'll die a happy man knowing I've got this film on my CV."

2009 to present

Jackman's ''X-Men'' sequel film, ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', opened in 2009.

Jackman had a one-man show at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco from 3–15 May 2011. The production was a mixture of his favorite Broadway and Hollywood musical numbers, backed by a 17-piece orchestra, from shows including ''Oklahoma'' and ''The Boy from Oz''. The show had a run-time of approximately 100 minutes, and also included slide shows of Jackman's youth, family, and work, as well as some one-on-one interaction with the audience. Jackman was backed by fellow musical theatre veterans Merle Dandridge and Angel Reda.

Future projects

Jackman also plans to play Billy Bigelow in a remake of ''Carousel'' Jackman is being considered, along with Ewan McGregor, to reprise the role of Joe Gillis in a new film version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''Sunset Boulevard''. Jackman is working on creating a new comic book series, ''Nowhere Man,'' with U.S. publisher Virgin Comics and writer Marc Guggenheim, with hopes of adapting it to a film as well. Jackman stars in an upcoming movie named ''Unbound Captives'', where he will play alongside his past co-star Rachel Weisz and Robert Pattinson. Jackman will star in ''The Greatest American Showman'', a contemporary musical based on the life of P.T. Barnum. The female love interest part is being written with Anne Hathaway in mind. ''Real Steel'' (2011), a DreamWorks science fiction film. Director Lee Daniels has confirmed Jackman has joined the cast of his upcoming film ''Selma'', a film about Martin Luther King Jr. and Lyndon Baines Johnson and the civil rights marches. On 27 January 2011, DreamWorks announced that Jackman will star in the film ''Rise of the Guardians'', scheduled to be released on 21 November 2012. Jackman has been cast in ''Movie 43'', an upcoming 2012 ensemble comedy. Jackman is in negotiations to star as Jean Valjean in a film adaptation of the musical rendition of ''Les Misérables''.

Production company

In 2005, Jackman joined with longtime assistant John Palermo to form a production company, Seed Productions, whose first project was ''Viva Laughlin'' in 2007. Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness is also involved in the company, and Palermo had three rings made with a "unity" inscription for himself, Furness, and Jackman. Jackman said, "I'm very lucky in the partners I work with in my life, Deb and John Palermo. It really works. We all have different strengths. I love it. It's very exciting."

The Fox-based Seed label has grown in size to include execs Amanda Schweitzer, Kathryn Tamblyn, Allan Mandelbaum and Joe Marino, with Alana Free operating the Sydney-based production office whose goal is to mount modest-budget films to harness local talent in Jackman's home country.

Other interests

Charity work

As a philanthropist, Jackman is a longtime proponent of microcredit – the extension of very small loans to prospective entrepreneurs in impoverished countries. He is a vocal supporter of Muhammad Yunus, microcredit pioneer and the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Jackman is a global advisor of the Global Poverty Project, for which he narrated a documentary; and he and the project's founder Hugh Evans visited the UN for the cause in 2009. Jackman hosted a preview of the Global Poverty Project Presentation in New York together with Donna Karran, Lisa Fox and his wife Deborra-Lee. He is also a World Vision ambassador and participated in the climate week NYC ceremony on 21 September 2009.

Jackman supports The Art of Elysium and the MPTV Fund Foundation, and he and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness are patrons of the Bone Marrow Institute in Australia. Jackman also narrated the 2008 documentary about global warming, ''The Burning Season''.

Jackman also uses his Twitter account for charity. On 14 April 2009 Jackman posted on his Twitter page that he would donate $100,000 to one individual's favorite non profit organization. On 21 April 2009 he revealed his decision to donate $50,000 to Charity:Water and $50,000 to Operation of Hope.

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig made a unique place for themselves in the history of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising 8 December 2009, when it was announced that they had raised $1,549,953 in the 21st annual Gypsy of the Year competition, from six weeks of curtain appeals at their hit Broadway drama, ''A Steady Rain''.

Sports and other activities

Jackman has shown keen interest in sports. In high school, he played rugby union and cricket, took part in high jumping and was on the swimming team. He enjoys basketball and kayaking. He has expressed an interest in football, committing his support to Norwich City FC. In the United States, Jackman supports the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, attending a game at PPL Park in June 2010. On 22 June 2011, Jackman again attended a home Union match against Sporting KC, sitting in front of the Sons of Ben supporters section, nicknamed "The River End".

Jackman is a longtime fan and supporter of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, a NRL club based in Sydney's north. He sang the national anthem at the 1999 NRL Grand Final.

Jackman plays the piano, does yoga, and has been a member of the School of Practical Philosophy since 1992.

Personal life

Jackman married Deborra-Lee Furness on 11 April 1996. They met on ''Correlli'', an Australian television series. Jackman personally designed an engagement ring for Furness, and their wedding rings bore the Sanskrit inscription "Om paramar mainamar", translated as "we dedicate our union to a greater source".

Furness had two miscarriages, following which she and Jackman adopted two children, Oscar Maximillian (born 15 May 2000) and Ava Eliot (born 10 July 2005).

Filmography

! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
1994	''Law of the Land''	Charles McCray	1 episode
1995	''Correlli''	Kevin Jones	10 episodes
1995	''Blue Heelers''	Brady Jackson	1 episode
1996	''''	Duncan Jones	5 episodes
1999	''Erskineville Kings''	Wace
1999		Jack Willis
2000			Saturn Award for Best Actor
2001	''Kate & Leopold''	Leopold	Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2001		Eddie
2001		Stanley Jobson
2003
2004
2004	''Van Helsing: The London Assignment''	Gabriel Van Helsing	(voice)
2005	''Stories of Lost Souls''	Roger	segment "Standing Room Only"
2006	''Happy Feet''	Memphis	(voice)
2006	''Flushed Away''	Roddy	(voice)
2006	''''	Robert Angier	Nominated – Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor
2006	''''	Tomas / Tommy / Tom Creo	Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
2006		Peter Lyman
2006	''X-Men: The Last Stand''
2007	''Viva Laughlin''	Nicky Fontana	TV series, also executive producer
2008		Wyatt Bose	Producer
2008	''Uncle Jonny''	Uncle Russell	Tropfest 2008 Finalist Film
2008		The Drover	Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Actor in a Drama
2008	''''	Narrator	Documentary
2009	''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''	rowspan=2	Producer
2011	''X-Men: First Class''	Uncredited cameo
2011		Arthur
2011	''Real Steel''	Charlie Kenton	Post-production
2011		Boyd Bolton	Post-production

Awards and nominations

Awards

1997 Variety Club Award for Best Actor in a Musical – ''Sunset Boulevard''

1998 Mo Award for Best Actor in a Musical – ''Sunset Boulevard''

1999 Australian Movie Convention, Australian Star of the Year

2000 Saturn Award for Best Actor – ''X-Men''

2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 Theatre World Award – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 Broadway Audience Award – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance of the Year – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actor in a Musical – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 TDF-Astaire Award for Best Male Dancer in Theatre – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 Theater Fan's Choice Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical – ''The Boy from Oz''

2004 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival – Short Film Award for Best Actor – "Making the Grade"

2004 Australian Showbusiness Ambassador of the Year

2005 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program – 58th Annual Tony Awards Ceremonies

2006 ShoWest Award for Male Star of the Year

2006 Mo Award for Australian Performer of the Year

2008 WAAPA – Chancellor's Alumni Award for Excellence, UTS Towering Achievement Award

2008 Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Performance in a Stage Musical – ''The Boy from Oz''

2008 Australian Film Institute Award Readers' Choice

2008 ''People'' Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive Award

2008 Australian GQ Man of the Year

2008 Teen Choice Award for Choice Actor in an Action Adventure ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''

2009 Jackman had his hand and footprint ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 21 April 2009.

2009 Best Performance By A Human Male at the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards as Wolverine in ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''

2010 People's Choice Award for Favorite Action Star – ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''

Nominations

1997 Mo Award for Best Actor in a Musical – ''Beauty and the Beast''

1998 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical – ''Oklahoma!''

2001 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy – ''Kate & Leopold''

2001 CFCA Award for Most Promising Actor

2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program – 59th Annual Tony Awards Ceremonies

2006 Green Room Award for Best Male Artist in a Leading Role – ''The Boy from Oz''

Mentions in popular culture

Jackman was chosen as ''People'' magazine's Sexiest Man Alive of 2008.

In the ABC comedy-drama ''Scrubs'', one of the more prominent running gags is Dr. Cox's (John C. McGinley) seemingly irrational hatred of Jackman.

In the 7th season of ''Punk'd'', Jackman was led to believe that he had accidentally blown up director Brett Ratner's house. On the Season 6, Episode 13 of ''Will & Grace'', which aired on 10 February 2004, the character Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes), mentions he is going to see ''The Boy From Oz'', because he can not wait to see Hugh Jackman. He later discusses wanting to sue Jackman for stealing some of his dance moves.

References

External links

'A Steady Rain' Rules Broadway – opening night blog at broadway.tv

Jackman, Hugh National Library of Australia, ''Trove, People and Organisation'' record for Hugh Jackman

Category:1968 births Category:Australian expatriate actors in the United States Category:Australian film actors Category:Australian male singers Category:Australian musical theatre actors Category:Australian people of English descent Category:Australian stage actors Category:Australian television actors Category:Australian television presenters Category:Australian voice actors Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Living people Category:People educated at Knox Grammar School Category:People from Sydney Category:Tony Award winners Category:University of Technology, Sydney alumni

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Coordinates	45°30′″N73°40′″N
honorific-prefix	The Right Honourable
name	The Lord Steel of Aikwood
honorific-suffix	KT KBE PC
office	1st Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
term start	12 May 1999
term end	7 May 2003
predecessor	Office Created
successor	George Reid
office2	Leader of Social and Liberal Democrats
alongside2	Robert Maclennan
term start2	3 March 1988
term end2	16 July 1988
predecessor2	Party Created
successor2	Paddy Ashdown
office3	Leader of the Liberal Party
term start3	7 July 1976
term end3	16 July 1988
predecessor3	Jo Grimond
successor3	Paddy Ashdown
office4	Liberal Chief Whip
term start4	1970
term end4	1976
leader4	Jeremy ThorpeJo Grimond
preceded4	Eric Lubbock
succeeded4	Cyril Smith
office6	Member of Parliament for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale
term start6	11 June 1983
term end6	1 May 1997
predecessor6	Constituency Created
successor6	Michael Moore
office7	Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles
term start7	24 March 1965
term end7	11 June 1983
predecessor7	Charles Donaldson
successor7	Constituency Abolished
office8	Member of the Scottish Parliament for Lothians
term start8	6 May 1999
term end8	1 May 2003
predecessor8	Constituency Created
successor8	Mark Ballard
birth date	March 31, 1938
birth place	Kirkcaldy, Fife
party	(1) Liberal Party(2) Liberal Democrats
alma mater	University of Edinburgh
religion	Church of Scotland
website	| footnotes }}

David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT, KBE, PC (born 31 March 1938) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as the Leader of the Liberal Party from 1976 until its merger with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1965 to 1997 and as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2003, during which time he was the parliament's Presiding Officer. Since 1997, he has been a member of the House of Lords.

Early life

David Steel was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, the son of a Church of Scotland minister also called David Steel, who would later serve as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He was brought up in Scotland and Kenya, and educated at the Prince of Wales School, Nairobi (now Nairobi School), and George Watson's College in Edinburgh.

Member of Parliament

He first took an active part in Liberal politics at the University of Edinburgh, and after graduating in Law worked for the Scottish Liberal Party and then the BBC before being elected to the House of Commons as the MP for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles at a 1965 by-election, becoming the "Baby of the House". He represented this seat until 1983, when he was elected in Tweedale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, a new constituency covering much of the same territory.

As an MP he was responsible for introducing, as a Private Member's Bill, the Abortion Act 1967 (see Abortion in the United Kingdom). He also became the Liberal Party's spokesman on employment, and in 1970 its Chief Whip.

Leader of Liberal Party

In 1976, after the downfall of Jeremy Thorpe and a short period in which Jo Grimond acted as caretaker leader, he won the Liberal leadership by a wide margin over fellow MP John Pardoe. At only 38 years old, he was one of the youngest party leaders in British history. In 1977, he led the Liberals into the "Lib-Lab pact" by which they agreed to keep the Labour government in power in return for a degree of prior consultation on policy. Steel has been criticised both then and since for not driving a harder bargain; the opposing case is that the continuing scandal surrounding Thorpe left the party in a very weak state to face an early general election and Steel was wise to buy himself some time from Callaghan. The unpopularity of the Labour government impaired the Liberals' performance, and Steel's first election as leader, the 1979 general election, saw a decline in Liberal fortunes.

SDP-Liberal Alliance

In 1981, a group of Labour moderates left their party to form the Social Democratic Party. They were joined by the former Labour deputy leader Roy Jenkins who had previously had discussions with Steel about joining the Liberals. Under Jenkins's leadership, the SDP joined the Liberals in the SDP-Liberal Alliance, an electoral alliance that was so promising in its early days that Steel felt able to tell delegates at the Liberal Assembly that year to

"go back to your constituencies and prepare for government."

Steel had genuine hopes at this stage that the Alliance would win the next general election and form a coalition government. Opinion polls were showing Alliance support as high as 50% by late 1981.

However, the beginning of the Falklands War the following spring radically shifted the attitude of the electorate, and the Conservatives regained the lead in polls from the Alliance by a wide margin.

The Alliance secured more than 25% of the vote at the 1983 general election, almost as many votes as Labour, but it won very few seats and Steel's dreams of a big political breakthrough were left just that - a dream.

Shortly afterwards David Owen replaced Roy Jenkins as leader of the SDP and the troubled leadership of the "Two Davids" was inaugurated. It was never an easy relationship - Steel's political sympathies were well to the left of Owen's. Owen had a marked antipathy towards the Liberals though he respected Steel's prior loyalty to his own party contrasting it with Jenkins' lack of interest in preserving the SDP's independence. The relationship was also mercilessly satirised by ''Spitting Image'' which portrayed Steel as a squeaky voiced midget, literally in the pocket of Owen. Steel has often stated that he feels this portrayal seriously damaged his image. This portrayal of Steel as weaker than Owen was also present in other satires, such as ''Private Eye'''s ''Battle for Britain'' strip. The relationship finally fell apart during the 1987 general election when the two contradicted each other both on defence policy and on which party they would do a deal with in the event of a hung parliament.

Two parties merger

Steel was convinced the answer to these difficulties was a single party with a single leader, and was the chief proponent of the 1988 merger between the Liberals and the SDP. Steel emerged victorious in persuading both parties to accept merger in the teeth of opposition from Owen and radical Liberals such as Michael Meadowcroft but badly mishandled the issuing of a joint policy document. Steel had often been criticised for a lack of interest in policy and it appeared he had agreed to the document – drawn up by politically naive SDP advisers – without reading it. Steel's colleagues rejected it immediately and demanded a re-draft, fatally wounding his authority.

Steel was briefly joint interim leader of the Social and Liberal Democrats (as the new party was at first called) before elections in which he did not stand, before becoming the party's Foreign Affairs spokesman. He was knighted and received the KBE in 1990. In 1994 he accepted an invitation from Italian liberals to stand for the European Parliament in that year's elections as a Pan-European gesture. Although not elected he polled very well. He became President of the Liberal International in the same year, holding the office until 1996.

Retirement and Life Peer

He retired from the House of Commons at the 1997 general election and was made a life peer as Baron Steel of Aikwood, of Ettrick Forest in the Scottish Borders in the same year, residing at Aikwood Tower. He campaigned for Scottish devolution, and in 1999 was elected to the Scottish Parliament as a Liberal Democrat MSP for Lothians. He became the first Presiding Officer (speaker) of the Scottish Parliament on 12 May 1999. In this role, he used the style "Sir David Steel", despite his peerage, and had no party allegiance. He stepped down as an MSP when the parliament was dissolved for the 2003 election, but remained as Presiding Officer until he had supervised the election of his successor George Reid on 7 May of that year. He was appointed Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in both 2003 and 2004.

On 30 November 2004, the Queen created Lord Steel of Aikwood a Knight of the Order of the Thistle – the highest honour in Scotland.

Family

Steel and his wife, Judith (known as Judy), have three children: Graeme, Catriona and Rory. He has seven grandchildren: India, David, Caledonia, Hannah, Persia, James and Rio.

Further reading

Peter Bartram, ''David Steel: His Life and Politics'' (W.H. Allen, 1981)

David Steel, ''A House Divided'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1980)

David Steel, ''Against Goliath: David Steel's Story'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989)

See also

General Mediterranean Holdings owned by Anglo-Iraqi billionaire Nadhmi Auchi. Lord Steel was a director of it, and was pressured to quit it.

References

External links

Catalogue of the Steel papers at the Archives Division of the London School of Economics.

Lord Steel of Aikwood profile at the site of Liberal Democrats

Prince of Wales School:Old Cambrians Society, Nairobi

We need to rethink my abortion law Steel's thoughts on the abortion debate today.

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