A museum is an institution that houses and cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities throughout the world and more local ones exist in smaller cities, towns and even the countryside. The continuing acceleration in the digitization of information, combined with the increasing capacity of digital information storage, is causing the traditional model of museums (i.e. as static “collections of collections” of three-dimensional specimens and artifacts) to expand to include virtual exhibits and high-resolution images of their collections for perusal, study, and exploration from any place with Internet connectivity.

Early museums began as the private collections of wealthy individuals, families or institutions of art and rare or curious natural objects and artifacts.

The museums of ancient times, such as the Musaeum of Alexandria, would be equivalent to a modern graduate institute.

History

Early museums began as the private collections of wealthy individuals, families or institutions of art and rare or curious natural objects and artifacts. These were often displayed in so-called wonder rooms or cabinets of curiosities. Public access was often possible for the "respectable", especially to private art collections, but at the whim of the owner and his staff. The oldest such museum in evidence was Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum, dating from c. 530 BCE and devoted to Mesopotamian antiquities; it apparently had sufficient traffic as to warrant a labels for the ordered collection.

The oldest public museums in the world opened in Rome during the Renaissance. However, many significant museums in the world were not founded until the 18th century and the Age of Enlightenment:

the Capitoline Museums, the oldest public collection of art in the world, began in 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated a group of important ancient sculptures to the people of Rome.

the Vatican Museums, the second oldest museum in the world, traces its origins to the public displayed sculptural collection begun in 1506 by Pope Julius II

the Amerbach Cabinet, originally a private collection, was bought by the university and city of Basel in 1661 and opened to the public in 1671.

the Royal Armouries in the Tower of London is the oldest museum in the United Kingdom. It opened to the public in 1660, though there had been paying privileged visitors to the armouries displays from 1592. Today the museum has three sites including its new headquarters in Leeds. the Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie in Besançon was established in 1694 after Jean-Baptiste Boisot, an abbot, gave his personal collection to the Benedictines of the city in order to create a museum open to the public two days every week. the British Museum in London, was founded in 1753 and opened to the public in 1759. Sir Hans Sloane's personal collection of curios provided the initial foundation for the British Museum's collection. the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which had been open to visitors on request since the 16th century, was officially opened to the public 1765 the Belvedere Palace of the Habsburg monarchs in Vienna opened with a collection of art in 1781

Louvre in Paris France. The Mona Lisa Painting by Leonardo Da Vinci resides in the Louvre.

These "public" museums, however, were often accessible only by the middle and upper classes. It could be difficult to gain entrance. In London for example, prospective visitors to the British Museum had to apply in writing for admission. Even by 1800 it was possible to have to wait two weeks for an admission ticket. Visitors in small groups were limited to stays of two hours. In Victorian times in England it became popular for museums to be open on a Sunday afternoon (the only such facility allowed to do so) to enable the opportunity for "self improvement" of the other - working - classes.

The first truly public museum was the Louvre Museum in Paris, opened in 1793 during the French Revolution, which enabled for the first time in history free access to the former French royal collections for people of all stations and status. The fabulous art treasures collected by the French monarchy over centuries were accessible to the public three days each "''décade''" (the 10-day unit which had replaced the week in the French Republican Calendar). The ''Conservatoire du muséum national des Arts'' (National Museum of Arts's Conservatory) was charged with organizing the Louvre as a national public museum and the centerpiece of a planned national museum system. As Napoléon I conquered the great cities of Europe, confiscating art objects as he went, the collections grew and the organizational task became more and more complicated. After Napoleon was defeated in 1815, many of the treasures he had amassed were gradually returned to their owners (and many were not). His plan was never fully realized, but his concept of a museum as an agent of nationalistic fervor had a profound influence throughout Europe.

American museums eventually joined European museums as the world's leading centers for the production of new knowledge in their fields of interest. A period of intense museum building, in both an intellectual and physical sense was realized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (this is often called "The Museum Period" or "The Museum Age"). While many American museums, both Natural History museums and Art museums alike, were founded with the intention of focusing on the scientific discoveries and artistic developments in North America, many moved to emulate their European counterparts in certain ways (including the development of Classical collections from ancient Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia and Rome). Universities became the primary centers for innovative research in the United States well before the start of the Second World War. Nevertheless, museums to this day contribute new knowledge to their fields and continue to build collections that are useful for both research and display.

Purpose

Museums collect and care for objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and make them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities throughout the world and more local ones exist in smaller cities, towns and even the countryside. Many times, museums concentrate on the host region's culture.

Although most museums do not allow physical contact with the associated artifacts, there are some that are interactive and encourage a more hands-on approach. Modern trends in museology have broadened the range of subject matter and introduced many interactive exhibits, which give the public the opportunity to make choices and engage in activities that may vary the experience from person to person. With the advent of the internet, there are growing numbers of virtual exhibits, i.e. web versions of exhibits showing images and playing recorded sound.

Museums are usually open to the general public, sometimes charging an admission fee. Some museums are publicly funded and have no entrance fee, either permanently or on special days, e.g. once per week or year.

Museums are usually not run for the purpose of making a profit, unlike private galleries which more often engage in the sale of objects. There are governmental museums, non-governmental or non-profit museums, and privately owned or family museums. Museums can be a reputable and generally trusted source of information about cultures and history.

Definitions include: "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the ''tangible and intangible'' heritage of humanity and its environment, for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment", by the International Council of Museums; and "Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artifacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society," by the UK Museums Association.

Types

Types of museums vary, from very large collections in major cities, covering many of the categories below, to very small museums covering either a particular location in a general way, or a particular subject, such as an individual notable person. Categories include: fine arts, applied arts, craft, archaeology, anthropology and ethnology, history, cultural history, military history, science, technology, children's museums, maps, natural history, numismatics, botanical and zoological gardens and philately. Within these categories many museums specialize further, e.g. museums of modern art, local history, aviation history, agriculture or geology. A museum normally houses a core collection of important selected objects in its field. Objects are formally accessioned by being registered in the museum's collection with an artifact number and details recorded about their provenance. The persons in charge of the collection and of the exhibits are known as curators.

Archaeology museums

Archaeology museums specialize in the display of archaeological artifacts. Many are in the open air, such as the Acropolis of Athens and the Roman Forum. Others display artifacts found in archaeological sites inside buildings. Some, such as the Western Australian Museum, exhibit maritime archaeological materials. These appear in its Shipwreck Galleries, a wing of the Maritime Museum. This Museum has also developed a 'museum-without-walls' through a series of underwater wreck trails.

Art museums

An Art museum, also known as an art gallery, is a space for the exhibition of art, usually in the form of art objects from the visual arts, primarily paintings, illustrations, and sculpture. Collections of drawings and old master prints are often not displayed on the walls, but kept in a print room. There may be collections of applied art, including ceramics, metalwork, furniture, artist's books and other types of object. Video art is often screened.

The first publicly owned museum in Europe was the Amerbach-Cabinet in Basel, originally a private collection sold to the city in 1661 and public since 1671 (now Kunstmuseum Basel). The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford opened on 24 May 1683 as the world's first university art museum. Its first building was built in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities Elias Ashmole gave Oxford University in 1677. The Uffizi Gallery in Florence was initially conceived as a palace for the offices of Florentian magistrates (hence the name), it later evolved into a display place for many of the paintings and sculpture collected by the Medici family or commissioned by them. After the house of Medici was extinguished, the art treasures remained in Florence, forming one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1765 it was officially opened to the public. Another early public museum was the British Museum in London, which opened to the public in 1759. It was a "universal museum" with very varied collections covering art, applied art, archaeology, anthropology, history, and science, and a library. The science collections, library, paintings and modern sculpture have since been found separate homes, leaving history, archaeology, non-European and pre-Renaissance art, and prints and drawings.

The specialised art museum is considered a fairly modern invention, the first being the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg which was established in 1764.

The Louvre in Paris was established in 1793, soon after the French Revolution when the royal treasures were declared for the people. The Czartoryski Museum in Kraków was established in 1796 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska. This showed the beginnings of removing art collections from the private domain of aristocracy and the wealthy into the public sphere, where they were seen as sites for educating the masses in taste and cultural refinement.

History museums

History museums cover the knowledge of history and its relevance to the present and future. Some cover specialized curatorial aspects of history or a particular locality; others are more general. Such museums contain a wide range of objects, including documents, artifacts of all kinds, art, archaeological objects. Antiquities museums specialize in more archaeological findings.

A common type of history museum is a historic house. A historic house may be a building of special architectural interest, the birthplace or home of a famous person, or a house with an interesting history. Historic sites can also become museums, particularly those that mark public crimes, such as Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum or Robben Island. Another type of history museum is a living museum. A living museum is where people recreate a time period to the fullest extent, including buildings, clothes and language. It is similar to historical reenactment.

Maritime museums

Maritime museums specialize in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on seas and lakes. They may include a historic ship (or a replica) made accessible as a museum ship.

Military and war museums

Military museums specialize in military histories; they are often organized from a national point of view, where a museum in a particular country will have displays organized around conflicts in which that country has taken part. They typically include displays of weapons and other military equipment, uniforms, wartime propaganda and exhibits on civilian life during wartime, and decorations, among others. A military museum may be dedicated to a particular service or area, such as the Imperial War Museum Duxford for military aircraft, Deutsches Panzermuseum for tanks or the International Spy Museum for espionage, The National World War I Museum for World War I or more generalist, such as the Canadian War Museum or the Musée de l'Armée.

Mobile museums

Mobile museum is a term applied to museums that make exhibitions from a vehicle, such as a van. Some institutions, such as St. Vital Historical Society and the Walker Art Center, use the term to refer to a portion of their collection that travels to sites away from the museum for educational purposes. Other mobile museums have no "home site", and use travel as their exclusive means of presentation.

Natural history museums

Museums of natural history and natural science typically exhibit work of the natural world. The focus lies on nature and culture. Exhibitions educate the public on natural history, dinosaurs, zoology, oceanography, anthropology and more. Evolution, environmental issues, and biodiversity are major areas in natural science museums. Notable museums include the Natural History Museum in London, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in Oxford, the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta, Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. A rather minor Natural history museum is The Midwest Museum of Natural History is located in Sycamore, Illinois.

Open-air museums

Open-air museums collect and re-erect old buildings at large outdoor sites, usually in settings of re-created landscapes of the past. The first one was King Oscar II's collection near Oslo in Norway, opened in 1881. In 1907 it was incorporated into the Norsk Folkemuseum. In 1891, inspired by a visit to the open-air museum in Oslo, Artur Hazelius founded the Skansen in Stockholm, which became the model for subsequent open-air museums in Northern and Eastern Europe, and eventually in other parts of the world. Most open-air museums are located in regions where wooden architecture prevail, as wooden structures may be translocated without substantial loss of authenticity. A more recent but related idea is realized in ecomuseums, which originated in France.

Science museums

Science museums and technology centers revolve around scientific achievements, and marvels and their history. To explain complicated inventions, a combination of demonstrations, interactive programs and thought-provoking media are used. Some museums may have exhibits on topics such as computers, aviation, railway museums, physics, astronomy, and the animal kingdom.

Science museums, in particular, may consist of planetaria, or large theatre usually built around a dome. Museums may have IMAX feature films, which may provide 3-D viewing or higher quality picture. As a result, IMAX content provides a more immersive experience for people of all ages.

Also new virtual museums, known as ''Net Museums'', have recently been created. These are usually web sites belonging to real museums and containing photo galleries of items found in those real museums. This new presentation is very useful for people living far away who wish to see the contents of these museums.

Specialized museums

A number of different museums exist to demonstrate a variety of topics. Music museums may celebrate the life and work of composers or musicians, such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, or even Rimsky-Korsakov Apartment and Museum in St Petersburg (Russia). Other music museums include live music recitals such as the Handel House Museum in London. In Glendale, Arizona, The Bead Museum fosters the appreciation and understanding of the global historical, cultural and artistic significance of beads and related artifacts. The permanent collection has beads from around the globe, including a 15,000 year old bead. Temporary exhibits are also available.

An example of a specialized museum, in this case devoted to horology, is the Cuckooland Museum in the United Kingdom, which hosts the world's largest and finest collection of antique cuckoo clocks.

Museums targeted for youth, such as children's museums or toy museums in many parts of the world, often exhibit interactive and educational material on a wide array of topics, for example, the Museum of Toys and Automata in Spain. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an institution of the sports category. The Corning Museum of Glass is devoted to the art, history, and science of glass. The National Museum of Crime & Punishment explores the science of solving crimes. The Great American Dollhouse Museum in Danville, Kentucky, U.S.A., depicts American social history in miniature. Interpretation centres are modern museums or visitors centres that often use new means of communication with the public. In some cases, museums cover an extremely wide range of topics together, such as the Museum of World Treasures in Wichita, KS.

Virtual museums

A recent development, with the expansion of the web, is the establishment of virtual museums. Online initiatives like the Virtual Museum of Canada and the National Museum of the United States Air Force provide physical museums with a web presence, as well as online curatorial platforms such as Rhizome.

Some virtual museums have no counterpart in the real world, such as LIMAC (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Lima), which has no physical location and might be confused with the city's own museum. The art historian Griselda Pollock elaborated a virtual feminist museum, spreading between classical art to contemporary art.

Some real life museums are also using the internet for virtual tours and exhibitions. On March 23, Whitney Museum in New York organized what it called the first ever online Twitter museum tour.

Zoological parks and botanic gardens

Although zoos and botanic gardens are not often thought of as museums, they are in fact "living museums". They exist for the same purpose as other museums: to educate, inspire action, and to study, develop and manage collections. They are also managed much like other museums and face the same challenges. Notable zoos include the Bronx Zoo in New York, the London Zoo, the Los Angeles Zoo, the Philadelphia Zoo, the Saint Louis Zoological Park, the San Diego Zoo, Berlin Zoological Garden, the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Frankfurt Zoological Garden, Jardin des Plantes in Paris, and Zürich Zoologischer Garten in Switzerland. Notable botanic gardens include Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Chicago Botanic Garden and Royal Botanical Gardens (Ontario).

Management

The museum is usually run by a director, who has a curatorial staff that cares for the objects and arranges their display. Large museums often will have a research division or institute, which are frequently involved with studies related to the museum's items, as well as an education department, in charge of providing interpretation of the materials to the general public. The director usually reports to a higher body, such as a governmental department or a board of trustees.

Objects come to the collection through a variety of means. Either the museum itself or an associated institute may organize expeditions to acquire more items or documentation for the museum. More typically, however, museums will purchase or trade for artifacts or receive them as donations or bequests.

For instance, a museum featuring Impressionist art may receive a donation of a Cubist work which simply cannot be fit into the museum's exhibits, but it can be used to help acquire a painting more central to the museum's focus. However, this process of acquiring objects outside the museum's purview in order to acquire more desirable objects is considered unethical by many museum professionals. Larger museums may have an "Acquisitions Department" whose staff is engaged full time for this purpose. Most museums have a collections policy to help guide what is and is not included in the collection.

Museums often cooperate to sponsor joint, often traveling, exhibits on particular subjects when one museum may not by itself have a collection sufficiently large or important. These exhibits have limited engagements and often depend upon an additional entry fee from the public to cover costs.

Museum planning

The design of museums has evolved throughout history. Interpretive museums, as opposed to art museums, have missions reflecting curatorial guidance through the subject matter which now include content in the form of images, audio and visual effects, and interactive exhibits. Museum creation begins with a museum plan, created through a museum planning process. The process involves identifying the museum's vision and the resources, organization and experiences needed to realize this vision. A feasibility study, analysis of comparable facilities and an interpretive plan are all developed as part of the museum planning process.

Some museum experiences have very few or no artifacts and do not necessarily call themselves museums; the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, being notable examples where there are few artifacts, but strong, memorable stories are told or information is interpreted. In contrast, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. uses many artifacts in their memorable exhibitions. Notably, despite their varying styles, the latter two were designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates.

Exhibition design

Most mid-size and large museums employ exhibit design staff for graphic and environmental design projects, including exhibitions. In addition to traditional 2-D and 3-D designers and architects, these staff departments may include audio-visual specialists, software designers, audience research and evaluation specialists, writers, editors, and preparators or art handlers. These staff specialists may also be charged with supervising contract design or production services. The exhibit design process builds on the interpretive plan for an exhibit, determining the most effective, engaging and appropriate methods of communicating a message or telling a story. The process will often mirror the architectural process or schedule, moving from conceptual plan, through schematic design, design development, contract document, fabrication and installation. Museums of all sizes may also contract the outside services of exhibit fabrication businesses. Predator Exhibits, located in Ontario, Canada, is one such business.

Etymology

The English "museum" comes from the Latin word, and is pluralized as "museums" (or rarely, "musea"). It is originally from the Greek ''Μουσεῖον'' (''Mouseion''), which denotes a place or temple dedicated to the Muses (the patron divinities in Greek mythology of the arts), and hence a building set apart for study and the arts, especially the Musaeum (institute) for philosophy and research at Alexandria by Ptolemy I Soter about 280 BCE. The first museum/library is considered to be the one of Plato in Athens. However, Pausanias gives another place called "Museum", namely a small hill in Classical Athens opposite the Akropolis. The hill was called Mouseion after Mousaious, a man who used to sing on the hill and died there of old age and was subsequently buried there as well.

Most visited museums

See also

Audio tour

Cell phone tour

Exhibition history

Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum, world's first museum

Fire Museum

Green museum

International Museum Day (May 18)

List of museums

List of transport museums

Museum education

Museum label

Police Museum

Postal museum

Public memory

Virtual Library museums pages

References

Further reading

Rentzhog, Sten (2007). ''Open air museums: The history and future of a visionary idea''. Stockholm and Östersund: Carlssons Förlag / Jamtli. ISBN 978-91-7948-208-4

Four steps in the history of museum technologies and visitors' digital participation

External links

International Council of Museums (ICOM)

VLmp directory of museums (VLmp)

Category:Museology Category:Tourist activities Category:Greek loanwords

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Phillip Frost

Phillip Allen Gamma Frost (1935 - ) is an American entrepreneur.

Early Career

Dr. Frost earned a B.A. in French Literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1957. He received an M.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1961 and attended the University of Paris from 1955 to 1956. He served as a Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Public Health Service at the National Cancer Institute from 1963 to 1965. Dr. Frost was a Professor of Dermatology at the School of Medicine, University of Miami from 1966 to 1972. He was Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center of Greater Miami, Miami Beach, Florida from 1972 to 1990.

Key Pharmaceuticals

Michael Jaharis and Frost bought Key Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 1972. Dr. Frost was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Key Pharmaceuticals from 1972 until its acquisition by Schering-Plough in 1986 for $600 million. Frost's share was $100 million.

Ivax Corporation

Dr. Frost served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Ivax Corporation since 1987. He sold this Miami pharmaceutical maker, Ivax, for $7.4 billion to Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals in January 2006.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries

Frost became Vice Chairman of Teva in January 2006 when Teva acquired Ivax Corporation. In March 2010 Dr. Frost was named the Chairman of the Board of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Limited.

Current business

He is a director of Castle Brands, Inc., Continucare Corp, and YM Biosciences, Inc.

Dr. Frost became the CEO and Chairman of OPKO Health, Inc. upon the consummation of the merger of Acuity Pharmaceuticals Inc., Froptix Corporation and eXegenics, Inc. on March 27, 2007.

Dr. Frost was named Chairman of the Board of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services, an investment banking, asset management, and securities brokerage firm providing services through its principal operating subsidiary, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., in July 2006 and has been a director of Ladenburg Thalmann since March 2005. Dr. Frost also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of PROLOR Biotech, Inc. (NYSE Amex: PBTH), a development stage biopharmaceutical company.

Dr. Frost is also a director of Castle Brands (NYSE Amex:ROX), a developer and marketer of premium brand spirits, and Continucare Corporation (NYSE Amex:CNU), a provider of outpatient healthcare services. Dr. Frost previously served as a director for Northrop Grumman Corp., Ideation Acquisition Corp., Protalix Bio Therapeutics, Inc., and SafeStitch Medical Inc., and as Governor and Co-Vice-Chairman of the American Stock Exchange (now NYSE Amex).

In 2011 Frost became the largest shareholder in the Coconut Grove Bank, the oldest bank in South Florida.

Other interests

He serves on the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Miami, a Trustee of each of the Scripps Research Institute, the Miami Jewish Home for the Aged, and the Mount Sinai Medical Center.

He lives on a six acre parcel on Star Island, Miami Beach. His wife, Patricia, is an elementary school principal.

Philanthropic work

In October 16, 2003, a $33 million gift to the School of Music was announced by the University of Miami. In honor of their bequest, the largest ever given to a university-based music school in the U.S. at the time, the School of Music was officially renamed the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music.

In 2003, the Art Museum at Florida International University was officially renamed The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum.

On 26 March 2011 it was announced that Phillip Frost donated $35 million towards the construction of the new Miami Science Museum building at Bicentennial Park in Downtown Miami which will be named the Patricia & Phillip Frost Science Museum.

References

;Notes

;Bibliography

Category:American businesspeople

Currentteam	Pittsburgh Steelers
Currentnumber	43
Currentpositionplain	Strong safety
Birth date	April 19, 1981
Birth place	Garden Grove, California
Country	United States
Heightft	5
Heightin	10
Weight	215
Debutyear	2003
Debutteam	Pittsburgh Steelers
College	Southern California
Draftyear	2003
Draftround	1
Draftpick	16
Highlights	6× Pro Bowl selection (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010) 4× All-Pro selection (2004, 2005, 2008, 2010) 2× Super Bowl champion (XL, XLIII) 3× AFC Champion (2005, 2008, 2010) “Joe Greene Great Performance Award” (2003) NFL 2000s All-Decade Team Steelers Most Valuable Player Award (2010) 2010 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year 2010 NFL Alumni Player of the Year Ranked #6 on NFL's top 100 players of 2011
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Tackles
Statvalue1	515
Statlabel2	Sacks
Statvalue2	8.0
Statlabel3	INTs
Statvalue3	27
Nfl	POL041872 }}

Troy Aumua Polamalu () (born Troy Aumua on April 19, 1981) is an American football strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted in the first round (sixteenth overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Steelers. He played college football at the University of Southern California.

College career

Polamalu spent his first year at USC as a backup where he became a hybrid player, playing at both safety positions. While he was only a backup player at the time, Polamalu still made his mark in the eight games he played in, collecting two sacks, two forced fumbles and blocking a punt. He would become a full-time starter at the strong safety position the following year. He added three blocked punts and two forced fumbles in the season and saw time on punt return duty. In 2002, his last year at USC, Polamalu would start in all but one game against Pac-10 rival California, giving him 36 total starts in his college career. He made 68 tackles for the season, 9 for losses, as well as 4 pass deflections and one of his college career. Walter Camp and ESPN while earning second-team honors from The Sporting News. This would make him the first two-time All-American selection for USC since offensive lineman Tony Boselli. He became a two-time All-Pac-10 first teamer and was awarded the Most Inspirational Player Award by his teammates. Polamalu was named as a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's best defensive back, with then-Ohio State safety Mike Doss and the eventual winner then-Kansas State cornerback Terence Newman.

Polamalu finished his career at USC as a 3-year starter. In all, he made 278 total tackles with 29 of them being behind the line scrimmage, 6 interceptions, 13 pass deflections and 4 blocked punts.

Professional career

2003 NFL Draft

Troy Polamalu was drafted 16th overall in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Polamalu was actually the team's second option at safety, as they had planned on signing Dexter Jackson that offseason. Jackson, the reigning Super Bowl MVP with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, even had a verbal agreement to sign with the Steelers, only for him to back out at the last minute and sign with the Arizona Cardinals instead. The Steelers then went to "Plan B" and drafted Polamalu instead.

The Chargers, who had the 15th overall pick, had a major need at safety to replace Rodney Harrison but instead chose to go with quantity over quality forgoing the opportunity to select Polamalu by trading down and getting Sammy Davis and Terrence Kiel. The Steelers, ecstatic that Polamalu slid past the Chargers, quickly made a move to bring Polamalu to their team. The Steelers believed so much that Polamalu could have a positive impact on their defense that they traded up from the twenty-seventh spot to the sixteenth spot, originally held by the Chiefs. The Steelers traded away the ninety-second and two hundredth overall pick for the rights to switch first round picks and select Troy Polamalu. Essentially, the trade was Polamalu for Larry Johnson, Julian Battle, and Brooks Bollinger (the Bollinger pick was subsequently traded to the Jets in the same draft). He has the distinction of being the only safety ever drafted by the Steelers in the first round.

In the last game of his college career against Iowa in the Orange Bowl, Polamalu injured his hamstring in pre-game warm-ups and had very limited action in the game that day. Subsequently, the hamstring caused Polamalu to miss the Senior Bowl and 2003 NFL Combine as well. Polamalu was able to perform for scouts at his USC pro day. He was then drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round and signed a five-year, $8,275,000 contract.

!Wt	40 yard dash>40y	20-yard shuttle>20ss	3 cone drill>3-cone	Vertical jump>Vert	Bench Press>BP	!Wonderlic

(''* represents NFL Combine'')

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers use Polamalu in a high percentage of defensive plays, in a wide variety of defensive roles. In only his third season (2005), he tied the NFL record for most sacks, 3, in a single game by a safety. The 2007 Pro Bowl was his third consecutive Pro Bowl appearance; he started at strong safety for the AFC, playing next to the Baltimore Ravens starting free safety Ed Reed. The rivalry they share based on their teams' divisional rivalry was evident, as the two battled for possession of an overthrown halfback pass from former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber; Reed came down with the interception. He made the AP NFL All-Pro Second Team in 2005, followed by being named to the First Team in 2006.

His first Super Bowl appearance was in Super Bowl XL in 2006, when the Pittsburgh Steelers gained the franchise's fifth Super Bowl (against a former USC teammate Lofa Tatupu) with a 21–10 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

On July 23, 2007, before training camp, the Steelers gave Polamalu the biggest contract in team history extending him through 2011. In an article on ESPN.com, Polamalu said, "I did not want to be a player who is jumping from team to team." Polamalu has repeatedly expressed his intent on staying with the Steelers. The four-year contract extension, worth just over $30 million with about $15 million in guarantees, made Polamalu one of the highest paid defensive backs in the league and the highest paid safety in the league (though this distinction was taken by Bob Sanders on December 28, 2007 when he signed a five-year, $37.5 million contract with $20 million in guarantees).

Polamalu was named a reserve to the 2008 Pro Bowl despite having no interceptions and only playing in eleven games during the 2007 season. Polamalu's injury-plagued 2007 season led him to partake in a California rehab program. He suffered a hamstring injury late in his off-season workout, causing him to miss Pittsburgh's 2008 training camp. He returned to practicing with the team days after the camp's conclusion, however. Polamalu was named to the 2009 Pro Bowl as the AFC's strong safety after being given a unanimous vote by five experts. He was joined by his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates James Harrison and James Farrior on the AFC Pro Bowl team. Polamalu's 4th quarter interception return for a touchdown in the 2008 AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens helped the Steelers clinch a victory en route to another Super Bowl appearance. At Super Bowl XLIII, he only got two assisted tackles in the Steelers victory over the Cardinals, 27–23.

In the spring of 2008, NFLShop.com reported that Polamalu's #43 jersey was the 15th-highest-selling jersey in the NFL. The only Pittsburgh Steeler to sell more was Ben Roethlisberger's #7 jersey, at the 10th spot.

In the 2009 AFC Championship Game, Polamalu was key in helping the Steelers win the game and reach the Super Bowl that they would ultimately win when he intercepted a pass in the final minutes of the game and ran it back for a touchdown, thereby sealing victory for his team.

2009 Season

In the 2009 season opener against the Tennessee Titans, Polamalu recorded six tackles and one interception before getting injured while trying to recover a blocked field goal. He sustained a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, and missed the next four games. He returned to play in the sixth week of the season in a match-up against the Cleveland Browns. He later reinjured himself against the Bengals.

2010 Season

In the 2010 season opener against the Atlanta Falcons, Polamalu made a possible game saving interception with 1:45 left in the game. The Steelers went on to win in overtime. In week 13 of 2010, Polamalu made a game changing play against the Baltimore Ravens forcing a fumble with a sack to set up a 9-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Redman with 2:51 left to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a 13-10 victory. In week 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Polamalu cut in front of intended receiver Terrell Owens to intercept Palmer's pass and return it 45 yards for a touchdown. Polamalu re injured an ankle on this interception, but stayed in the game. He would record another interception later in the game. He missed the next 2 games with an ankle injury but returned for the last game of the season against the Cleveland Browns. In that game, he intercepted Colt McCoy before being pulled from the game (the Steelers were leading by over 30 points by then). It gave him his 7th Interception of the year.

In the spring of 2010, NFLShop.com reported that Polamalu's #43 jersey was the highest-selling jersey in the NFL among men and women.

On January 31, 2011, Polamalu was named the AP Defensive Player of the Year after receiving 17 votes, beating out fellow USC Trojan and Packers linebacker Clay Matthews for the award (who received 15 votes). He also won the NFL Alumni Player of the Year award, despite being beaten out for Defensive Back of the Year by Aqib Talib of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Personal life

Polamalu is of American Samoan descent and was raised by his mother's family. Born Troy Aumua, he petitioned in 2007 to change his legal name to his mother's maiden name of Polamalu, which he had been using for the previous fifteen years. Polamalu's uncle Kennedy Pola was the Jacksonville Jaguars Running backs coach for five years (during which time the Jaguars defeated Polamalu's Steelers in four of their five meetings) and currently the offensive coordinator for the University of Southern California Trojans. Another uncle, Aoatoa Polamalu, played nose tackle at Penn State from 1984–1988.

Polamalu is married to Theodora Holmes and has two sons: Paisios, born on October 31, 2008, and Ephraim, born September 16, 2010. His wife Theodora is the sister of NFL player and USC Trojans alumnus Alex Holmes. He resides with his family in Pittsburgh during the football season and San Diego, California during the off-season.

Polamalu's favorite pastimes include surfing, growing flowers, making furniture and playing the piano. Despite Polamalu's hard-hitting style on the gridiron, he is known off the field as a soft-spoken family man.

Polamalu is also well read in the history and theology of early Christianity, which ultimately led him and his wife Theodora to convert to Orthodox Christianity in 2007. He makes the Sign of the Cross after every play. Among his spiritual activities is a pilgrimage to Orthodox Christian sites in Greece and Turkey, taken in 2007. He seldom gives interviews, but when he does, he often speaks of the role his spirituality plays in his life. Polamalu has said that he tries to separate himself from his profession as much as possible, including not watching football games at home. He prays after each play and on the sidelines. His children, Paisios, and Ephraim, are both named after well-known Greek Orthodox Christian saints.

Polamalu and his wife Theodora founded the Harry Panos Fund to honor Theodora's grandfather, who served in World War II.

In 2011, during the NFL lockout, Polamalu utilized his time away from the field to return to the University of Southern California to complete his college education. On May 13, 2011, he graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree in history. On his personal website he explained, "I decided to finish what I started and walked that stage today not only because it was very important to me personally, but because I want to emphasize the importance of education, and that nothing should supersede it."

Hair

Polamalu's hair is one of his most distinguishing characteristics, allowing him to be easily spotted on the field. In the ''CBS Playoffs Pre-game Show,'' Polamalu said the last time he had gotten a haircut was in 2000 at USC when a coach told him he needed one. On November 9, 2010, while appearing on Mike and Mike in the Morning, Polamalu said he had his most recent haircut seven or eight years prior.

In an October 15, 2006 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Chiefs running back Larry Johnson pulled Polamalu down by the hair in order to tackle him. Although tackling a player by his hair is legal and does not alone constitute unnecessary roughness, Johnson was penalized for rising to his feet while retaining grasp of Polamalu's hair (pulling him up in the process).

Polamalu has a contract with Procter & Gamble to endorse Head & Shoulders shampoo. In August 2010, P&G; paid for a million-dollar insurance policy from Lloyd's of London for Polamalu's hair.

In the media

In 2005, Pittsburgh-area band Mr. Devious wrote and recorded the novelty song "Puhlahmahlu", a parody of the song "Mah Nà Mah Nà". Guitarist Glenn Shirey said that the song was inspired by Fox Sports announcer Dick Stockton's mispronunciation of Polamalu's name.

Polamalu is featured on the cover of the Scholastic children's book ''National Football League Megastars'' which profiles Polamalu and 14 other NFL stars.

During Super Bowl XLIII, a commercial of Polamalu aired that had him do a remake of the famous "Mean Joe" Greene Coca-Cola commercial, except it was advertising for Coca-Cola Zero instead. Two Coke "brand managers" take the Coke Zero bottle away right when the kid was to give it to Polamalu, with Polamalu subsequently tackling one of the managers. Then, instead of giving the kid his own jersey, he rips the shirt off the brand manager he had tackled and tossed it to the kid. Greene, who like Polamalu lives a very quiet life off the field in contrast to his on-field play, liked the commercial and gave his stamp of approval.

He is on the cover of Madden NFL 10 with Larry Fitzgerald.

Troy did a commercial with the shampoo Head & Shoulders where he was asked by a teammate in the locker room if he had borrowed the player's shampoo. Troy continues to deny these accusations, but his hair gets bigger and bigger until he finally admits to using the shampoo for men who want thicker hair.

On Eminem's new album, ''Recovery'', Track 17 references Troy and his hair.

References

External links

Troy43.com Official Website

Steelers Player Bio

Career Statistics

Category:American football safeties Category:People from the Greater Los Angeles Area Category:American people of Samoan descent Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players Category:USC Trojans football players Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players Category:Greek Orthodox Christians Category:Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States Category:Players of American football from California Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:People from Garden Grove, California Category:Sportspeople from Orange County, California

da:Troy Polamalu de:Troy Polamalu es:Troy Polamalu fr:Troy Polamalu ja:トロイ・ポラマル no:Troy Polamalu pt:Troy Polamalu

Name	Stephen Hawking
Birth name	Stephen William Hawking
Birth date	January 08, 1942
Birth place	Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Residence	United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Fields	Applied mathematicsTheoretical physicsCosmology
Workplaces	Cambridge UniversityCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPerimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Alma mater	Oxford UniversityCambridge University
Doctoral advisor	Dennis Sciama
Academic advisors	Robert Berman
Doctoral students	Bruce AllenRaphael BoussoFay DowkerMalcolm PerryBernard CarrGary GibbonsHarvey ReallDon PageTim PrestidgeRaymond LaflammeJulian Luttrell
Known for	Black holesTheoretical cosmologyQuantum gravityHawking radiation
Influences	Dikran TahtaAlbert Einstein
Awards
Spouse	Jane Hawking(m. 1965–1991, divorced)Elaine Mason(m. 1995–2006, divorced)
Signature	Hawkingsig.svg }}

Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and in 2009 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

Hawking was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge for 30 years, taking up the post in 1979 and retiring on 1 October 2009. He is now Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge. He is also a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and a Distinguished Research Chair at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes. He has also achieved success with works of popular science in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general; these include the runaway best seller ''A Brief History of Time'', which stayed on the British ''Sunday Times'' best-sellers list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.

Hawking's key scientific works to date have included providing, with Roger Penrose, theorems regarding gravitational singularities in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes should emit radiation, which is today known as Hawking radiation (or sometimes as Bekenstein–Hawking radiation).

Hawking has a motor neurone disease that is related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a condition that has progressed over the years and has left him almost completely paralysed.

Early life

Stephen Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 to Dr. Frank Hawking, a research biologist, and Isobel Hawking. He had two younger sisters, Philippa and Mary, and an adopted brother, Edward. Though Hawking's parents were living in North London, they moved to Oxford while his mother was pregnant with Stephen, desiring a safer location for the birth of their first child. (London was under attack at the time by the Luftwaffe.) According to Hawking, a German V-2 missile struck only a few streets away.

After Hawking was born, the family moved back to London, where his father headed the division of parasitology at the National Institute for Medical Research. In 1950, Hawking and his family moved to St Albans, Hertfordshire, where he attended St Albans High School for Girls from 1950 to 1953. (At that time, boys could attend the Girls' school until the age of ten.) From the age of eleven, he attended St Albans School, where he was a good, but not exceptional, student. When asked later to name a teacher who had inspired him, Hawking named his mathematics teacher Dikran Tahta. He maintains his connection with the school, giving his name to one of the four houses and to an extracurricular science lecture series. He has visited it to deliver one of the lectures and has also granted a lengthy interview to pupils working on the school magazine, ''The Albanian''.

Hawking was always interested in science. Inspired by his mathematics teacher, he originally wanted to study the subject at university. However, Hawking's father wanted him to apply to University College, Oxford, where his father had attended. As University College did not have a mathematics fellow at that time, it would not accept applications from students who wished to read that discipline. Hawking therefore applied to read natural sciences, in which he gained a scholarship. Once at University College, Hawking specialised in physics. His interests during this time were in thermodynamics, relativity, and quantum mechanics. His physics tutor, Robert Berman, later said in ''The New York Times Magazine'':

Hawking was passing, but his unimpressive study habits resulted in a final examination score on the borderline between first and second class honours, making an "oral examination" necessary. Berman said of the oral examination:

After receiving his B.A. degree at Oxford in 1962, he stayed to study astronomy. He decided to leave when he found that studying sunspots, which was all the observatory was equipped for, did not appeal to him and that he was more interested in theory than in observation. He left Oxford for Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he engaged in the study of theoretical astronomy and cosmology.

Career

Almost as soon as he arrived at Cambridge, he started developing symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, known colloquially in the United States as Lou Gehrig's disease), a type of motor neurone disease which would cost him almost all neuromuscular control. During his first two years at Cambridge, he did not distinguish himself, but, after the disease had stabilised and with the help of his doctoral tutor, Dennis William Sciama, he returned to working on his PhD.

Hawking was elected as one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society in 1974, was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982, and became a Companion of Honour in 1989. Hawking is a member of the Board of Sponsors of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''.

In 1974, he accepted the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar visiting professorship at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to work with his friend, Kip Thorne, who was a faculty member there. He continues to have ties with Caltech, spending a month each year there since 1992.

Hawking's achievements were made despite the increasing paralysis caused by the ALS. By 1974, he was unable to feed himself or get out of bed. His speech became slurred so that he could be understood only by people who knew him well. In 1985, he caught pneumonia and had to have a tracheotomy, which made him unable to speak at all. A Cambridge scientist built a device that enables Hawking to write onto a computer with small movements of his body, and then have a voice synthesiser speak what he has typed.

Research fields

Hawking's principal fields of research are theoretical cosmology and quantum gravity.

In the late 1960s, he and his Cambridge friend and colleague, Roger Penrose, applied a new, complex mathematical model they had created from Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. This led, in 1970, to Hawking proving the first of many singularity theorems; such theorems provide a set of sufficient conditions for the existence of a gravitational singularity in space-time. This work showed that, far from being mathematical curiosities which appear only in special cases, singularities are a fairly generic feature of general relativity.

He supplied a mathematical proof, along with Brandon Carter, Werner Israel and D. Robinson, of John Wheeler's no-hair theorem – namely, that any black hole is fully described by the three properties of mass, angular momentum, and electric charge.

Hawking also suggested upon analysis of gamma ray emissions that after the Big Bang, primordial mini black holes were formed. With Bardeen and Carter, he proposed the four laws of black hole mechanics, drawing an analogy with thermodynamics. In 1974, he calculated that black holes should thermally create and emit subatomic particles, known today as Bekenstein-Hawking radiation, until they exhaust their energy and evaporate.

In collaboration with Jim Hartle, Hawking developed a model in which the universe had no boundary in space-time, replacing the initial singularity of the classical Big Bang models with a region akin to the North Pole: one cannot travel north of the North Pole, as there is no boundary. While originally the no-boundary proposal predicted a closed universe, discussions with Neil Turok led to the realisation that the no-boundary proposal is also consistent with a universe which is not closed.

Along with Thomas Hertog at CERN, in 2006 Hawking proposed a theory of "top-down cosmology," which says that the universe had no unique initial state, and therefore it is inappropriate for physicists to attempt to formulate a theory that predicts the universe's current configuration from one particular initial state. Top-down cosmology posits that in some sense, the present "selects" the past from a superposition of many possible histories. In doing so, the theory suggests a possible resolution of the fine-tuning question: It is inevitable that we find our universe's present physical constants, as the current universe "selects" only those past histories that led to the present conditions. In this way, top-down cosmology provides an anthropic explanation for why we find ourselves in a universe that allows matter and life, without invoking an ensemble of multiple universes.

Hawking's many other scientific investigations have included the study of quantum cosmology, cosmic inflation, helium production in anisotropic Big Bang universes, large N cosmology, the density matrix of the universe, topology and structure of the universe, baby universes, Yang-Mills instantons and the S matrix, anti de Sitter space, quantum entanglement and entropy, the nature of space and time, including the arrow of time, spacetime foam, string theory, supergravity, Euclidean quantum gravity, the gravitational Hamiltonian, Brans-Dicke and Hoyle-Narlikar theories of gravitation, gravitational radiation, and wormholes.

At a George Washington University lecture in honour of NASA's fiftieth anniversary, Hawking theorised on the existence of extraterrestrial life, believing that "primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare."

Losing an old bet

Hawking was in the news in July 2004 for presenting a new theory about black holes which goes against his own long-held belief about their behaviour, thus losing a bet he made with Kip Thorne and John Preskill of Caltech. Classically, it can be shown that information crossing the event horizon of a black hole is lost to our universe, and that thus all black holes are identical beyond their mass, electrical charge and angular velocity (the "no hair theorem"). The problem with this theorem is that it implies the black hole will emit the same radiation regardless of what goes into it, and as a consequence that if a pure quantum state is thrown into a black hole, an "ordinary" mixed state will be returned. This runs counter to the rules of quantum mechanics and is known as the black hole information paradox.

Human spaceflight

At the fiftieth anniversary of NASA in 2008, Hawking gave a keynote speech on the final frontier exhorting and inspiring the space technology community on why we (the human race) explore space.

At the celebration of his sixty-fifth birthday on 8 January 2007, Hawking announced his plan to take a zero-gravity flight in 2007 to prepare for a sub-orbital spaceflight in 2009 on Virgin Galactic's space service. Billionaire Richard Branson pledged to pay all expenses for the latter, costing an estimated £100,000. Stephen Hawking's zero-gravity flight in a "''Vomit Comet''" of Zero Gravity Corporation, during which he experienced weightlessness eight times, took place on 26 April 2007. He became the first quadriplegic to float in zero-gravity. This was the first time in forty years that he moved freely, without his wheelchair. The fee is normally US$3,750 for 10–15 plunges, but Hawking was not required to pay the fee. A bit of a futurist, Hawking was quoted before the flight saying: }} In an interview with ''The Daily Telegraph'', he suggested that space was the Earth's long term hope. He continued this theme at a 2008 Charlie Rose interview.

Existence and nature of extraterrestrial life

Hawking has indicated that he is almost certain that alien life exists in other parts of the universe and uses a mathematical basis for his assumptions. "To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like." He believes alien life not only certainly exists on planets but perhaps even in other places, like within stars or even floating in outer space. He also warns that a few of these species might be intelligent and threaten Earth. Contact with such species might be devastating for humanity. "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," he said. He advocated that, rather than try to establish contact, humans should try to avoid contact with alien life forms.

Illness

Stephen Hawking is severely disabled by a motor neurone disease known as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Hawking's illness is markedly different from typical ALS because if confirmed, Hawking's case would make for the most protracted case ever documented. A survival for more than ten years after diagnosis is uncommon for ALS; the longest documented durations, other than Hawking's, are 32 and 39 years and these cases were termed benign because of the lack of the typical progressive course.

When he was young, he enjoyed riding horses. At Oxford, he coxed a rowing team, which, he stated, helped relieve his immense boredom at the university. Symptoms of the disorder first appeared while he was enrolled at University of Cambridge; he lost his balance and fell down a flight of stairs, hitting his head. Worried that he would lose his genius, he took the Mensa test to verify that his intellectual abilities were intact. The diagnosis of motor neurone disease came when Hawking was 21, shortly before his first marriage, and doctors said he would not survive more than two or three years. Hawking gradually lost the use of his arms, legs, and voice, and as of 2009 has been almost completely paralysed.

During a visit to the research centre CERN in Geneva in 1985, Hawking contracted pneumonia, which in his condition was life-threatening as it further restricted his already limited respiratory capacity. He had an emergency tracheotomy, and as a result lost what remained of his ability to speak. He has since used an electronic voice synthesiser to communicate.

The DECtalk DTC01 voice synthesiser he uses, which has an American English accent, is no longer being produced. Asked why he has still kept it after so many years, Hawking mentioned that he has not heard a voice he likes better and that he identifies with it. Hawking is said to be looking for a replacement since, aside from being obsolete, the synthesiser is both large and fragile by current standards. As of mid 2009, he was said to be using NeoSpeech's VoiceText speech synthesiser.

In Hawking's many media appearances, he appears to speak fluently through his synthesiser, but in reality, it is a tedious drawn-out process. Hawking's setup uses a predictive text entry system, which requires only the first few characters in order to auto-complete the word, but as he is only able to use his cheek for data entry, constructing complete sentences takes time. His speeches are prepared in advance, but having a live conversation with him provides insight as to the complexity and work involved. During a TED Conference talk, it took him seven minutes to answer a question.

He describes himself as lucky, despite his disease. Its slow progression has allowed him time to make influential discoveries and has not hindered him from having, in his own words, "a very attractive family." When his wife, Jane, was asked why she decided to marry a man with a three-year life expectancy, she responded, "Those were the days of atomic gloom and doom, so we all had a rather short life expectancy." On 20 April 2009, Cambridge University released a statement saying that Hawking was "very ill" with a chest infection, and was admitted to Addenbrooke's Hospital. The following day, it was reported that his new condition was "comfortable" and he would make a full recovery from the infection.

As popular science advocate

Hawking has played himself on numerous television shows and has been portrayed in many more. He has played himself on a ''Red Dwarf'' anniversary special, played a hologram of himself on the episode "Descent" of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', appeared in a skit on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', and appeared on the Discovery Channel special ''Alien Planet''. He has also played himself in several episodes of ''The Simpsons'' and ''Futurama'', and has had an action figure made of his ''Simpsons'' likeness. In 2008, Hawking was the subject of and featured in the documentary series ''Stephen Hawking, Master of the Universe'' for Channel 4. In September 2008, Hawking presided over the unveiling of the 'Chronophage' (time-eating) Corpus Clock at Corpus Christi College Cambridge. His actual synthesiser voice was used on parts of the Pink Floyd song "Keep Talking" from the 1994 album ''The Division Bell'', as well as on Turbonegro's "Intro: The Party Zone" on their 2005 album ''Party Animals'', Wolfsheim's "Kein Zurück (Oliver Pinelli Mix)".

Recognition

Acclaim

On 19 December 2007, a statue of Hawking by renowned late artist Ian Walters was unveiled at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, University of Cambridge. In May 2008, the statue of Hawking was unveiled at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cape Town. The Stephen W. Hawking Science Museum in San Salvador, El Salvador is named in honour of Stephen Hawking, citing his scientific distinction and perseverance in dealing with adversity. Stephen Hawking Building in Cambridge opened on 17 April 2007. The building belongs to Gonville and Caius College and is used as an undergraduate accommodation and conference facility.

Distinctions

Hawking's belief that the lay person should have access to his work led him to write a series of popular science books in addition to his academic work. The first of these, ''A Brief History of Time'', was published on 1 April 1988 by Hawking, his family and friends, and some leading physicists. It surprisingly became a best-seller and was followed by ''The Universe in a Nutshell'' (2001). Both books have remained highly popular all over the world. A collection of essays titled ''Black Holes and Baby Universes'' (1993) was also popular. His book, ''A Briefer History of Time'' (2005), co-written by Leonard Mlodinow, aims to update his earlier works and make them accessible to an even wider audience. In 2007 Hawking and his daughter, Lucy Hawking, published ''George's Secret Key to the Universe'', a children's book focusing on science that has been described as "like ''Harry Potter'', but without the magic." The book includes information on Hawking radiation.

Hawking supports the children's charity SOS Children's Villages UK.

Awards and honours

1975 Eddington Medal

1976 Hughes Medal of the Royal Society

1979 Albert Einstein Medal

1981 Franklin Medal

1982 Order of the British Empire (Commander)

1985 Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society

1986 Member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences

1988 Wolf Prize in Physics

1989 Prince of Asturias Awards in Concord

1989 Companion of Honour

1999 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize of the American Physical Society

2003 Michelson Morley Award of Case Western Reserve University

2006 Copley Medal of the Royal Society 2008 Fonseca Prize of the University of Santiago de Compostela 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States

Personal life

Hawking revealed that he did not see much point in obtaining a doctorate if he were to die soon. Hawking later said that the real turning point was his 1965 marriage to Jane Wilde, a language student. After gaining his PhD at Trinity Hall, he became first a Research Fellow, and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. Jane Hawking (née Wilde), Hawking's first wife, cared for him until 1991 when the couple separated, reportedly because of the pressures of fame and his increasing disability. They had three children: Robert, Lucy, and Timothy. Hawking then married his nurse, Elaine Mason (who was previously married to David Mason, the designer of the first version of Hawking's talking computer), in 1995. In October 2006, Hawking filed for divorce from his second wife amid claims by former nurses that she had abused him.

In 1999, Jane Hawking published a memoir, ''Music to Move the Stars'', detailing the marriage and his breakdown; in 2010 she published a revised version, ''Travelling to Infinity, My Life with Stephen''. Hawking's daughter, Lucy, is a novelist. Their oldest son, Robert, emigrated to the United States, married, and has a son. After a period of estrangement, Hawking and his first family were reconciled in 2007.

His view on how to live life is to "seek the greatest value of our action".

Hawking was asked about his IQ in a 2004 newspaper interview, and replied, "I have no idea. People who boast about their I.Q. are losers." Yet when asked "Are you saying you are not a genius?", Hawking replied "I hope I'm near the upper end of the range."

Hawking strongly opposed the US-led Iraq War, calling it "a war crime" and "based on lies". In 2004, he personally attended a demonstration against the war in Trafalgar Square, and participated in a public reading of the names of Iraqi war victims.

Religious views

In his early work, Hawking spoke of "God" in a metaphorical sense, such as in ''A Brief History of Time'': "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason—for then we should know the mind of God." In the same book he suggested the existence of God was unnecessary to explain the origin of the universe. His 2010 book ''The Grand Design'' and interviews with the ''Telegraph'' and the Channel 4 documentary ''Genius of Britain'', clarify that he does "not believe in a personal God". Hawking writes, "The question is: is the way the universe began chosen by God for reasons we can't understand, or was it determined by a law of science? I believe the second." He adds, "Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing."

His ex-wife, Jane, said during their divorce proceedings that he was an atheist. Hawking has stated that he is "not religious in the normal sense" and he believes that "the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws." In an interview published in ''The Guardian'' newspaper, Hawking regarded the concept of Heaven as a myth, stating that there is "no heaven or afterlife" and that such a notion was a "fairy story for people afraid of the dark."

Hawking contrasted religion and science in 2010, saying: "There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works."

Selected publications

Technical

''Singularities in Collapsing Stars and Expanding Universes'' with Dennis William Sciama, 1969 Comments on Astrophysics and Space Physics Vol 1 No.1

''The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time'' with George Ellis, 1973, ISBN 0-521-09906-4

''The Nature of Space and Time'' with Roger Penrose, foreword by Michael Atiyah, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1996, ISBN 0-691-05084-8

''The Large, the Small, and the Human Mind'', (with Abner Shimony, Nancy Cartwright, and Roger Penrose), Cambridge University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-521-56330-5 (hardback), ISBN 0-521-65538-2 (paperback), Canto edition: ISBN 0-521-78572-3

''Information Loss in Black Holes'', Cambridge University Press, 2005

''God Created the Integers: The Mathematical Breakthroughs That Changed History'', Running Press, 2005 ISBN 0762419229

Popular

''A Brief History of Time'', (Bantam Press 1988) ISBN 055305340X

''Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays'', (Bantam Books 1993) ISBN 0553374117

''The Universe in a Nutshell'', (Bantam Press 2001) ISBN 055380202X

''On The Shoulders of Giants. The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy'', (Running Press 2002) ISBN 076241698X

''A Briefer History of Time'', coauthored with Leonard Mlodinow, (Bantam Books 2005) ISBN 0553804367

''The Grand Design'', coauthored with Leonard Mlodinow, (Bantam Press 2010) ISBN 0553805371

Children's fiction

These are co-written with his daughter Lucy.

''George's Secret Key to the Universe'', (Random House, 2007) ISBN 9780385612708

''George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt'', (Simon & Schuster, 2009) ISBN 9781416986713

Films and series

''A Brief History of Time'' (1991)

''Stephen Hawking's Universe'' (1997)

''Horizon: The Hawking Paradox'' (2005)

''Masters of Science Fiction'' (2007)

''Stephen Hawking: Master of the Universe'' (2008) ''Into The Universe with Stephen Hawking'' (2010) A list of Hawking's publications through the year 2002 is available on his website.

See also

Basic concepts of quantum mechanics

Many-worlds interpretation, or flexiverse

Susskind–Hawking battle – see Black hole information paradox

References

Further reading

A layman's guide to Stephen Hawking

Ferguson, Kitty (1991). ''Stephen Hawking: Quest For A Theory of Everything''. Franklin Watts. ISBN 0-553-29895-X

Highly influential in the field. A much cited centennial survey.

Pickover, Clifford, ''Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them'', Oxford University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0195336115

External links

Stephen Hawking's web site

Stephen Hawking's page on Academia.edu

The Life of Stephen Hawking – slideshow by ''The First Post''

Video: Stephen Hawking – discussion of two views of the universe

Videos: Stephen Hawking's concept of God, The role of God within the no boundary cosmology and Imaginary time

;Dated

Stephen Hawking says universe not created by God

Public Lectures, including debate with Roger Penrose 1996–2006

''Hawking celebrates own brief history'', 7 January 2002, BBC

"Leaping the Abyss", interview in ''Reason'' by Gregory Benford 2002-04-01

2002-03-24

''Black holes turned "inside out"'', 22 July 2004, BBC

''Return of the time lord'', Interview about "A Brief History of Time", 27 September 2005, The Guardian.

Stephen Hawking touches on God and science – Physicist says Pope John Paul told scientists not to study universe's origins msnbc June 2006

Press Release from the Catholic League on misquote of Pope by Hawking 2006-06-16

BBC interview 2008-12-05

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name	Valentino
nationality	Italian
birth date	May 11, 1932
birth place	Voghera, Lombardy, Italy
education	École des Beaux-Arts
label name	Valentino
awards	Grande ufficiale dell' Ordine al merito della Repubblica Italiana, Cavaliere del Lavoro, The Neiman Marcus Award }}

Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani (born 11 May 1932), best known as Valentino, is an Italian fashion designer and founder of the Valentino SpA brand and company. His main lines were Valentino, Valentino Garavani, Valentino Roma, and R.E.D. Valentino.

Career

The Paris years (1949–1959)

Valentino became interested in fashion while in primary school in his native Voghera, Lombardy, northern Italy, when he apprenticed under his aunt Rosa and local designer Ernestina Salvadeo, an aunt of noted artist Aldo Giorgini. Valentino then moved to Paris to pursue this interest with the help of his mother Teresa de Biaggi and his father Mauro Garavani. There he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.

His first choice for an apprenticeship, in Paris, was Jacques Fath, then Balenciaga. He found an apprenticeship with Jean Desses where he used to help style icon countess Jacqueline de Ribes sketch her dress ideas. He then joined Guy Laroche for 2 years. At Jean Desses, Valentino sketched furiously, between helping with window dressing and greeting clients for the daily 2:30 pm private showings. Most of his early sketches were lost. At a Rome exhibition in 1991 a smattering went on display and current clients at that time such as Marie-Hélène de Rothschild and Elizabeth Taylor marveled that the DNA of Valentino's style was already apparent in the layers of white pleats and animal prints.

After five years, Valentino left Jean Desses under a cloud over an incident about prolonging a vacation in Saint-Tropez that still makes him wriggle uncomfortably today. Rescued by his friend Guy Laroche, he joined his "tiny, tiny" fashion house. After discussions with his parents, he decided to return to Italy and set up in Rome in 1959.

Rome

In 1959 Valentino '''left Paris and moved back to Italy and opened a fashion house in Rome on the posh Via Condotti with the backing of his ''father and an associate of his. More than an atelier, the premises resembled a real "maison de couture", being it very much on the line of what Valentino had seen in Paris: everything was very grand and models flew in from Paris for his first show. Valentino became known for his red dresses, in the bright shade that became known in the fashion industry as "Valentino red".

On 31 July 1960 Valentino met Giancarlo Giammetti at the Café de Paris on the Via Veneto in Rome. One of three children, Giammetti was in his second year of architecture school, living at home with his parents in the haut bourgeois Parioli section of Northern Rome. That day Giammetti gave Valentino a lift home in his little Fiat and a friendship as well as a long-lasting partnership started. The day after, Giammetti was to leave for Capri for vacation and by coincidence Valentino was also going there so they met again in the island 10 days later. Giammetti would shortly after abandon the University to become Valentino's business partner. When Giammetti arrived, the business situation of Valentino's atelier was in fact not brilliant: in one year he had spent so much money that his father's associate pulled out of the business, and had to fight against bankruptcy.

Breakthrough in Florence (1962–1967)

Valentino's international debut took place in 1962 in Florence, the Italian fashion capital of the time. His first show at the Pitti Palace was welcomed as a true revelation and the young couturier was deluged by orders from foreign buyers and enthusiastic comments on the press.

After the breakthrough show in Florence, Valentino started to dress the ladies of the international best-dressed crowd such as his acquaintance from the Paris years Countess Jacqueline de Ribes and New York socialites Babe Paley and Jayne Wrightsman.

By the mid-1960s he was already considered the undisputed maestro of Italian Couture, receiving in 1967 the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award, the equivalent of an Oscar in the field of fashion. The Begum Aga Khan, Farah Diba, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Lee Radziwill, Queen Paola of Belgium, Babe Paley, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Gloria Guinness, Marella Agnelli, Jayne Wrightsman, Marisa Berenson, Veruschka and Princess Margaret were already customers as well as personal friends.

At some point in 1964, Jacqueline Kennedy had seen Gloria Schiff, the twin sister of the Rome-based fashion editor of American Vogue and Valentino's friend Consuelo Crespi, wearing a two-piece ensemble in black organza at a gathering. It made such an impression that Kennedy contacted Ms. Schiff to learn the name of the ensemble's designer, which was Valentino. In September 1964, Valentino was to be in the US to present a collection of his work at a charity ball at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Mrs. Kennedy wanted to see the collection but could not attend the event, so Valentino decided to send a model, sales representative and a selection of key pieces from his collection to Mrs. Kennedy's apartment on Fifth Avenue. Mrs. Kennedy ordered six of his haute couture dresses, all in black and white, and wore them during her year of mourning following President John F. Kennedy's assassination. From then on, she was a devoted client and would become a friend. Valentino would later design the white dress worn by Kennedy at her wedding to Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis.

In 1966, confident of his client base, he moved his shows from Florence to Rome and there, two years later, he had one of his greatest triumphs, an all-white collection, which became famous for the "V" logo he designed.

1970s

Throughout the 1970s Valentino spent considerable time in New York City where his presence was embraced by society personalities such as Vogue's editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland and the art icon Andy Warhol.

The Accademia Valentino

1989 marked the opening of the Accademia Valentino, designed by architect Tommaso Ziffer, a cultural space located near his atelier in Rome, for the presentation of art exhibitions. The next year, encouraged by their friend Elizabeth Taylor, Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti created L.I.F.E., an association for the support of AIDS-related patients, which benefits from the activities of the Accademia Valentino.

From HdP group to Marzotto group

In 1998 Valentino and his partner Giancarlo Giammetti sold the company for approximately 800 million Euros (US$1.1 billion) to HdP, an Italian conglomerate controlled, in part, by the late Gianni Agnelli, the head of Fiat. In 2002, Valentino S.p.A., with revenues of more than $180 million, was sold by HdP to Marzotto Apparel, a Milan-based textile giant, for $210 million.

Retirement

On 4 September 2007 Valentino announced that he would retire fully in January 2008. from the world stage after his last Haute-Couture show in Paris. He delivered his last women's ready-to-wear show in Paris on 4 October.

His last haute couture show was presented in Paris at the Musée Rodin on 23 January 2008. It was, however, somewhat marred by his criticism of fellow Italian design duo Dolce & Gabbana, and the death of Australian actor Heath Ledger although few allowed these things to detract from his final show receiving a standing ovation from the entire audience, which included hundreds of notable names from all areas of show business. Many models returned to show for Valentino's last haute couture show, including Eva Herzigova, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Nadja Auermann, Karolina Kurkova and Karen Mulder.

Movies

In 2006 Valentino appeared in a cameo role, as himself, in the hit movie ''The Devil Wears Prada''. One of the DVD's featurettes is called "Getting Valentino" and shows an interview of the designer and Valentino backstage with the movie's actresses, Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, his partner Giancarlo Giammetti, and his PRs Carlos de Souza and Charlene Shorto de Ganay.

''Valentino: The Last Emperor'' a feature-length documentary film on the designer, premiered at the 2008 Venice International Film Festival. Produced and directed by Matt Tyrnauer, Special Correspondent for ''Vanity Fair'' magazine, the film follows Valentino and his inner circle throughout various events, including last year's anniversary show celebrating his 45 years of career. In production from June 2005 to July 2007, the filmmakers shot over 250 hours of footage with exclusive, unprecedented access to Valentino and his entourage. "We were let in to the inner circle, but we had to stick it out for a long time, practically move in, to capture the truly great moments", says Tyrnauer. "Valentino is surrounded by a tight-knit family of friends and employees, but, eventually, their guard came down and they forgot there was a camera crew in the room."

The film had its North American premiere at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. It was released theatrically in the US on 18 March in New York City and selected cities. Indiewire called it the highest-grossing documentary debut of 2009.

Honors

On 6 July 2006 France's President Chirac awarded Valentino the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur. "I am very honored", said Valentino, who has received awards from many countries including Italy and the US.

During the festivities for the 45th year of Valentino's career, the Mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, announced that the site of the Valentino Museum would be a building in via San Teodoro in Rome, between the Palatine hill and the Bocca della Verità (mouth of truth).

The day after he retired, 24 January 2008, Valentino was presented with the Medal of the City of Paris for his services to fashion in the city where he was educated.

Celebration of 45 years of Valentino

In order to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Valentino's career a fashion extravaganza took place in Rome between 6 and 8 July 2007. Festivities started on Thursday 5 July with a dinner for Valentino's assistants and employees at Ristorante Gusto and ended on Sunday 8 July with the launch of a perfume and a brunch at the French Academy of Villa Medici.

The main five exclusive golden invitation cards have been sent from the Valentino headquarters for the main weekend's events:

6 July 2007 at 7:30 pm: inauguration of the exhibit "Valentino in Rome, 45 years of style" designed by Patrick Kinmonth and Antonio Monfreda at the ancient sacrificial altar Ara Pacis showcasing Valentino's most important creations from the past 45 years. Valentino has gone through his archives and his clients' closets to narrow down his choices to about 300.

6 July 2007 post-exhibit gala dinner at the Temple of Venus in the Imperial Forum. Dating back to 135 A.D. and dedicated to Emperor Hadrian the forum had never been opened to any event. Oscar-winning designer Dante Ferretti (''The Aviator'', ''Gangs of New York'', ''The Age of Innocence'') re-created the monument's long-lost columns in fibre glass, a special procedure called: ''Anastilosys''. Valerio Festi designed a spectacular performance by high-wire ballerinas (costumed in exaggerated versions of the designer's ball gowns or signature lipstick-red evening dresses), with the Coliseum bathed in red and mauve light as a breathtaking backdrop. The plexigas structure remained for the summer for tourists to enjoy. Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli also revealed that Valentino contributed to the restoration of the Temple with a donation of 200,000 euros.

7 July at 5.00 pm: fashion show for 1000 people. For the first time after 16 years Valentino's Haute Couture fashion show will not take place in Paris during the HC fashion week but in Rome. Socialite and long-time Valentino fan Marina Palma took over the fashionable Bolognese restaurant for a tribute lunch before the international guest list set off for the designer's bravura couture runway show.

The fashion setting was two halls called Sala Incisa and Sala Baglivi of the restructured 16th century Santo Spirito in Sassia complex, next to Castel Sant'Angelo and the Vatican. Valentino showed about 61 couture dresses, a record number considering an HC show never shows more than 40 gowns. The collection referenced many of the leitmotifs revealed in the retrospective at Ara Pacis and was a tour de force of the flawless and unmatchable techniques that Valentino's brilliant workrooms. The music segued from Mahler's Fifth to a hauntingly beautiful rendition of Puccini's "O mio babbino caro" as Valentino took his bow.

Fellow designers who attended—including Karl Lagerfeld, Giorgio Armani, Donatella Versace, Tom Ford, Diane von Fürstenberg, Carolina Herrera, Zac Posen, Manolo Blahnik, and Philip Treacy among them—led the standing ovation, which drew tears from the habitually unflappable designer, who embraced Giancarlo Giammetti on the runway.

The post-show gala dinner and ball took place in the Parco dei Daini at the Villa Borghese. There Dante Ferretti had created a Brighton Pavilion-inspired tent, with palm-tree columns and red, black, and mirrored walls, in the gardens. Guests included Princess Caroline of Monaco, Anna Wintour, former Persian Empress Farah Diba, Jacqueline de Ribes, Elton John, Karl Lagerfeld, Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece, princess Rosario of Bulgaria, princess Firyal of Jordan as well as Mayor Walter Veltroni. Other movie stars in attendance included Uma Thurman, Anne Hathaway, Elizabeth Hurley, Sarah Jessica Parker, Joan Collins, Sienna Miller, Michael Caine, Jennifer Hudson, and Eva Mendes. Singer Annie Lennox held a surprise concert.

Timeline

1959 – Having completed his fashion studies and an apprenticeship with Jean Desses and Guy Laroche, Valentino starts up his first studio in Rome

1960 – Begins his collaboration with Giancarlo Giammetti, who manages the commercial development of the House of Valentino

1962 – His first collection at the international fashion Gotha in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence, is a triumphant success

1964 – Jacqueline Kennedy becomes a client.

1965 – Valentino is recognised as the top name in Italian Haute Couture

1967 – He is awarded the Neiman Marcus Prize in Dallas

1968 – Valentino's reputation is secured with the enormous success of his "Collezione Bianca", the first clothes and accessories to have the magic "V" label. Designs the wedding dress worn by Jacqueline Kennedy for her marriage to Aristotle Onassis.

1969 – Begins his Boutique line of clothes and opens the first Valentino shop in Milan

1970 – Launch of his first ready-to-wear collections Opening of Valentino boutiques in Rome and New York

1971 – Opening of the first menswear shop in Via Condotti

1971 – Valentino creates a new uniform collection for Trans World Airlines (TWA)stewardesses.

1975 – First fashion show of his Ready-to-Wear collection in Paris

1976 – Opens a boutique in Tokyo

1978 – Launch of the Valentino perfume at a gala evening in Paris, at the Theater des Champs Elysees

1982 – Publication of the book ''Valentino'', edited by Franco Maria Ricci 20 September, Valentino presents his Autumn/Winter collection at the Metropolitan Museum in New York

1983 – Valentino lends his talents to the Lincoln Continental, an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. His contribution includes unique color combinations for the 1983, 1984, and 1985 model years of the car.

1984 – Valentino celebrates his twenty-fifth year in the business and receives an official award from the Minister for Industry

1985 – He is awarded the Grand'Ufficiale dell'Ordine al Merito by the President of Italy

1986 – Receives the highest decoration possible in Italy, the Cavaliere di Gran Croce, from the President

1989 – First show of the haute couture collection in Paris

1990 – In February, Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti found L.I.F.E. (acronym in Italian for "Fighting, Informing, Building, Teaching"), an association working for the fight against Aids. The Accademia Valentino is also officially opened to the public with an exhibition of painters of the Roman School Exhibition of "The Art of Cartier" at the Accademia Valentino Publication of the book "Valentino: Trent'Anni de Magia", by Leonardo arte.

1991 – To celebrate his 30th year in the fashion business, an exhibition entitled "Valentino: Thirty Years of Magic" is organized in Valentino's honour by the Mayor of Rome at the Capitole Museum, while the Accademia Valentino presents a retrospective of his designs. Creation of the perfume Vendetta for men and women.

1992 – Exhibition at the Accademia Valentino entitled: "La seduzione da Boucher a Warhol" The "Valentino: Thirty Years of Magic"' exhibition is invited to go to New York to coincide with the fifth centenary celebrations of the discovery of America. Valentino is invited by the Chinese government to stage a show in Beijing* 1994 – In January, Valentino presents his first ever costume designs at the Eisenhower Theatre in the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., for an opera entitled ''The Dream of Valentino'', based on the life of the movie star Rudolf Valentino

1995 – Valentino's return to Italy is celebrated on 14 January in Florence with a fashion show at the Stazione Leopolda, over thirty years his first show at the Palazzo Pitti. The Mayor of Florence awards him the "Premio speciale dell'arte nella moda"

1996 – Valentino is named Cavaliere del Lavoro

2004 – launch of V perfume which will be followed by V for men

2006 – Opens a boutique on Newbury Street in Boston

2006 – President Chirac awards Valentino of the Légion d'honneur

2007 – Opens a boutique in Bangkok

2007 – Opens a boutique in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2007 – 4 September: Valentino announces his retirement

2007 – 4 October, Valentino shows his last fashion show.

2007 – Opens a boutique in Dallas at NorthPark Center

2008 – 23 January, Valentino shows his last Haute-Couture show, and retires fully from the world stage

2008 – Opens a boutique in Atlanta at Phipps Plaza

2010 – 1 January, Dancers of the Vienna State Opera Ballet wear his special designed costumes for the world wide broadcoasted New Years Concert played by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

2010 – 15 December, Valentino's early works will be exhibited at Valentino, Retrospective: Past, Present and Future

Personal life

Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti met in 1960 and have been together, both romantically and in business, for over 50 years. They discussed how they met and returned to the spot in the film Valentino: The Last Emperor.

Valentino's mother, Teresa, moved from Voghera to Rome to help with the business. Eventually he told both his parents that he was engaged to Italian actress Marilù Tolo, the only woman he had ever truly loved and with whom he had wished to have children.

Friends and entourage

Friends have become family for Valentino; his business associate life partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, Brazilian brothers Sean and Anthony Souza, as well as their parents, Carlos Souza and socialite Charlene Shorto de Ganay, Souza's ex-wife, who are both Valentino's public relations representatives. Carlos Souza met Valentino and Giammetti in 1973 in Rio de Janeiro when he was 18 years old. Valentino and Giammetti are also the godfathers of Anthony and Sean. Giammetti confided to ''Vanity Fair'' that "this family has stayed together because of me, because when Valentino gets mad he cuts – that is that. I remember when Carlos left and moved to Brazil and married Charlene. Valentino refused to speak to him, but I always talked to Carlos. Then one day Carlos called and said he had a baby boy, Sean. I handed the phone to Valentino, and he started to cry and cry".

Throughout his career, Valentino has been deeply inspired by many glamorous women. Some of them have become very close friends, making up what is referred to as the Valentino's "family". This includes Spanish socialites Nati Abascal, a former model who was married to the Duke of Feria, and Rosario Nadal, the ex-wife of Kyrill, Prince of Preslav. Valentino met Nati Abascal in 1968 at a party when she was a 19 year old model and brought her to Capri. Rosario of Bulgaria met Valentino in her native Majorca in the 90s via Carlos Souza at a club. Another close friend of Valentino is his former PR French-Brazilian Georgina Brandolini, who worked for Valentino for 18 years before leaving for Balmain and ultimately starting her own fashion career.

The Valentino entourage often travels together everywhere around the world for vacation, moving between Valentino's and Giammetti's various homes around the world and in summertime to the yacht, where for a period in the 90s, Giammetti made everyone except Valentino do needlepoint.

Valentino's PR Daniela Giardina, architect Tommaso Ziffer, a close friend of Giancarlo Giammetti, and actress Gwyneth Paltrow are also part of the group. Since Marzotto group's acquisition of Valentino from HdP group, Matteo Marzotto and his socialite mother Marta Marzotto often join the party.

Pets

Valentino adores dogs to the point that he once named a second line of clothing after his late pug Oliver. Today Valentino owns six pugs: the mother, Molly; her sons, Milton and Monty; and her daughters, Margot, Maude and Maggie. When traveling on his 14-seat Challenger jet, three cars are needed to move Valentino and his entourage to the airport: one to move Valentino and Giammetti, another for the luggage and the staff and a third to transport five of six Valentino's pugs as one of them, Maude, always travels with Valentino.

Interests

Both Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti are renowned for their extensive collection of art spread among their homes around the world including Picasso, Cy Twombly, Balthus, Damien Hirst. In the 1980s they became close friends (and clients) of Thomas Ammann with whom they shared their passion for Warhol and Twombly especially, "...it was Thomas Ammann who taught us to love art...".

Valentino and Giammetti's lifestyle has been considered flamboyant. John Fairchild, editor-at-large at ''Women's Wear Daily'' and ''W'', told ''Vanity Fair'', :Valentino and Giancarlo are the kings of high living. Every other designer looks and says, ‘How do they live the way they do?’ I don’t think they made the money that Valentino and Giancarlo did, because Giancarlo knows how to make money. If they did, they didn’t spend the money like Valentino. No other designer ever did. When the terrorism first started in Rome – the period when the Red Brigades were kidnapping people – Valentino was riding around in a bulletproof Mercedes. And do you know what color the Mercedes was? Red. My God, I thought, you must want to get blown up.

Valentino owns multiple villas and apartments around the world, all filled with art: Palazzo Mignanelli near the Spanish steps in Rome and a villa on the Via Appia Antica, a major historical landmark of Rome, Chalet Gifferhorn in Gstaad, Switzerland. In France, the Chateau de Wideville, a castle on in Davron, about 30 minutes outside Paris which he bought in 1998 and had meticulously restored by the late Henri Samuel, the dean of French interior design. The castle had been previously decorated by the late Renzo Mongiardino, the greatest of the Italian decorators, who also worked on Valentino's Roman villa and Giammetti's Tuscan house. Built circa 1600, the castle was once the home of Claude de Bullion, the finance minister for Louis XIII, who slept at Wideville, according to a plaque in the castle, on 22 January 1634. During the reign of Louis XIV, Madame de la Valliere, one of his mistresses, lived at Wideville. Her bedroom, a mirrored-walled chapel with a -high ceiling, was converted into a bathroom. Valentino also has an apartment near the Frick Museum overlooking Central Park, New York and one of the largest private houses in London's Holland Park, a 19th-century mansion whose centerpiece is the grand salon, which features five late Picassos. The breakfast room is lined with 200 Meissen porcelain plates, and the small salon has two Basquiat paintings and a painting by Damien Hirst. His villa on the cliffs of Capri has recently been sold.

Valentino also spends much time on ''T. M. Blue One'', his yacht boasting a full-time staff of eleven, and a selection of art ranging from Picassos to Andy Warhol. He frequently visits Giancarlo Giammetti's residences: the penthouses in Via Condotti in Rome and on the Quai D'Orsay in Paris, or the country estate in Cetona, Tuscany.

See also

Thomas Ammann

Jacqueline de Ribes

References

External links

Official website

Official website for ''Valentino: The Last Emperor'' documentary film

Paris Fashion Show 2007 – Valentino spring and summer collection gellery

Valentino feature in Harper's BAZAAR

"Getting Valentino" featurette for ''The Devil Wears Prada'' film

a long and detailed article on Valentino by Michael Specter

Oprah's Valentino special

Martha Stewart's Valentino special

"Valentino-Fashion Press"

Valentino's profile in the FMD-database

Sewing patterns by Valentino

Theodora & Callum Interview with Valentino's Director of Public Relations, Carlos Souza

Category:1932 births Category:Italian fashion designers Category:LGBT people from Italy Category:LGBT fashion designers Category:Living people Category:People from Voghera Category:Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Category:Alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts

cs:Valentino Garavani de:Valentino Garavani es:Valentino fr:Valentino Garavani gan:華倫蒂羅·嘉拿華尼 it:Valentino (stilista) nl:Valentino Garavani no:Valentino Garavani pt:Valentino Garavani ru:Гаравани, Валентино fi:Valentino sv:Valentino Garavani uk:Валентіно Ґаравані vi:Valentino