Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
Name	University of Oxford
Latin name	Universitas Oxoniensis
Image name	Oxford University.svg
Motto	''Dominus Illuminatio Mea'' (Latin)
Mottoeng	The Lord is my Light
Established	Unknown, teaching existed since
Endowment	£3.3 billion (inc. colleges)
Chancellor	The Rt. Hon. Lord Patten of Barnes
Vice chancellor	Andrew Hamilton
City	Oxford
Country	England, UK
Students	20,330
Undergrad	11,766
Postgrad	8,701
Other	461
Colours	Oxford Blue
Affiliations	IARURussell GroupCoimbra GroupEuropaeumEUAG5LERU
Website	ox.ac.uk
Logo	}}

The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University, or simply Oxford) is a university in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although the exact date of its foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back as the 11th century. The University grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. In post-nominals, the University of Oxford was historically abbreviated as Oxon. (from the Latin ''Oxoniensis''), although Oxf is nowadays used in official university publications.

After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled north-east to Cambridge, where they established what became the University of Cambridge. The two ancient English universities have many common features and are often jointly referred to as ''Oxbridge''. In addition to their cultural and practical associations, as a historic part of British society, they have a long history of rivalry with each other.

Most undergraduate teaching at Oxford is organised around weekly tutorials at self-governing colleges and halls, supported by lectures and laboratory classes organised by University faculties and departments. League tables consistently list Oxford as one of the UK's best universities; the university regularly contends with Cambridge for first place in the tables. Oxford consistently ranks in the world's top 10. For more than a century, it has served as the home of the Rhodes Scholarship, which brings students from a number of countries to study at Oxford as postgraduates or for a second bachelor's degree.

Oxford is a member of the Russell Group of research-led British universities, the Coimbra Group, the G5, the League of European Research Universities, and the International Alliance of Research Universities. It is also a core member of the Europaeum and forms part of the 'Golden Triangle' of British universities.

History

The University of Oxford does not have a known date of foundation. Teaching at Oxford existed in some form in 1096, but it is unclear at what point a university came into being.

The expulsion of foreigners from the University of Paris in 1167 caused many English scholars to return from France and settle in Oxford. The historian Gerald of Wales lectured to such scholars in 1188, and the first known foreign scholar, Emo of Friesland, arrived in 1190. The head of the University was named a chancellor from at least 1201, and the masters were recognised as a ''universitas'' or corporation in 1231. The students associated together on the basis of geographical origins, into two “nations”, representing the North (including the Scots) and the South (including the Irish and the Welsh). In later centuries, geographical origins continued to influence many students' affiliations when membership of a college or hall became customary in Oxford. Members of many religious orders, including Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and Augustinians, settled in Oxford in the mid-13th century, gained influence, and maintained houses for students. At about the same time, private benefactors established colleges to serve as self-contained scholarly communities. Among the earliest such founders were William of Durham, who in 1249 endowed University College, and John Balliol, father of a future King of Scots: Balliol College bears his name. Another founder, Walter de Merton, a chancellor of England and afterwards Bishop of Rochester, devised a series of regulations for college life; Merton College thereby became the model for such establishments at Oxford, as well as at the University of Cambridge. Thereafter, an increasing number of students forsook living in halls and religious houses in favour of living in colleges.

The new learning of the Renaissance greatly influenced Oxford from the late 15th century onwards. Among university scholars of the period were William Grocyn, who contributed to the revival of the Greek language, and John Colet, the noted biblical scholar. With the Reformation and the breaking of ties with the Roman Catholic Church, Recusant scholars from Oxford fled to continental Europe, settling especially at the University of Douai. The method of teaching at Oxford was transformed from the medieval Scholastic method to Renaissance education, although institutions associated with the university suffered losses of land and revenues. In 1636, Chancellor William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, codified the university's statutes; these to a large extent remained its governing regulations until the mid-19th century. Laud was also responsible for the granting of a charter securing privileges for the University Press, and he made significant contributions to the Bodleian Library, the main library of the university. The university was a centre of the Royalist party during the English Civil War (1642–1649), while the town favoured the opposing Parliamentarian cause. From the mid-18th century onwards, however, the University of Oxford took little part in political conflicts.

The mid nineteenth century saw the impact of the Oxford Movement (1833–1845), led among others by the future Cardinal Newman. The influence of the reformed model of German university reached Oxford via key scholars such as Benjamin Jowett and Max Müller.

Administrative reforms during the 19th century included the replacement of oral examinations with written entrance tests, greater tolerance for religious dissent, and the establishment of four women's colleges. Twentieth century Privy Council decisions (such as the abolition of compulsory daily worship, dissociation of the Regius professorship of Hebrew from clerical status, diversion of theological bequests to colleges to other purposes) loosened the link with traditional belief and practice. Although the University's emphasis traditionally had been on classical knowledge, its curriculum expanded in the course of the 19th century to encompass scientific and medical studies.

The mid twentieth century saw many distinguished continental scholars, displaced by Nazism and Communism, relocating to Oxford.

The list of distinguished scholars at the University of Oxford is long and includes many who have made major contributions to British politics, the sciences, medicine, and literature. More than forty Nobel laureates and more than fifty world leaders have been affiliated with the University of Oxford.

Women's education

The University passed a Statute in 1875 allowing its delegates to create preliminary and final examinations at roughly undergraduate level. The first four women's' colleges were established thanks to the activism of the Association for Promoting the Higher Education of Women (AEW). Lady Margaret Hall (1878) was followed by Somerville College in 1879; the first 21 students from Somerville and LMH attended lectures in rooms above an Oxford baker's shop. The first two colleges for women were followed by St Hugh's (1886), St Hilda's (1893) and St Anne's College (1952). Oxford was long considered a bastion of male privilege, and it was not until 7 October 1920 that women became eligible for admission as full members of the university and were given the right to take degrees . In 1927 a quota of female students was instituted by the University's dons, a ruling not abolished until 1957. However, until the 1970s all Oxford colleges were for men or women only, so that the number of women was effectively limited by the capacity of the women's colleges to admit students. It was not until 1959 that the women's colleges were given full collegiate status.

In 1974, five previously all-male colleges became co-educational. In 2008, St Hilda's became the last of the women's colleges to admit men also, so that all of the Oxford colleges are now co-educational. By 1988, 40% of undergraduates at Oxford were female; the ratio is now about 48:52 in men's favour.

The detective novel ''"Gaudy Night"'' by Dorothy Sayers – herself one of the first women to get an academic degree at Oxford – takes place in a (fictional) women's college at Oxford, and the issue of women's education is central to its plot.

==Organisation== As a collegiate university, Oxford's structure can be confusing to those unfamiliar with it. The university is a federation: it comprises over forty self-governing colleges and halls, along with a central administration headed by the Vice-Chancellor. The academic departments are located centrally within this structure; they are not affiliated with any particular college. Departments provide facilities for teaching and research, determine the syllabi and guidelines for the teaching of students, perform research, and deliver lectures and seminars. Colleges arrange the tutorial teaching for their undergraduates. The members of an academic department are spread around many colleges; though certain colleges do have subject alignments (e.g. Nuffield College as a centre for the social sciences), these are exceptions, and most colleges will have a broad mix of academics and students from a diverse range of subjects. Facilities such as libraries are provided on all these levels: by the central university (the Bodleian), by the departments (individual departmental libraries, such as the English Faculty Library), and by colleges (each of which maintains a multi-discipline library for the use of its members).

Central governance

The university's formal head is the Chancellor (currently Lord Patten of Barnes), though as with most British universities, the Chancellor is a titular figure, rather than someone involved with the day-to-day running of the university. The Chancellor is elected by the members of Convocation, a body comprising all graduates of the university, and holds office until death.

The Vice-Chancellor, currently Andrew Hamilton, is the "de facto" head of the University. Five Pro-Vice-Chancellors have specific responsibilities for Education; Research; Planning and Resources; Development and External Affairs; and Personnel and Equal Opportunities. The University Council is the executive policy-forming body, which consists of the Vice-Chancellor as well as heads of departments and other members elected by Congregation, in addition to observers from the Student Union. Congregation, the "parliament of the dons", comprises over 3,700 members of the University’s academic and administrative staff, and has ultimate responsibility for legislative matters: it discusses and pronounces on policies proposed by the University Council. Oxford and Cambridge (which is similarly structured) are unique for this democratic form of governance.

Two university proctors, who are elected annually on a rotating basis from two of the colleges, are the internal ombudsmen who make sure that the university and its members adhere to its statutes. This role incorporates student welfare and discipline, as well as oversight of the university's proceedings. The collection of University Professors is called the Statutory Professors of the University of Oxford. They are particularly influential in the running of the graduate programmes within the University. Examples of Statutory Professors are the Chichele Professorships and the Drummond Professor of Political Economy. The various academic faculties, departments, and institutes are organised into four divisions, each with their own Head and elected board. They are the Humanities Division; the Social Sciences Division; the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division; and the Medical Sciences Division.

The University of Oxford is a "public university" in the sense that it receives a large amount of public money from the government and from local authorities, but it is a "private university" in the sense that it is entirely self-governing and could choose to become entirely private by rejecting public funds.

Colleges

There are thirty-eight colleges of the University of Oxford and six Permanent Private Halls, each controlling its membership and with its own internal structure and activities. All resident students, and most academic staff, must be members both of a college or hall, and of the university. The heads of Oxford colleges are known by various titles, according to the college, including warden, provost, principal, president, rector, master and dean. The colleges join together as the Conference of Colleges to discuss policy and to deal with the central University administration. Teaching members of the colleges (fellows and tutors) are collectively and familiarly known as dons, although the term is rarely used by the university itself. In addition to residential and dining facilities, the colleges provide social, cultural, and recreational activities for their members. Colleges have responsibility for admitting undergraduates and organising their tuition; for graduates, this responsibility falls upon the departments.

Teaching and degrees

Undergraduate teaching is centred on the tutorial, where 1–4 students spend an hour with an academic discussing their week’s work, usually an essay (humanities, most social sciences, some mathematical, physical, and life sciences) or problem sheet (most mathematical, physical, and life sciences, and some social sciences). Students usually have one or two tutorials a week, and can be taught by academics at any other college—not just their own—as expertise and personnel requires. These tutorials are complemented by lectures, classes and seminars, which are organised on a departmental basis. Graduate students undertaking taught degrees are usually instructed through classes and seminars, though there is more focus upon individual research.

The university itself is responsible for conducting examinations and conferring degrees. The passing of two sets of examinations is a prerequisite for a first degree. The first set of examinations, called either Honour Moderations ("Mods" and "Honour Mods") or Preliminary Examinations ("Prelims"), are usually held at the end of the first year (after two terms for those studying Law, Theology, Philosophy and Theology, Experimental Psychology or Psychology, Philosophy and Physiology or after five terms in the case of Classics). The second set of examinations, the Final Honour School ("Finals"), is held at the end of the undergraduate course. Successful candidates receive first-, upper or lower second-, or third-class honours based on their performance in Finals. An upper second is the most usual result, and a first is generally prerequisite for graduate study. A "double first" reflects first class results in both Honour Mods. and Finals. Research degrees at the master's and doctoral level are conferred in all subjects studied at graduate level at the university. As a matter of tradition, bachelor's degree graduates are eligible, after seven years from matriculation and without additional study, to purchase for a nominal fee an upgrade of their bachelor's degree to a "MA" or Master of Arts. All MAs were members of Convocation and until 1913 all resident members of Convocation were members of Congregation. MAs, as members of Convocation, elected the Chancellor and Professor of Poetry, but recently Convocation has been widened to consist of all graduates.

Academic year

The academic year is divided into three terms, determined by Regulations. Michaelmas Term lasts from October to December; Hilary Term from January to March; and Trinity Term from April to June.

Within these terms, Council determines for each year eight-week periods called Full Terms, during which undergraduate teaching takes place. These terms are shorter than those of many other British universities. Undergraduates are also expected to prepare heavily in the three holidays (known as the Christmas, Easter and Long Vacations).

Internally at least, the dates in the term are often referred to by a number in reference to the start of each full term, thus the first week of any full term is called "1st week" and the last is "8th week". The numbering of the weeks continues up to the end of the term, and begins again with negative numbering from the beginning of the succeeding term, through "minus first week" and "noughth week", which precedes "1st week". Weeks begin on a Sunday. Undergraduates must be in residence from Thursday of 0th week.

Traditions

Academic dress is still commonly seen at Oxford; until the 1960s students wore it at all times. It is required for examinations and when visiting university officers. Other traditions and customs vary by college, one of the most common being the requirement to wear gowns for dinner in hall.

Finances

In 2005/06 the University had an income of £608m, and the colleges £237m (of which £41m is a flow-through from the University). For the University, key sources were HEFCE (£166m) and research grants (£213m). For the colleges, the largest single source was endowments and interest (£82m) and residential charges (£47m). While the University has the larger operating budget, the colleges have a far larger aggregate endowment, at around £2.7bn compared to the University's £900m. The Central University's endowment, along with that of many of the colleges, is managed by the University's wholly owned endowment management office, Oxford University Endowment Management, formed in 2007.

The University also launched a fundraising campaign in May 2008, called ''Oxford Thinking – The Campaign for the University of Oxford''. With a minimum goal of £1.25 billion, the Campaign is looking to support three areas: academic posts and programmes, student support, and buildings and infrastructure.

Admission

Age

Oxford has no upper or lower limit on the age of those admitted as undergraduates. Historically, it was common for boys to become members of the university between the ages of fourteen and nineteen. Jeremy Bentham matriculated in 1761 at the age of thirteen, which was unusually young. At the present time, the usual age range of those admitted to study for first degrees begins at about seventeen, although the majority are eighteen or nineteen. Mature students, while not in great numbers in all colleges, are a higher proportion of those at Ruskin. Harris Manchester caters only to mature students above 21. In theory, much younger people can still be admitted to the university if they meet the entrance standard, and Ruth Lawrence matriculated at Oxford in 1983 at the age of twelve.

Procedure

Prospective students apply through the UCAS application system, in common with most British universities, but (along with applicants for Medicine, Dentistry and Cambridge applicants) must observe an earlier deadline of 15 October. To allow a more personalised judgement of students, who might otherwise apply for both, undergraduate applicants are not permitted to apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same year. The only exceptions are applicants for Organ Scholarships and those applying to read for a second undergraduate degree. Students from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply, with "contextual data" (factors that may have influenced prior exam performance) taken into account during the admission procedure. The university belives that there are many potential students from less well off backgrounds who they can't admit, simply because they don't apply.

Most applicants choose to apply to one of the individual colleges, which work with each other to ensure that the best students gain a place somewhere at the University whichever college they choose. Shortlisting is based on achieved and predicted exam results; school references and, in some subjects, written admission tests or candidate-submitted written work. Approximately 60% of applicants are shortlisted, although this varies by subject. If a large number of shortlisted applicants for a subject choose one college, then students who named that college may be reallocated randomly to under-subscribed colleges for the subject. The colleges then invite shortlisted candidates for interview, where they are provided with food and accommodation for at least three days in December. Most applicants will be individually interviewed by academics at more than one college, however some are interviewed at more colleges than this. In 2007 the colleges, faculties and departments published a "common framework" outlining the principles and procedures they observe.

Offers are sent out shortly before Christmas, with an offer usually being from a specific college. One in four successful candidates receive offers from a college that they did not apply to. Some courses may make "open offers" to some candidates, which do not carry an attachment to a particular college until A Level results day in August.

For graduate student admissions, many colleges express a preference for candidates who will be undertaking research in an area of interest of one of its fellows. St Hugh's College, for example, states that it accepts graduate students in most subjects, principally those in the fields of interest of the Fellows of the college. Perhaps as a consequence of this, it is not uncommon for a graduate student to be a member of his/her supervisor's college, although this is not an official university requirement. For graduate students, admission is first handled by the relevant department, and then by a college.

Access

The University states that its admissions policies avoid bias against candidates of certain socio-economic or educational backgrounds. However, the fairness of Oxford admissions has attracted public controversy through episodes such as the Laura Spence Affair in 2000. Gaining places at Oxford and Cambridge remains a central focus for many private and selective state schools, and the lack of a social mix at the university representing society at large remains a point of controversy. Veiled accusations of racism, however, have been refuted by comparison of A-level results with successful applications. In 2007, the University refined its admissions procedure to take into account the academic performance of its applicants' schools.

Students who apply from state schools and colleges have a broadly comparable acceptance rate to those from independent schools (19% and 24% of applicants accepted respectively, 2010). However, most pupils who are accepted from state schools come from 'elite' grammar and selective schools, rather than comprehensives. More than half of applications come from the state sector, and the University of Oxford funds many initiatives to attract applicants from this sector, including the new UNIQ Summer Schools, Oxford Young Ambassadors, Target Schools, and the FE Access Initiative. Most colleges also run their own access schemes and initiatives.

In 2002, the University of Oxford commissioned a research project under the auspices of Professor Anthony Heath. Almost 2,000 applicants for admission participated in the project; about one third of them were admitted. The project found that, if anything, admissions tutors treat applicants from state schools more favourably than applicants from private schools with the same attainment. The research also suggested that this discounting was justified as private school students need higher grades at entry to do as well as their state school educated peers in final university examinations. Finally, the study found that applicants to arts subjects had an advantage in admission when they displayed high levels of cultural capital.

Mature and part-time students are supported by the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education.

Scholarships and financial support

There are many opportunities for students at Oxford to receive financial help during their studies. The Oxford Opportunity Bursaries, introduced in 2006, are university-wide means-based bursaries available to any British undergraduate. With a total possible grant of £10,235 over a 3-year degree, it is the most generous bursary scheme offered by any British university. In addition, individual colleges also offer bursaries and funds to help their students. For graduate study, there are many scholarships attached to the University, available to students from all sorts of backgrounds, from Rhodes Scholarships to the new Weidenfeld Scholarships.

Students successful in early examinations are rewarded by their colleges with scholarships and exhibitions, normally the result of a long-standing endowment, although when tuition fees were first abolished, the amounts of money available became purely nominal. Scholars, and exhibitioners in some colleges, are entitled to wear a more voluminous undergraduate gown; "commoners" (originally those who had to pay for their "commons", or food and lodging) being restricted to a short, sleeveless garment. The term "scholar" in relation to Oxbridge, therefore, had a specific meaning as well as the more general meaning of someone of outstanding academic ability. In previous times, there were "noblemen commoners" and "gentlemen commoners", but these ranks were abolished in the 19th century. "Closed" scholarships, available only to candidates who fitted specific conditions such as coming from specific schools, exist now only in name.

From the inception of the Church of England until 1866 membership of the church was a requirement to receive the BA degree from Oxford, and "dissenters" were only permitted to receive the MA in 1871. Knowledge of Ancient Greek was required until 1920, and Latin until 1960. Women were admitted to degrees in 1920.

Collections

Libraries

Oxford has more than 100 libraries, nearly 40 of which make up the Bodleian library system. Oxford's central research library is the Bodleian, founded by Sir Thomas Bodley in 1598 and opened in 1602. With over 11 million volumes housed on of shelving, it is the second-largest library in the UK, after the British Library. It is a legal deposit library, which means that it is entitled to request a free copy of every book published in the UK. As such, its collection is growing at a rate of over three miles (five kilometres) of shelving every year. Its main central site consists of the Radcliffe Camera, the Old Schools Quadrangle, the Clarendon Building, and the New Bodleian Building. A tunnel underneath Broad Street connects the buildings. There are plans to build a new book depository in Osney Mead, and to remodel the New Bodleian building to better showcase the library’s various treasures (which include a Shakespeare First Folio and a Gutenberg Bible) as well as temporary exhibitions. Several other libraries, such as the Bodleian Law Library, Indian Institute Library, Radcliffe Science Library, the Oriental Institute Library and the Vere Harmsworth Library, also fall within the Bodleian’s remit.

As well as the Bodleian, there are a number of other specialised libraries in Oxford, such as the Sackler Library which holds classical collections. In addition, most academic departments maintain their own library, as do all colleges. The University’s entire collection is catalogued by the Oxford Libraries Information System, though with such a huge collection, this is an ongoing task. Oxford University Library Services, the head of which is Bodley’s Librarian, is the governing administrative body responsible for libraries in Oxford. The Bodleian is currently engaged in a mass-digitisation project with Google.

Museums

Oxford maintains a number of museums and galleries in addition to its libraries. The Ashmolean Museum, founded in 1683, is the oldest museum in the UK, and the oldest university museum in the world. It holds significant collections of art and archaeology, including works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Turner, and Picasso, as well as treasures such as the Scorpion Macehead, the Parian Marble and the Alfred Jewel. It also contains "The Messiah", a pristine Stradivarius violin, regarded by some as one of the finest examples in existence. The Ashmolean reopened in November 2009, after a £49m redevelopment, doubling the display space as well as providing new facilities.

The Museum of Natural History holds the University’s anatomical and natural history specimens. It is housed in a large neo-Gothic building on Parks Road, in the University’s Science Area. Among its collection are the skeletons of a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' and ''triceratops'', and the most complete remains of a dodo found anywhere in the world. It also hosts the Simonyi Professorship of the Public Understanding of Science, currently held by Marcus du Sautoy.

thumb|right|Autumn in the Walled Garden of the [[Oxford Botanic Garden|Botanic Garden.]]Adjoining the Museum of Natural History is the Pitt Rivers Museum, founded in 1884, which displays the University’s archaeological and anthropological collections, currently holding over 500,000 items. It recently built a new research annexe; its staff have been involved with the teaching of anthropology at Oxford since its foundation, when as part of his donation General Augustus Pitt Rivers stipulated that the University establish a lectureship in anthropology.

The Museum of the History of Science is housed on Broad St in the world’s oldest-surviving purpose-built museum building. It contains 15,000 artefacts, from antiquity to the 20th century, representing almost all aspects of the history of science. In the Faculty of Music on St Aldate's is the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, a collection mostly of instruments from Western classical music, from the medieval period onwards. The Botanic Garden is the oldest botanic garden in the UK, and the third-oldest scientific garden in the world. It contains representatives from over 90% of the world’s higher plant families. Christ Church Picture Gallery holds a collection of over 200 old master paintings.

Reputation

In the subject tables of the Times Good University Guide 2008, Oxford is ranked as the top university in the UK with Cambridge as the second. Oxford is ranked first in Politics, Physiological Sciences, English, Fine Art, Business Studies, Middle Eastern and African Studies, Music, Philosophy, and also Education and Linguistics which it shares first with Cambridge. Oxford comes second after Cambridge in a further seventeen subjects. The University then takes three third-places and an equal-third, as well as a fourth, fifth, and equal-sixth place in one subject each.

In the Guardian's subject tables for institutions in tariff-band 6 (universities whose prospective students are expected to score 400 or more tariff points) Oxford took first place for Anatomy and Physiology, Anthropology, Biosciences, Business and Management Studies, Earth and Marine Sciences, Economics, English, Law, Materials and Mineral Engineering, Modern Languages, Music, Politics, Psychology, and Sociology. Oxford came second to Cambridge in Geography, Archaeology, Classics, History, History of Art, Mathematics, Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies. Oxford came second in General Engineering, and third in Fine Art, General Engineering and Physics; fourth place in Chemistry and Medicine; second place in Computer Science and IT.

In the 2010 Academic Ranking of World Universities, Oxford was ranked 10th in the world and second in Europe. In the 2010 QS World University Rankings Oxford University dropped a place to sixth in the world (while Cambridge University came first), falling from fifth (alongside Imperial College London) in the 2009 THE – QS World University Rankings (in 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and QS World University Rankings parted ways to produce separate rankings). It had been consistently in the top five since the rankings began in 2004. In 2009 it had been ranked second in the world for arts and humanities, third in life sciences and biomedicine, third in social sciences, and fifth in natural sciences. Oxford also came second in the world in terms of graduate employability. According to the 2011 Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings – based on a survey of 13,388 academics over 131 countries which is the largest evaluation of academic reputation to date – Oxford belongs to the elite group of six universities touted as the 'globally recognised super brands'. Oxford is one of four UK universities that belong to the Coimbra Group, one of four UK universities that belong to the League of European Research Universities, and one of three UK universities that belong to both. It is the only UK university to belong to the Europaeum group.

League table rankings

!

! 2012

! 2011

! 2010

! 2009

! 2008

! 2007

! 2006

! 2005

! 2004

! 2003

! 2002

! 2001

! 2000

! 1999

! 1998

! 1997

! 1996

! 1995

! 1994

! 1993

Good University Guide>Times Good University Guide

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

2nd

3rd

3rd

3rd

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

! Guardian University Guide

2nd

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

2nd

1st

2nd

2nd

2nd

! Sunday Times University Guide

1st

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

! [[The Independent

2

1st

1st

1st

2nd

4th

4th

! FT

2nd

2nd

2nd

2nd

3rd

3rd

qs w	6
arwu w	10
arwu n	2
thes w	6
forbes	6 }}

Notable alumni and academics

There are many notable Oxonians (as alumni of the University are known):

Twenty-six British prime ministers have attended Oxford, including William Gladstone, Herbert Asquith, Clement Attlee, Harold Macmillan, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and most recently David Cameron.

At least thirty other international leaders have been educated at Oxford. This number includes Harald V of Norway, Abdullah II of Jordan, three Prime Ministers of Australia (John Gorton, Malcolm Fraser and Bob Hawke), two Prime Ministers of Canada (Lester B. Pearson, and John Turner), two Prime Ministers of India (Manmohan Singh and Indira Gandhi), four Prime Ministers of Pakistan (Liaquat Ali Khan, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and Benazir Bhutto), S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, Norman Washington Manley of Jamaica, Eric Williams (Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago), Álvaro Uribe (Colombia's former President), Abhisit Vejjajiva (former Prime Minister of Thailand) and Bill Clinton (the first President of the United States to have attended Oxford; he attended as a Rhodes Scholar). Arthur Mutambara (Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe ),was a Rhodes Scholar in 1991. The Burmese democracy activist and Nobel laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, was a student of St. Hugh's College. Including Aung San Suu Kyi, forty-seven Nobel prize-winners have studied or taught at Oxford.

Oxford has also produced at least twelve saints, and twenty Archbishops of Canterbury, including the current incumbent, Rowan Williams, (who studied at Wadham College and was later a Canon Professor at Christ Church). Another religious figure was Mirza Nasir Ahmad, the third Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and Shoghi Effendi, one of the appointed leaders of the Baha'i faith. Some fifty Olympic medal-winners have academic connections with the university, including Sir Matthew Pinsent, quadruple gold-medallist rower. T. E. Lawrence was a student at Jesus College, while other illustrious students include the explorer, courtier, and man of letters, Sir Walter Raleigh, (who attended Oriel College but left without taking a degree) to the Australian media mogul, Rupert Murdoch. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, studied at Christ Church and was elected a fellow of Lincoln College.

The long list of writers associated with Oxford includes John Fowles, Theodor Geisel, Thomas Middleton, Samuel Johnson, Robert Graves, Evelyn Waugh, Lewis Carroll, Aldous Huxley, Oscar Wilde, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Graham Greene, V.S.Naipaul, Phillip Pullman, Joseph Heller, Vikram Seth, the poets Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Donne, A. E. Housman, W. H. Auden, T. S. Eliot, Wendy Perriam and Philip Larkin, and seven poets laureate (Thomas Warton, Henry James Pye, Robert Southey, Robert Bridges, Cecil Day-Lewis, Sir John Betjeman, and Andrew Motion).

Economists Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, E. F. Schumacher and Amartya Sen, and philosophers, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes and Jeremy Bentham, have all spent time at Oxford, as have major scientific pioneers such as Albert Einstein and Erwin Schrödinger. Some pioneers of the scientific revolution, such as Robert Hooke and Robert Boyle, either studied at Oxford or were otherwise associated with the university.

Some notable scientists include Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins, Nobel prize-winner Anthony James Leggett,, Tim Berners-Lee, co-inventor of the World Wide Web, and W. S. Gosset, discoverer of the Student's t-distribution.

Composers Sir Hubert Parry, George Butterworth, John Taverner, William Walton, James Whitbourn and Andrew Lloyd-Webber have all been involved with the university.

Actors Hugh Grant, Kate Beckinsale, Dudley Moore, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones were undergraduates at the University, as were Oscar-winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and film-makers Ken Loach and Richard Curtis. Sportspeople who have attended the university include Imran Khan.

More complete information on famous senior and junior members of the University can be found in the individual college articles (an individual may be associated with two or more colleges, as an undergraduate, postgraduate, and/or member of staff).

Affiliates and other institutions

Notable organisations and institutions officially connected with the University include:

Faculties and Departments

:''See:'' Departments of the University of Oxford

Clubs and societies

Oxford Union Society (debating society)

Oxford University A.F.C. (association football club)

Oxford University Amateur Boxing Club

Oxford University Society of Bibliophiles

Oxford University Boat Club (rowing club participating in The Boat Race)

Oxford University Cricket Club (Cricket team whose matches are accorded First Class Status. Participates in The University Match)

Oxford University Dancesport Club

Oxford University Dramatic Society

Oxford University Film Foundation

Oxford University Invariant Society

Oxford University Newman Society (Catholic speaker and debating society)

Oxford University RFC (rugby club participating in the Varsity Match)

Oxford University Scientific Society

Oxford University Student Union

Oxford University Conservative Association

Oxford University Liberal Democrats

Oxford University Labour Club

Oxford University Ski and Snowboard Club (Governing club of the Varsity Trip)

Oxford University Wine Society

Stubbs Society

Bullingdon Club

Media

''Cherwell'' (Student publication)

''Isis'' (Student publication)

''Oxford Student Publications Limited'' (Student publishing house)

''The Owl Journal'' (Student publication)

Journal of the Oxford University History Society (academic journal)

Oxford University Press (world's largest university press)

Oxide Radio (Student radio station)

''The Oxford Student'' (Student publication)

''The Oxonian Review of Books'' (Graduate student publication)

''The Triple Helix Oxford'' (Student publication)

''The Oxymoron'' (Satirical student publication)

Buildings and parks

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford

Oxford University Parks

Radcliffe Camera

Rhodes Trust, the centre of the Rhodes Scholarship

Sheldonian Theatre

Tom Tower

University Church of St Mary the Virgin

Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum

Other institutions

There are other higher and further education institutions in Oxford, including various independent "colleges", not associated with the University. These include Oxford Brookes University; Ruskin College, Oxford – an adult education college – which, although not part of the University of Oxford, has close links with it; and the former Lady Spencer Churchill teaching college (now the Wheatley campus of Oxford Brookes).

The University of Oxford is an Educational Alliance Partner of the Meade 4M Community which supports the University's 'Project Jetwatch' program.

==Oxford in literature and other media== Oxford University is the setting for numerous works of fiction. Oxford was mentioned in fiction as early as 1400 when Chaucer in his ''Canterbury Tales'' referred to a "Clerk [student] of Oxenford": "For him was levere have at his beddes heed/ Twenty bookes, clad in blak or reed,/ of Aristotle and his philosophie/ Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrie". As of 1989, 533 Oxford-based novels had been identified, and the number continues to rise. Famous literary works range from ''Brideshead Revisited'', by Evelyn Waugh, to the trilogy ''His Dark Materials'' by Philip Pullman, which features an alternate-reality version of the University. Sir Humphrey Appleby, GCB, KBE, MVO, MA (Oxon) attended the fictional Baillie College in ''Yes Minister'', and ''The Complete Yes Minister'' book's introduction, dated September 2019, was written from the equally fictitious Hacker College.

See also

Academic dress of the University of Oxford

Commemoration Balls

Eights Week college boat races

Encaenia

Formal Hall

Gaisford Prize

Gaudy Celebrations

Golden Triangle (UK universities)

''The Language Report''

List of medieval universities

May Morning Celebration

Oxford '-er'

Oxford bags

Oxford comma

Oxford Scarf Colours

Oxford Standard for Citation Of Legal Authorities or "OSCOLA"

Oxford University Police

Oxford University (UK Parliament constituency)

Punting

Torpids college boat races

Town and gown

Jacob Barnet affair

References

Notes

Bibliography

Annan, Noel, ''The Dons: Mentors, Eccentrics and Geniuses'' HarperCollins (London, 1999)

Batson, Judy G., ''Oxford in Fiction'', Garland (New York, 1989).

Betjeman, John, ''An Oxford University Chest'', Miles (London, 1938).

Brooke, Christopher and Roger Highfield, ''Oxford and Cambridge'', Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, 1988).

Casson, Hugh, ''Hugh Casson's Oxford'', Phaidon (London, 1988).

Catto, Jeremy (ed.), ''The History of the University of Oxford'', Oxford University Press (Oxford, 1994).

Clark, Andrew (ed.), ''The colleges of Oxford: their history and traditions'', Methuen & C. (London, 1891).

De-la-Noy, Michael, ''Exploring Oxford'', Headline (London, 1991).

Dougill, John, ''Oxford in English Literature'', University of Michigan Press (Ann Arbor, 1998).

Feiler, Bruce, ''Looking for Class: Days and Nights at Oxford and Cambridge'', Perennial (New York, 2004).

Fraser, Antonia (ed.), ''Oxford and Oxfordshire in Verse'', Penguin (London, 1983).

Kenny, Anthony & Kenny, Robert, ''Can Oxford be Improved?'', Imprint Academic (Exeter, 2007)

Knight, William (ed.), ''The Glamour of Oxford'', Blackwell (New York, 1911).

Pursglove, Glyn and Alistair Ricketts (eds.), ''Oxford in Verse'', Perpetua (Oxford, 1999).

Hibbert, Christopher, ''The Encyclopaedia of Oxford'', Macmillan (Basingstoke, 1988).

Horan, David, ''Cities of the Imagination: Oxford'', Signal (Oxford, 2002).

Miles, Jebb, ''The Colleges of Oxford'', Constable (London, 1992).

Morris, Jan, ''Oxford'', Faber and Faber/OUP (London, 1965/2001).

Morris, Jan, ''The Oxford Book of Oxford'', Oxford University Press (Oxford, 2002).

Pursglove, G. and A. Ricketts (eds.), ''Oxford in Verse'', Perpetua (Oxford, 1999).

Seccombe, Thomas and H. Scott (eds.), ''In Praise of Oxford'' (2 vols.), Constable (London, 1912). v.1

Snow, Peter, ''Oxford Observed'', John Murray (London, 1991).

Tames, Richard, ''A Traveller's History of Oxford'', Interlink (New York, 2002).

Thomas, Edward, ''Oxford'', Black (London, 1902).

Tyack, Geoffrey, ''Blue Guide: Oxford and Cambridge'', Black (New York, 2004).

Tyack, Geoffrey, ''Oxford: An Architectural Guide'', Oxford Univ. Press (Oxford, 1998).

External links

University of Oxford website

'The University of Oxford', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 3: The University of Oxford (1954), pp. 1–38

Oxford Nobel Laureates

Famous Members of Oxford University

Category:Coimbra Group Category:Educational institutions established in the 11th century Category:11th-century establishments in England Category:Organisations based in Oxford with royal patronage Category:Russell Group Category:Visitor attractions in Oxford Category:Oxbridge Category:Association of Commonwealth Universities Category:Exempt charities

af:Universiteit van Oxford am:ዩኒቨርስቲ ኦፍ ኦክስፎርድ ar:جامعة أوكسفورد az:Oksford Universiteti bn:অক্সফোর্ড বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় zh-min-nan:Oxford Tāi-ha̍k be:Оксфардскі ўніверсітэт be-x-old:Оксфардзкі ўнівэрсытэт bg:Оксфордски университет ca:Universitat d'Oxford cs:Oxfordská univerzita cy:Prifysgol Rhydychen da:Oxford University de:University of Oxford dv:އޮކްސްފޯރޑް ޔުނިވަރސިޓީ et:Oxfordi Ülikool el:Πανεπιστήμιο της Οξφόρδης es:Universidad de Oxford eo:Universitato de Oksfordo eu:Oxfordeko Unibertsitatea fa:دانشگاه آکسفورد fr:Université d'Oxford fy:Universiteit fan Oxford ga:Ollscoil Oxford gd:Oilthigh Oxford gl:Universidade de Oxford gu:ઑક્સફર્ડ વિશ્વવિદ્યાલય hak:Ngiù-tsîn Thai-ho̍k ko:옥스퍼드 대학교 hi:ऑक्सफ़र्ड विश्वविद्यालय hr:Sveučilište Oxford id:Universitas Oxford is:Oxford-háskóli it:Università di Oxford he:אוניברסיטת אוקספורד jv:Universitas Oxford ka:ოქსფორდის უნივერსიტეტი sw:Chuo Kikuu cha Oxford la:Universitas Oxoniensis lv:Oksfordas universitāte lb:University of Oxford lt:Oksfordo universitetas hu:Oxfordi Egyetem mr:ऑक्सफर्ड विद्यापीठ arz:جامعة اوكسفورد ms:Universiti Oxford nl:Universiteit van Oxford new:अक्सफर्ड यूनिवर्सिटी ja:オックスフォード大学 no:University of Oxford nn:University of Oxford nrm:Unnivèrsité d'Oxford pnb:آکسفورڈ یونیورسٹی pms:Università d'Oxford pl:University of Oxford pt:Universidade de Oxford ro:Universitatea Oxford qu:Oxford Yachay Suntur ru:Оксфордский университет sc:Universidade de Oxford sq:Universiteti i Oksfordit scn:Univirsitati di Oxford simple:University of Oxford sk:Oxfordská univerzita sl:Univerza v Oxfordu sr:Универзитет у Оксфорду fi:Oxfordin yliopisto sv:Oxfords universitet ta:ஆக்சுபோர்டு பல்கலைக்கழகம் tt:Оксфорд университеты th:มหาวิทยาลัยอ๊อกซฟอร์ด tg:Донишгоҳи Оксфорд tr:Oxford Üniversitesi uk:Оксфордський університет ur:جامعہ آکسفورڈ ug:ئوكسفورد ئۇنىۋېرسىتېتى vec:Università de Oxford vi:Đại học Oxford wuu:牛津大学 yi:אוניווערסיטעט פון אקספארד yo:Yunifásítì ìlú Oxford zh-yue:牛津大學 diq:Oxford zh:牛津大学

Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
Official name	Oxford
Native name
Nickname	"The City of Dreaming Spires"
Settlement type	City
Motto	"Fortis est veritas" ''"Truth is strength"''
Blank emblem type	Coat of arms of Oxford City Council
Map caption	Shown within Oxfordshire
Map caption1
Coordinates region	GB
Subdivision type	Sovereign state
Subdivision name	United Kingdom
Subdivision type1	Constituent country
Subdivision name1	England
Subdivision type2	Region
Subdivision name2	South East England
Subdivision type3	Ceremonial county
Subdivision name3	Oxfordshire
Subdivision type4	Admin HQ
Subdivision name4	Oxford City Centre
Government type	City
Leader title	Governing body
Leader name	Oxford City Council
Leader title1	Lord Mayor – Deputy Lord Mayor
Leader name1	Cllr John Goddard (2009–2010)
Leader title2	Sheriff of Oxford
Leader title3	Executive – Council Leader
Leader name3	Labour Cllr Bob Price
Leader title4	MPs
Leader name4	Nicola Blackwood (C)Andrew Smith (L)
Established title	Founded
Established date	8th century
Established title2	Town charter
Established title3	City status
Established date3	1542
Unit pref
Area total km2	45.59
Area land km2
Area blank1 sq mi
Population as of
Population total	(Ranked of )
Population density km2	3270
Population blank2 title	Ethnicity(2005 Estimates
Population blank2	73.0% White British9.1% Other White 5.7% South Asian3.0% Black2.9% Chinese2.7% Mixed Race1.9% Other 1.8% White Irish
Population demonym	Oxonian
Timezone	GMT
Utc offset	0
Timezone dst	BST
Utc offset dst	+1
Elevation footnotes
Elevation ft
Postal code type	Postcode
Postal code	OX
Area code	01865
Blank name	ISO 3166-2
Blank info	GB-OXF
Blank1 name	ONS code
Blank1 info	38UC
Blank2 name	OS grid reference
Blank2 info
Blank3 name	NUTS 3
Website	www.oxford.gov.uk
Footnotes	}}

Oxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre. For a distance of some along the river, in the vicinity of Oxford, the Thames is known as the Isis.

Buildings in Oxford demonstrate an example of every English architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons, including the iconic, mid-18th century Radcliffe Camera. Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture of Oxford's university buildings. The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world.

History

Oxford was first settled in Saxon times, and was initially known as "Oxenaforda", meaning "Ford of the Oxen"; fords were more common than bridges at that time. It began with the foundation of an oxen crossing in the early 900 AD period. In the 10th century Oxford became an important military frontier town between the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and was on several occasions raided by Danes.

Oxford was heavily damaged during the Norman Invasion of 1066. Following the conquest, the town was assigned a governor, Robert D'Oyly, who ordered the construction of Oxford Castle to confirm Norman authority over the area. The castle has never been used for military purposes and its remains survive to this day. D'Oyly set up a monastic community in the castle consisting of a chapel and living quarters for monks (''St George in the Castle''). The community never grew large but it earned its place in history as one of the oldest places of formal education in Oxford. It is there that in 1139 Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his ''History of the Kings of Britain'', a compilation of Arthurian legends.

In 1191, a city charter stated in Latin,

Oxford's prestige was enhanced by its charter granted by King Henry II, granting its citizens the same privileges and exemptions as those enjoyed by the capital of the kingdom; and various important religious houses were founded in or near the city. A grandson of King John established Rewley Abbey for the Cistercian Order; and friars of various orders (Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, Augustinians, and Trinitarians), all had houses at Oxford of varying importance. Parliaments were often held in the city during the 13th century. The Provisions of Oxford were instigated by a group of barons led by Simon de Montfort; these documents are often regarded as England's first written constitution.

The University of Oxford is first mentioned in 12th century records. As the University took shape, friction between the hundreds of students living where and how they pleased led to a decree that all undergraduates would have to reside in approved halls. Of the hundreds of Aularian houses that sprang up across the city, only St Edmund Hall (c 1225) remains. What put an end to the halls was the emergence of colleges. Oxford's earliest colleges were University College (1249), Balliol (1263) and Merton (1264). These colleges were established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Greek philosophers. These writings challenged European ideology – inspiring scientific discoveries and advancements in the arts – as society began to see itself in a new way. These colleges at Oxford were supported by the Church in the hope of reconciling Greek Philosophy and Christian Theology. The relationship between "town and gown" has often been uneasy – as many as 93 students and townspeople were killed in the St Scholastica Day Riot of 1355.

The sweating sickness epidemic in 1517 was particularly devastating to Oxford and Cambridge where it killed half of both cities' populations, including many students and dons.

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford is unique in combining a college chapel and a cathedral in one foundation. Originally the Priory Church of St Frideswide, the building was extended and incorporated into the structure of the Cardinal's College shortly before its refounding as Christ Church in 1546, since when it has functioned as the cathedral of the Diocese of Oxford.

The Oxford Martyrs were tried for heresy in 1555 and subsequently burnt at the stake, on what is now Broad Street, for their religious beliefs and teachings. The three martyrs were the bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, and the Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. The Martyrs' Memorial stands nearby, round the corner to the North on St. Giles.

During the English Civil War, Oxford housed the court of Charles I in 1642, after the king was expelled from London, although there was strong support in the town for the Parliamentarian cause. The town yielded to Parliamentarian forces under General Fairfax in the Siege of Oxford of 1646. It later housed the court of Charles II during the Great Plague of London in 1665–66. Although reluctant to do so, he was forced to evacuate when the plague got too close. The city suffered two serious fires in 1644 and 1671.

In 1790, the Oxford Canal connected the city with Coventry. The Duke's Cut was completed by the Duke of Marlborough in 1789 to link the new canal with the River Thames; and in 1796 the Oxford Canal company built its own link to the Thames, at Isis Lock. In 1844, the Great Western Railway linked Oxford with London via Didcot and Reading, and other rail routes soon followed.

In the 19th century, the controversy surrounding the Oxford Movement in the Anglican Church drew attention to the city as a focus of theological thought.

Oxford Town Hall was built by Henry T. Hare; the foundation stone was laid on 6 July 1893 and opened by the future King Edward VII on 12 May 1897. The site has been the seat of local government since the Guild Hall of 1292 and though Oxford is a city and a Lord Mayoralty, the building is still called by its traditional name of "Town Hall".

By the early 20th century, Oxford was experiencing rapid industrial and population growth, with the printing and publishing industries becoming well established by the 1920s. Also during that decade, the economy and society of Oxford underwent a huge transformation as William Morris established the Morris Motor Company to mass produce cars in Cowley, on the south-eastern edge of the city. By the early 1970s over 20,000 people worked in Cowley at the huge Morris Motors and Pressed Steel Fisher plants. By this time Oxford was a city of two halves: the university city to the west of Magdalen Bridge and the car town to the east. This led to the witticism that "Oxford is the left bank of Cowley". Cowley suffered major job losses in the 1980s and 1990s during the decline of British Leyland, but is now producing the successful New MINI for BMW on a smaller site. A large area of the original car manufacturing facility at Cowley was demolished in the 1990s and is now the site of the Oxford Business Park.

The influx of migrant labour to the car plants and hospitals, recent immigration from south Asia, and a large student population, have given Oxford a notable cosmopolitan character, especially in the Headington and Cowley Road areas with their many bars, cafes, restaurants, clubs, ethnic shops and fast food outlets. Oxford is one of the most diverse small cities in Britain with the most recent population estimates for 2005. showing that 27% of the population were from ethnic minority groups, including 16.2% from non-white ethnic minority ethnic groups (ONS). These figures do not take into account more recent international migration into the city, with over 10,000 people from overseas registering for National Insurance Numbers in Oxford in 2005/06 and 2006/07.

After his failure at the 1952 Olympics, Bannister spent two months deciding whether to give up running. He set himself on a new goal: To be the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. On 6 May 1954, Roger Bannister, a 25 year old medical student, ran the first authenticated four-minute mile at the Iffley Road running track in Oxford. Although he had previously studied at Oxford University, Bannister was studying at St Mary's Hospital Medical School in London at the time.

Oxford's second university, Oxford Brookes University, formerly the Oxford School of Art, then Oxford Polytechnic, based at Headington Hill, was given its charter in 1991 and has been voted for the last ten years the best new university in the UK. It was named to honour the school's founding principal, John Henry Brookes.

Geography

Oxford's latitude and longitude are or (at Carfax Tower, which is usually considered the centre).

Location

Climate

Oxford has a maritime temperate climate ("''Cfb''" by the Köppen system). Precipitation is uniformly distributed throughout the year and is provided mostly by weather systems that arrive from the Atlantic. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Oxford was in January 1982. The highest temperature ever recorded in Oxford is in August 2003 during the 2003 European heat wave.

There is a field of thought that due to climate change, temperatures are increasing in Oxford, precipitation is decreasing in summer and increasing in winter.

The average conditions below are from the Radcliffe Meteorological Station. It boasts the longest series of temperature and rainfall records for one site in Britain. These records are continuous from January, 1815. Irregular observations of rainfall, cloud and temperature exist from 1767.

Economy

The Oxford suburb of Cowley has a long history of carmaking and now produces the BMW MINI.

Brewing

There is a long history of brewing in Oxford. Several of the colleges had private breweries, one of which, at Brasenose, survived until 1889. In the 16th century brewing and malting appear to have been the most popular trades in the city. There were breweries in Brewers Street and Paradise Street, near the Castle Mill Stream.

The development of Oxford's railway links after the 1840s and the rapid expansion of Oxford supported expansion of the brewing trade in Oxford. As well as expanding the market for Oxford's brewers, railways enabled brewers further from the city to compete for a share of its market. By 1874 there were nine breweries in Oxford and 13 brewers' agents in Oxford shipping beer in from elsewhere. The nine breweries were: Flowers & Co in Cowley Road, Hall's St Giles Brewery, Hall's Swan Brewery (see below), Hanley's City Brewery in Queen Street, Le Mills's Brewery in St. Ebbes, Morrell's Lion Brewery in St Thomas Street (see below), Simonds's Brewery in Queen Street, Weaving's Eagle Brewery (by 1869 the Eagle Steam Brewery) in Park End Street and Wootten and Cole's St. Clement's Brewery.

The Swan's Nest Brewery, later the Swan Brewery, was established by the early 18th century in Paradise Street, and in 1795 was acquired by William Hall. The brewery became known as Hall's Oxford Brewery, which acquired other local breweries. Hall's Brewery was acquired by Samuel Allsopp & Sons in 1926, after which it ceased brewing in Oxford.

Morrell's, the Oxford based regional brewery was founded in 1743 by Richard Tawney. He formed a partnership in 1782 with Mark and James Morrell, who eventually became the owners. After an acrimonious family dispute this much-loved brewery was closed in 1998, the beer brand names being taken over by the Thomas Hardy Burtonwood brewery, while the 132 tied pubs were bought by Michael Cannon, owner of the American hamburger chain Fuddruckers, through a new company, Morrells of Oxford. The new owners sold most of the pubs on to Greene King in 2002. The Lion Brewery was converted into luxury apartments in 2002.

Bellfounding

The Taylor family of Loughborough had a bell-foundry in Oxford between 1786 and 1854.

Shopping

Broad Street

Clarendon Shopping Centre

Cornmarket Street

George Street

Golden Cross

The High Street

Little Clarendon Street

Queen Street, Oxford

The Covered Market

Turl Street

Westgate Shopping Centre

Oxford Castle

Gloucester Green

Outside the City Centre:

Banbury Road, Summertown, Oxford

Botley Road, Oxford

Cowley Retail Park, Cowley, Oxford

Cowley Road, Oxford

Iffley Road, Oxford

London Road, Headington, Oxford

North Parade, Oxford

St Clement's, Oxford

Templars Square shopping centre, Cowley, Oxford

Walton Street, Jericho, Oxford

New Botley

Theatres and cinemas

Burton Taylor Theatre, Worcester Street

New Theatre, George Street

Odeon Cinema, George Street

Odeon Cinema, Magdalen Street

Old Fire Station Theatre, George Street

Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street

Pegasus Theatre, Magdalen Road

O'Reilly Theatre, Blackhall Road

Phoenix Picturehouse, Walton Street

Ultimate Picture Palace, Cowley Road

Vue Cinema, Grenoble Road

Landmarks

Oxford has numerous major tourist attractions, many belonging to the university and colleges. As well as several famous institutions, the town centre is home to Carfax Tower and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, both of which offer views over the spires of the city. Many tourists shop at the historic Covered Market. In the summer punting on the Thames/Isis and the Cherwell is popular.

The University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is one of the most famous universities in the world, and leading academics come to Oxford from all over the world.

The city centre

As well as being a major draw for tourists (9.1 million in 2008, similar in 2009), Oxford city centre has many shops, several theatres, and an ice rink. The historic buildings make this location a popular target for film and TV crews.

The city centre is relatively small, and is centred on Carfax, a cross-roads which forms the junction of Cornmarket Street (pedestrianised), Queen Street (semi-pedestrianised), St Aldate's and The High. Cornmarket Street and Queen Street are home to Oxford's various chain stores, as well as a small number of independent retailers, one of the longest established of which is Boswells, which was founded in 1738. St Aldate's has few shops but has several local government buildings, including the Town Hall, the city police station and local council offices. The High (the word ''street'' is traditionally omitted) is the longest of the four streets and has a number of independent and high-end chain stores, but mostly University and College buildings.

There are two small shopping centres in the city centre: The Clarendon Centre and The Westgate Centre. The Westgate Centre is named for the original West Gate in the city wall, and is located at the west end of Queen Street. It is quite small and contains a number of chain stores and a supermarket. The Westgate Shopping Centre is to undergo a large and controversial refurbishment; the plans involve tripling the size of the centre to , a new 1,335 space underground car park and 90 new shops and bars, including a John Lewis department store. There is to be a new and improved transport system, a complete refurbishment of the existing centre and the surrounding Bonn Square area. The development plans include a number of new homes, and completion is expected in 2011, although this is being delayed due to the current financial climate.

Blackwell's Bookshop is a large bookshop which claims the largest single room devoted to book sales in the whole of Europe, the cavernous Norrington Room (10,000 sq ft).

Other attractions

Ashmolean Museum

Bodleian Library

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford

The Headington Shark

Modern Art Oxford

Museum of the History of Science

Oxford Botanic Garden

Pitt Rivers Museum

Sheldonian Theatre

St. Mary The Virgin Church

Parks and nature walks

Oxford is a very green city, with several parks and nature walks within the ring road, as well as several sites just outside the ring road. In total, 28 Nature Reserves exist within or just outside of Oxford ring road, including:

University Parks

Mesopotamia

Rock Edge Nature Reserve

Lye Valley

South Parks

C. S. Lewis Nature Reserve

Shotover Nature Reserve

Port Meadow

Urban redevelopment

The Westgate redevelopment is just part of a wider scheme proposed by the city council. This scheme includes a total redesign of the centre of Oxford to "pedestrianise" the city. The scheme, entitled Transform Oxford, is only a blueprint for public consultation at this stage, but county council officials are confident it will go ahead.

One of the key elements is the pedestrianisation of Queen Street, with bus stops removed next summer to make way for the eventual complete removal of buses from the street.

Pedestrianisation schemes in George Street and Magdalen Street should follow in the summer of 2010, with the removal of traffic from Broad Street the same year a possibility.

In 2011, highways engineers plan to remodel the Frideswide Square junctions near the railway station, removing traffic lights and introducing roundabouts to improve the traffic flow.

Transport

Air

In addition to the larger airports in the region, Oxford is served by nearby London Oxford Airport, in Kidlington. The airport is also home to Oxford Aviation Academy, an airline pilot flight training centre, and several private jet companies.

Buses

The bus services are mainly provided by the Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach Oxfordshire. Other operators include Thames Travel, Arriva Shires & Essex and several smaller companies.

Oxford has 5 park and ride sites with bus links to the city centre:

Pear Tree (bus 300)

Redbridge (bus 300)

Seacourt (bus 400)

Thornhill (bus 400)

Water Eaton (bus 500)

There are also bus services to the John Radcliffe Hospital (from Thornhill/Water Eaton) and to the Churchill and Nuffield Hospitals (from Thornhill).

Hybrid buses, which use battery power with a small diesel generator, began to be used in Oxford on 15 July 2010, on Stagecoach Oxfordshire's Route 1 (Cowley, Blackbird Leys), followed by other routes.

Coach

The Oxford to London coach route offers a frequent coach service to London. The Oxford Espress [sic] is operated by the Oxford Bus Company. Oxford Tube is operated by Stagecoach Oxfordshire. The Oxford Bus Company also runs the Airline services to Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

There is a bus station at Gloucester Green, used mainly by the London and airport buses, National Express coaches, and other long-distance buses including route X5 to Cambridge.

Rail

In 1844, the Great Western Railway linked Oxford with London (Paddington) via and ; in 1851, the London and North Western Railway opened their own route from Oxford to London (Euston), via Bicester, and Watford; and in 1864 a third route, also to Paddington, running via , and , was provided; this was shortened in 1906 by the opening of a direct route between High Wycombe and London (Paddington) via . The distance from Oxford to London was via Bletchley; via Didcot and Reading; via Thame and Maidenhead; and via Denham. Of these, only the original route via Didcot is still in use for its full length, although portions of each of the others remain.

There were also routes to the north and west. The line to was opened in 1850, and was extended to Birmingham in 1852; a route to Worcester opened in 1853. A branch to Witney was opened in 1862, which was extended to in 1873. The line to Witney and Fairford closed in 1962, but the others remain open.

Oxford has had three main railway stations. The first was opened at Grandpont in 1844, but this was a terminus, inconvenient for routes to the north; it was replaced by the present station on Park End Street in 1852 with the opening of the Birmingham route. Another terminus, at Rewley Road, was opened in 1851 to serve the Bletchley route; this station closed in 1951. There have also been a number of local railway stations, all of which are now closed.

Oxford railway station is half a mile (about 1 km) west of the city centre. The station is served by numerous routes, including CrossCountry services to as far away as Manchester and Edinburgh, First Great Western (who operate the station) services to London and other destinations and occasional Chiltern Railways services to Birmingham. The present station opened in 1852. Oxford is the junction for a short branch line to Bicester, which is being extended to form the East-West Rail Link to Milton Keynes, providing a passenger route avoiding London.

River and canal

Oxford was historically an important port on the River Thames, with this section of the river being called The Isis; the Oxford-Burcot Commission in the 17th century attempted to improve navigation to Oxford. Iffley Lock and Osney Lock lie within the bounds of the city. In the eighteenth century the Oxford Canal was built to connect Oxford with the Midlands.

Commercial traffic has given way to recreational use of the river and canal. Oxford was the original base of Salters Steamers and there is a regular service from Folly Bridge downstream to Abingdon and beyond.

Roads

A roads

The city has a ring road that consists of the A34, the A40, A4142 and the A423. It is mostly dual carriageway and was completed in 1966.

The main roads that lead out of Oxford are: A34 – which leads to Bicester, the M40 north, Birmingham and Manchester to the north (although since the M40's completion it has disappeared north of Oxford and only re-emerged some northwards at Solihull), and Didcot, Newbury and Winchester to the south. Since the completion of the Newbury by-pass in 1998, the A34 has been entirely grade separated dual carriageway all the way from Bicester to Winchester.

A40 – which leads to London and High Wycombe (as well as the M40 motorway south) to the east, and Cheltenham, Gloucester and south Wales to the west.

A44 – which begins in Oxford and leads to Worcester, Hereford and Aberystwyth.

A420 – which also begins in Oxford and leads to Bristol passing Swindon and Chippenham.

Motorway

The city is served by the M40 motorway, which connects London to Birmingham. The M40 approached Oxford in 1974 (the first section through Buckinghamshire opened in 1967) and went from London to Waterstock where the A40 continued to Oxford. When the M40 extension to Birmingham was completed in January 1991, a mile of the old motorway became a spur as the extension curved sharply north. The M40 comes no closer than away from the city centre, curving to the east of Otmoor. The M40 meets the A34 to the north of Oxford, the latter now being in two parts, the A34 restarting near Solihull, while the A41 (which previous passed through Banbury and Warwick) restarts in the same area.

Education

There are two universities in Oxford; the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University as well as Ruskin College.

Oxford is home to wide range of schools many of which receive pupils from around the world. Three are University choral foundations, established to educate the boy choristers of the chapel choirs, and have kept the tradition of single sex education. Examination results in state-run Oxford schools are consistently below the national average and regional average. However, results in the city are improving with 44% of pupils gaining 5 grades A*-C in 2006.

Media

As well as the BBC national radio stations, Oxford and the surrounding area has several local stations, including BBC Oxford, Heart Thames Valley, Glide FM and Jack FM on 106.8 along with Oxide: Oxford Student Radio (which went on terrestrial radio at 87.7 MHz FM in late May 2005). A local TV station, Six TV: The Oxford Channel was also available but closed in April 2009. The city is home to a BBC TV newsroom which produces an opt-out from the main ''South Today'' programme broadcast from Southampton.

Popular local papers include ''The Oxford Times'' (compact; weekly), its sister papers ''The Oxford Mail'' (tabloid; daily) and ''The Oxford Star'' (tabloid; free and delivered), and ''Oxford Journal'' (tabloid; weekly free pick-up). Oxford is also home to several advertising agencies.

''Daily Information'' (known locally as Daily Info) is an events and advertising news sheet which has been published since 1964 and now provides a connected website.

''Nightshift'' is a monthly local free magazine that has covered the Oxford music scene since 1991.

Recently (2003) DIY grassroots non-corporate media has begun to spread. Independent and community newspapers include the ''Jericho Echo'' and ''Oxford Prospect''.

Culture

Literature and film

Well-known Oxford-based authors include:

Oscar Wilde a nineteenth century poet and author who attended Oxford from 1874 to 1878.

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir attended Brasenose College. Best known for his ''The Thirty-nine Steps'', authored 32 novels and many more volumes of history, poetry and essays.

Susan Cooper who is best known for her The Dark Is Rising Sequence

Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), Student and Mathematical Lecturer of Christ Church.

Colin Dexter who wrote and set his Inspector Morse detective novels in Oxford. Colin Dexter still lives in Oxford.

John Donaldson (d.1989), a poet resident in Oxford in later life.

Siobhan Dowd Oxford resident; who was an undergraduate at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.

Kenneth Grahame educated at St. Edward's School, Oxford

Michael Innes (J. I. M. Stewart), of Christ Church.

P. D. James who lives part-time in Oxford.

T. E. Lawrence, "Lawrence of Arabia", Oxford resident, undergraduate at Jesus, postgraduate at Magdalen.

C. S. Lewis, Fellow of Magdalen.

Alex Ryan, formerly an Oxford resident for many years.

Iris Murdoch, Fellow of St Anne's.

Iain Pears, undergraduate at Wadham College and Oxford resident, whose novel ''An Instance of the Fingerpost'' is set in the city.

Philip Pullman who was an undergraduate at Exeter.

Dorothy L. Sayers who was an undergraduate at Somerville.

J. R. R. Tolkien, undergraduate at Exeter and later professor of English at Merton

John Wain, undergraduate at St John's and later Professor of Poetry at Oxford University 1973–78

Charles Williams, editor at Oxford University Press.

Brian Aldiss who lives in Oxford.

Oxford appears in the following works:

"The Scarlet Pimpernel"

"Harry Potter" (all the films to date)

''Jude the Obscure'' (1895) by Thomas Hardy (in which Oxford is thinly disguised as "Christminster").

''Zuleika Dobson'' (1911) by Max Beerbohm.

''Gaudy Night'' (1935) by Dorothy L. Sayers.

''Brideshead Revisited'' (1945) by Evelyn Waugh.

''A Question of Upbringing'' (1951 ) by Anthony Powell

''Second Generation (1964 novel)'' by Raymond Williams

''Young Sherlock Holmes'' (1985) by Steven Spielberg

''Where The Rivers Meet'' (1988) trilogy set in Oxford by John Wain

''All Souls'' (1989) by Javier Marías

''The Children of Men'' (1992) by P. D. James.

''Doomsday Book'' (1992) by Connie Willis

''His Dark Materials'' (1995 onwards) by Philip Pullman

"Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997)

"The Saint" (1997)

"102 Dalmatians" (2000)

''Endymion Spring'' (2006) by Matthew Skelton

''Here, There Be Dragons'' (2006) and the rest of the ''The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica'' by James A. Owen

''The Oxford Murders'' (2008)

''The Oxford Virus'' (2010) by Adam Kolczynski

''Mr. Nice'' (2010) The story of Howard Marks

Music

Oxford, and its surrounding towns and villages, have produced many successful bands and musicians. The most notable Oxford act is Radiohead, who hail from nearby Abingdon, though other well known local bands include Supergrass, Ride, Swervedriver, Talulah Gosh and more recently, Young Knives, Foals and Stornoway. These and many other bands from over 30 years of the Oxford music scene's history feature in the documentary film Anyone Can Play Guitar.

In 1997, Oxford played host to Radio 1's Sound City, with acts such as Bentley Rhythm Ace, Embrace, Spiritualized and DJ Shadow playing in various venues around the city.

Sport

Oxford United are currently in League Two, the fourth tier of league football, and have enjoyed great success in the past in the upper reaches of the football league. They were elected to the Football League in 1962, reached the Third Division after three years and the Second Division after six, and most notably reached the First Division in 1985 – a mere 23 years after joining the Football League. They spent three seasons in the top flight, winning the Football League Cup a year after promotion. The next 18 years saw them decline gradually (though a brief respite in 1996 saw them win promotion to the new (post Premier League) Division One in 1996 and stay there for three years. They suffered relegation to the Football Conference in 2006, staying there for four seasons before returning to the Football League in 2010. They play at the Kassam Stadium (named after former chairman Firoz Kassam), which is situated near the Blackbird Leys housing estate and has been their home since relocation from the Manor Ground in 2001.

Oxford City F.C. is a semi-professional football club, separate from Oxford United. It plays in the Southern Football League Premier Division. Oxford Harlequins RFC is the city's main rugby team and plays in the National 3 South West league.

Oxford Cheetahs motorcycle speedway team has raced at Cowley Stadium on and off since 1939. The Cheetahs competed in the Speedway Elite League and then the Speedway Conference League until 2007, when stadium landlords Greyhound Racing Association apparently doubled the rent. Speedway is not currently running in Oxford.

There are several field hockey clubs based in Oxford. The Oxford Hockey Club (formed after a merger of City of Oxford HC and Rover Oxford HC in 2011) plays most of its home games on the pitch at Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, and also uses the pitches at Headington Girls' School and Iffley Road. Oxford Hawks play at Banbury Road North, by Cutteslow Park to the north of the city.

Oxford City Stars is the local Ice Hockey Team which plays at Oxford Ice Rink. There is a senior/adults’ team and a junior/children’s team.

Oxford is also home to the Oxford City Rowing Club which is situated near Donnington Bridge.

International relations

Oxford is twinned with:

	* Bonn, Germany	* Grenoble, France	* Leiden, Netherlands		León, Nicaragua>León, Nicaragua	* Perm, Russia	* Umeå, Sweden	* Saskatoon, Canada

See also

Bishop of Oxford

Earl of Oxford

List of Oxford architects

Oxfam

Oxford bags

Oxford comma

Gallery

References

;Notes

;Bibliography

;Further reading

External links

Oxford – 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article

Oxford City Council official website

Oxford From Above BBC program

Category:Articles including recorded pronunciations (UK English) Category:Cities in South East England Category:County towns in England *Oxford Category:Local authorities adjoining the River Thames Category:Local government in Oxfordshire Category:Populated places established in the 8th century *Oxford Category:University towns in the United Kingdom Category:Non-metropolitan districts of Oxfordshire Category:Local government districts of South East England

af:Oxford ang:Oxnaford ar:أكسفورد an:Oxford bn:অক্সফোর্ড zh-min-nan:Oxford be:Горад Оксфард be-x-old:Оксфард bs:Oxford br:Oxford bg:Оксфорд ca:Oxford cs:Oxford cy:Rhydychen da:Oxford de:Oxford et:Oxford el:Οξφόρδη es:Oxford eo:Oksfordo eu:Oxford fa:آکسفورد fr:Oxford fy:Oxford ga:Oxford gd:Àth nan Damh gl:Oxford ko:옥스퍼드 hi:ऑक्सफोर्ड hr:Oxford io:Oxford id:Oxford is:Oxford it:Oxford he:אוקספורד kn:ಆಕ್ಸ್‌ಫರ್ಡ್ ka:ოქსფორდი kw:Rysoghen sw:Oxford ku:Oxford la:Oxonia lv:Oksforda lb:Oxford lt:Oksfordas hu:Oxford mr:ऑक्सफर्ड, इंग्लंड ms:Oxford nah:Oxford, Oxfordshire nl:Oxford (Engeland) ja:オックスフォード no:Oxford nn:Oxford nrm:Oxford oc:Oxford pnb:آکسفورڈ pl:Oksford pt:Oxford ro:Oxford qu:Oxford ru:Оксфорд se:Oxford sc:Oxford sco:Oxford scn:Oxford simple:Oxford sk:Oxford sl:Oxford sr:Оксфорд fi:Oxford sv:Oxford tl:Oxford te:ఆక్స్‌ఫర్డ్ th:อ๊อกซฟอร์ด tg:Оксфорд tr:Oxford uk:Оксфорд ug:Oksford vi:Oxford vo:Oxford war:Oxford yi:אקספארד bat-smg:Oksfuords zh:牛津

Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
Name	Malcolm X
Birth date	May 19, 1925
Birth place	Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Death date	February 21, 1965
Death place	New York City, U.S.
Other names	Malcolm Little, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz
Movement	Black nationalism, Pan-Africanism
Organization	Nation of Islam, Muslim Mosque, Inc., Organization of Afro-American Unity
Religion	Sunni Islam
Influences	Elijah Muhammad, Marcus Garvey
Influenced
Signature	Malcolm X Signature.svg }}

Malcolm X (; May 19, 1925 February 21, 1965), born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (), was an African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist. To his admirers, he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans. His detractors accused him of preaching racism, black supremacy, antisemitism, and violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history, and in 1998, ''TIME'' named ''The Autobiography of Malcolm X'' one of the ten most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century.

Malcolm X was born in Omaha, Nebraska. The events of his childhood, including his father's lessons concerning black pride and self-reliance, and his own experiences concerning race played a significant role in Malcolm X's adult life. By the time he was thirteen, his father had died and his mother had been committed to a mental hospital. After living in a series of foster homes, Malcolm X became involved in a number of criminal activities in Boston and New York City. In 1946, Malcolm X was sentenced to eight to ten years in prison.

While in prison, Malcolm X became a member of the Nation of Islam, and after his parole in 1952 he became one of the Nation's leaders and chief spokesmen. For nearly a dozen years he was the public face of the controversial group. Tension between Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad, head of the Nation of Islam, led to Malcolm X's quitting the organization in March 1964. He subsequently traveled extensively throughout Africa and the Middle East and founded Muslim Mosque, Inc., a religious organization, and the secular Organization of Afro-American Unity, which advocated Pan-Africanism. Less than a year after he left the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X was assassinated by three members of the group while giving a speech in New York.

The beliefs expressed by Malcolm X changed during his lifetime. As a spokesman for the Nation of Islam he taught black supremacy and deified the leaders of the organization. He also advocated the separation of black and white Americans, which put him at odds with the civil rights movement, which was working towards integration. After he left the Nation of Islam in 1964, Malcolm X became a Sunni Muslim, made the pilgrimage to Mecca and disavowed racism, while remaining a champion of black self-determination, self defense, and human rights. He expressed a willingness to work with civil rights leaders and described his previous position with the Nation of Islam as that of a "zombie".

Early years

Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, the fourth of seven children to Earl Little and Louise Norton. His father was an outspoken Baptist lay speaker. He supported Pan-African activist Marcus Garvey and was a local leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Malcolm never forgot the values of black pride and self-reliance that his father and other UNIA leaders preached. Malcolm X later said that three of Earl Little's brothers, one of whom was lynched, died violently at the hands of white men. Because of Ku Klux Klan threats, the family relocated in 1926 to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and shortly thereafter to Lansing, Michigan.

Earl Little, who was dark-skinned, was born in Reynolds, Georgia. He had three children from his first marriage: Ella, Mary, and Earl Jr.—and seven with his second wife, Louise: Wilfred, Hilda, Philbert, Malcolm, Reginald, Yvonne, and Wesley. Louise Norton Little was born in Grenada. Because her father was Scottish, she was so light-skinned that she could have passed for white. Malcolm inherited his light complexion from his mother and maternal grandfather. Initially he felt his light skin was a status symbol, but he later said he "hated every drop of that white rapist's blood that is in me." Malcolm X later remembered feeling that his father favored him because he was the lightest-skinned child in the family; however, he thought his mother treated him harshly for the same reason. One of Malcolm's nicknames, "Red", derived from the tinge of his hair. According to one biographer, at birth he had "ash-blonde hair ... tinged with cinnamon", and at age four, "reddish-blonde hair". His hair darkened as he aged, yet he also resembled his paternal grandmother, whose hair "turned reddish in the summer sun." The issue of skin and hair color took on very significant implications later in Malcolm's life.

In December 1924, Louise Little was threatened by klansmen while she was pregnant with Malcolm. She recalled that the klansmen warned the family to leave Omaha, because Earl Little's activities with UNIA were "spreading trouble". After they moved to Lansing, their house was burned in 1929; however, the family escaped without physical injury. On September 8, 1931, Earl Little was fatally struck by a streetcar in Lansing. Authorities ruled his death an accident. The police reported that Earl Little was conscious when they arrived on the scene, and he told them he had slipped and fallen under the streetcar's wheels. The black community in Lansing disputed the cause of death, believing there was circumstantial evidence of assault. His family had frequently been harassed by the Black Legion, a white supremacist group that his father accused of burning down their home in 1929. Some blacks believed the Black Legion was responsible for Earl Little's death. One of the adults at the funeral told eight-year-old Philbert Little that his father had been hit from behind and shoved under the streetcar.

Though Earl Little had two life insurance policies, his family received death benefits solely from the smaller policy. The insurance company of the larger policy claimed that his father had committed suicide and refused to issue the benefit. The payout from the insurance policy was $1,000 (comparable to about $15,000 in 2010 dollars), and the probate court awarded Louise Little a monthly "widow's allowance" of $18. She rented space in the garden to raise more money, and her sons would hunt game for supper.

In 1935 or 1936, Louise Little began dating an African-American man. A marriage proposal seemed a possibility, but the man disappeared from their lives when Louise became pregnant with his child in late 1937. In December 1938, Louise Little had a nervous breakdown and was declared legally insane. The Little siblings were split up and sent to different foster homes. The state formally committed Louise Little to the state mental hospital at Kalamazoo, Michigan, where she remained until Malcolm and his siblings secured her release 24 years later.

Malcolm Little was one of the best students in his junior high school, but he dropped out after a white eighth-grade teacher told him that his aspirations of being a lawyer were "no realistic goal for a nigger." Years later, Malcolm X would laugh about the incident, but at the time it was humiliating. It made him feel that there was no place in the white world for a career-oriented black man, no matter how smart he was. After living with a series of white foster parents, Malcolm moved to Boston in February 1941 to live with his older half-sister, Ella Little Collins.

Young adult years

Collins lived in Roxbury, a predominantly African-American middle-class neighborhood of Boston. It was the first time Little had seen so many black people. He was drawn to the cultural and social life of the neighborhood. In Boston, Little held a variety of jobs and found intermittent employment with the New Haven Railroad. Between 1943 and 1946, he drifted from city to city and job to job. He left Boston to live for a short time in Flint, Michigan. He moved to New York City in 1943. Living in Harlem, he became involved in drug dealing, gambling, racketeering, robbery, and pimping. According to recent biographies, Little occasionally engaged in sex with other men, usually for money.

In 1943, the U.S. draft board ordered Little to register for military service. He later recalled that he put on a display to avoid the draft by telling the examining officer that he could not wait to "steal us some guns, and kill us [some] crackers." Military physicians classified him as "mentally disqualified for military service". He was issued a 4-F card, relieving him of his service obligations. In late 1945, Little returned to Boston. With a group of associates, he began a series of elaborate burglaries targeting the residences of wealthy white families. On January 12, 1946, Little was arrested for burglary while trying to pick up a stolen watch he had left for repairs at a jewelry shop. The shop owner called the police because the watch was very expensive, and the police had alerted all Boston jewelers that it had been stolen. Little told the police that he had a gun on his person and surrendered so the police would treat him more leniently. Three days later, Little was indicted for carrying firearms. On January 16, he was charged with larceny and breaking and entering, and eventually sentenced to eight to ten years in prison.

On February 27, Little began serving his sentence at the Charlestown State Prison in Charlestown, Boston. While in prison, Little earned the nickname of "Satan" for his hostility toward religion. Little met a self-educated man in prison named John Elton Bembry (referred to as "Bimbi" in ''The Autobiography of Malcolm X''). Bembry was a well-regarded prisoner at Charlestown, and Malcolm X would later describe him as "the first man I had ever seen command total respect ... with words." Gradually, the two men became friends and Bembry convinced Little to educate himself. Little developed a voracious appetite for reading, and he frequently read after the prison lights had been turned off. In 1948, Little's brother Philbert wrote, telling him about the Nation of Islam. Like the UNIA, the Nation preached black self-reliance and, ultimately, the unification of members of the African diaspora, free from white American and European domination. Little was not interested in joining until his brother Reginald wrote, saying, "Malcolm, don't eat any more pork and don't smoke any more cigarettes. I'll show you how to get out of prison." Little quit smoking, and the next time pork was served in the prison dining hall, he refused to eat it.

When Reginald came to visit Little, he described the group's teachings, including the belief that white people are devils. Afterward, Little thought about all the white people he had known, and he realized that he'd never had a relationship with a white person or social institution that wasn't based on dishonesty, injustice, greed, and hatred. Little began to reconsider his dismissal of all religion and he became receptive to the message of the Nation of Islam. Other family members who had joined the Nation wrote or visited and encouraged Little to join. In February 1948, mostly through his sister's efforts, Little was transferred to the Norfolk Prison Colony, an experimental prison in Norfolk, Massachusetts, that had a much larger library. In late 1948, he wrote a letter to Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. Muhammad advised him to atone for his crimes by renouncing his past and by humbly bowing in prayer to Allah and promising never to engage in destructive behavior again. Little, who always had been rebellious and deeply skeptical, found it very difficult to bow in prayer. It took him a week to bend his knees. Finally he prayed, and he became a member of the Nation of Islam. For the remainder of his incarceration, Little maintained regular correspondence with Muhammad. On August 7, 1952, Little was paroled and was released from prison. He later reflected on the time he spent in prison after his conversion: "Months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I had never been so truly free in my life."

Nation of Islam

When Little was released from prison in 1952, he had more than a new religion. He also had a new name. In a December 1950 letter to his brother Philbert, Little signed his name as Malcolm X for the first time. In his autobiography, he explained why: "The Muslim's 'X' symbolized the true African family name that he never could know. For me, my 'X' replaced the white slavemaster name of 'Little' which some blue-eyed devil named Little had imposed upon my paternal forebears."

Shortly after his release from prison, Malcolm X visited Elijah Muhammad in Chicago, Illinois. In June 1953, Malcolm X was named assistant minister of the Nation of Islam's Temple Number One in Detroit. Soon, he became a full-time minister. By late 1953, Malcolm X established Boston's Temple Number 11. In March 1954, he expanded Temple Number 12 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Two months later Malcolm X was selected to lead Temple Number Seven in Harlem, and he rapidly expanded its membership.

The FBI had opened a file on Malcolm X in 1950 after he wrote a letter to President Truman stating his opposition to the Korean War and declaring himself to be a communist. It began surveillance of him in 1953, and soon the FBI turned its attention from concerns about possible Communist Party association to Malcolm X's rapid ascent in the Nation of Islam.

During 1955, Malcolm X continued his successful recruitment efforts on behalf of the organization. He established temples in Springfield, Massachusetts (Number 13); Hartford, Connecticut (Number 14); and Atlanta, Georgia (Number 15). Hundreds of African Americans were joining the Nation of Islam every month. Beside his skill as a speaker, Malcolm X had an impressive physical presence. He stood tall and weighed about . One writer described him as "powerfully built", and another as "mesmerizingly handsome ... and always spotlessly well-groomed".

Johnson Hinton incident

Malcolm X first came to the attention of the general public after the police beating of a Nation of Islam member named Johnson Hinton. On April 26, 1957, two police officers were beating an African-American man with their nightsticks when three passersby who belonged to the Nation of Islam tried to intervene. They shouted: "You're not in Alabama or Georgia. This is New York!" One of the officers began to beat one of the passersby, Johnson Hinton. The blows were so severe, a surgeon later determined, that they caused brain contusions, subdural hemorrhaging, and scalp lacerations. All four men were arrested and taken to the police station.

A woman who had seen the assault ran to the Nation of Islam's restaurant. Within a few hours, Malcolm X and a small group of Muslims went to the police station and demanded to see Hinton. The police captain initially said no Muslims were being held there, but as the crowd grew to about 500, he allowed Malcolm X to speak with Hinton. After a short talk, Malcolm X demanded that Hinton be taken to the hospital, so an ambulance was called and Hinton was taken to Harlem Hospital.

Hinton was treated and released into the custody of the police, who returned him to the police station. By this point, about 4,000 people had gathered; the police realized there was the potential for a riot and called for backup. Malcolm X went back into the police station with an attorney and made bail arrangements for the other two Muslims. The police said Hinton could not go back to the hospital until he was arraigned the following day. Malcolm X realized things were at a stalemate. He stepped outside the station house and gave a hand signal. The Nation of Islam members in the crowd silently walked away. The rest of the crowd dispersed minutes later. One police officer told the editor of the ''New York Amsterdam News'': "No one man should have that much power."

The following month, the Bureau of Special Services and Investigation of the New York Police Department (NYPD) began its surveillance of Malcolm X. The NYPD's Chief Inspector asked for information from the police department in every city where Malcolm X had lived, and from the prisons where he had served his sentence. In October, when a grand jury declined to indict the officers who had beaten Hinton, Malcolm X wrote an angry telegram to the police commissioner. In response, undercover NYPD officers were placed inside the Nation of Islam.

Marriage and family

Malcolm X met Betty Sanders in 1955. She had been invited to listen to his lecture, and she was very impressed by him. They met again at a dinner party. Soon Sanders was attending all of Malcolm X's lectures at Temple Number Seven. In mid 1956, she joined the Nation of Islam.

Malcolm X and Betty X did not have a conventional courtship. One-on-one dates were contrary to the teachings of the Nation of Islam. Instead, the couple shared their "dates" with dozens, or even hundreds of other members. Malcolm X frequently took groups to visit New York's museums and libraries, and he always invited Betty X.

Although they had never discussed the subject, Betty X suspected that Malcolm X was interested in marriage. On January 12, 1958, he called from Detroit and asked her to marry him, and they were married two days later in Lansing, Michigan.

The couple had six daughters. Their names were Attallah, born in 1958 and named after Attila the Hun; Qubilah, born in 1960 and named after Kublai Khan; Ilyasah, born in 1962 and named after Elijah Muhammad; Gamilah Lumumba, born in 1964 and named after Patrice Lumumba; and twins, Malikah and Malaak, born in 1965 after their father's assassination and named for him.

''The Hate That Hate Produced''

After a 1959 television broadcast in New York City about the Nation of Islam, ''The Hate That Hate Produced'', Malcolm X became known to white Americans. Representatives of the print media, radio, and television frequently asked him for comments on issues. By the late 1950s, Malcolm X had acquired a new name, Malcolm Shabazz or Malik el-Shabazz, although he was still widely referred to as Malcolm X.

In September 1960, Fidel Castro arrived in New York to attend the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. He and his entourage stayed at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem. Malcolm X was a prominent member of a Harlem-based welcoming committee made up of community leaders who met with Castro. Castro was so impressed by Malcolm X that he requested a private meeting with him. At the end of their two-hour meeting, Castro invited Malcolm X to visit him in Cuba. During the General Assembly meeting, Malcolm X was also invited to many official embassy functions sponsored by African nations, where he met heads of state and other leaders, including Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Ahmed Sékou Touré of Guinea, and Kenneth Kaunda of the Zambian African National Congress.

From his adoption of the Nation of Islam in 1952 until he left the organization in 1964, Malcolm X promoted the Nation's teachings. He taught that black people were the original people of the world, and that white people were a race of devils. In his speeches, Malcolm X said that black people were superior to white people, and that the demise of the white race was imminent. While the civil rights movement fought against racial segregation, Malcolm X advocated the complete separation of African Americans from white people. He proposed the establishment of a separate country for black people as an interim measure until African Americans could return to Africa. Malcolm X also rejected the civil rights movement's strategy of nonviolence, and instead advocated that black people use any necessary means of self-defense to protect themselves. Malcolm X's speeches had a powerful effect on his audiences, generally African Americans who lived in the Northern and Western cities, who were tired of being told to wait for freedom, justice, equality and respect. Many blacks felt that he articulated their complaints better than the civil rights movement did.

Many white people, and some blacks, were alarmed by Malcolm X and the things he said. He and the Nation of Islam were described as hatemongers, black supremacists, violence-seekers, and a threat to improved race relations. Civil rights organizations denounced Malcolm X and the Nation as irresponsible extremists whose views were not representative of African Americans. Malcolm X was accused of being antisemitic.

Malcolm X was equally critical of the civil rights movement. He described its leaders as "stooges" for the white establishment, and said that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a "chump". He criticized the 1963 March on Washington, which he called "the farce on Washington". He said he did not know why black people were excited over a demonstration "run by whites in front of a statue of a president who has been dead for a hundred years and who didn't like us when he was alive". Malcolm X has been widely considered the second most influential leader of the Nation of Islam after Elijah Muhammad. He was largely credited with increasing membership of the group; from 500 in 1952 to 25,000 in 1963 by one author's estimate, or from 1,200 in 1953 to 50,000 or 75,000 in 1961 by another's. He inspired the boxer Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali) to join the Nation of Islam. Ali later left the group and became a Sunni Muslim, as did Malcolm X.

In early 1963, Malcolm X started collaborating with Alex Haley on ''The Autobiography of Malcolm X''. In 1964, he told Haley, "If I'm alive when this book comes out, it will be a miracle." The book was not finished when Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965. Haley completed it and published it later that year. In 1998, ''TIME'' named ''The Autobiography of Malcolm X'' one of the ten most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century.

Leaving the Nation

On December 1, 1963, when he was asked for a comment about the assassination of President Kennedy, Malcolm X said that it was a case of "chickens coming home to roost". He added that "chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad; they've always made me glad." ''The New York Times'' wrote, "in further criticism of Mr. Kennedy, the Muslim leader cited the murders of Patrice Lumumba, Congo leader, of Medgar Evers, civil rights leader, and of the Negro girls bombed earlier this year in a Birmingham church. These, he said, were instances of other 'chickens coming home to roost'." The remarks prompted a widespread public outcry. The Nation of Islam, which had issued a message of condolence to the Kennedy family and ordered its ministers not to comment on the assassination, publicly censured their former shining star. Although Malcolm X retained his post and rank as minister, he was prohibited from public speaking for 90 days.

On March 8, 1964, Malcolm X publicly announced his break from the Nation of Islam. He said that he was still a Muslim, but he felt the Nation of Islam had "gone as far as it can" because of its rigid religious teachings. Malcolm X said he was going to organize a black nationalist organization that would try to "heighten the political consciousness" of African Americans. He also expressed his desire to work with other civil rights leaders and said that Elijah Muhammad had prevented him from doing so in the past.

One reason for the separation was growing tension between Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad because of Malcolm X's dismay about rumors of Muhammad's extramarital affairs with young secretaries, actions that were against the teachings of the Nation. Although at first Malcolm X had ignored the rumors, after speaking with Muhammad's son Wallace and the women making the accusations, he came to believe that they were true. Muhammad confirmed the rumors in 1963 but tried to justify his actions by reference to precedents set by Biblical prophets. Another reason for the separation was growing resentment by people within the Nation. As Malcolm X had become a favorite of the media, many in the Nation's Chicago headquarters felt that he was over-shadowing Muhammad. Louis Lomax's 1963 book about the Nation of Islam, ''When the Word Is Given'', featured a picture of Malcolm X on its cover and included five of his speeches, but only one of Muhammad's, which greatly upset Muhammad. Muhammad was also envious that a publisher was interested in Malcolm X's autobiography. After leaving the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X founded Muslim Mosque, Inc., a religious organization, and the Organization of Afro-American Unity, a secular group that advocated Pan-Africanism. On March 26, 1964, he met Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington, D.C., after a press conference held when both men attended the Senate to hear the debate on the Civil Rights bill. This was the only time the two men ever met and their meeting lasted only one minute—just long enough for photographers to take a picture. In April, Malcolm X made a speech titled "The Ballot or the Bullet" in which he advised African Americans to exercise their right to vote wisely. Several Sunni Muslims encouraged Malcolm X to learn about Islam. Soon he converted to Sunni Islam, and decided to make his pilgrimage to Mecca (''hajj'').

International travel

Pilgrimage to Mecca

On April 13, 1964, Malcolm X departed JFK Airport in New York for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. His status as an authentic Muslim was questioned by Saudi authorities because of his United States passport and his inability to speak Arabic. Since only confessing Muslims are allowed into Mecca, he was separated from his group for about 20 hours.

According to his autobiography, Malcolm X saw a telephone and remembered the book ''The Eternal Message of Muhammad'' by Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam, which had been presented to him with his visa approval. He called Azzam's son, who arranged for his release. At the younger Azzam's home, he met Azzam Pasha, who gave Malcolm his suite at the Jeddah Palace Hotel. The next morning, Muhammad Faisal, the son of Prince Faisal, visited and informed Malcolm X that he was to be a state guest. The deputy chief of protocol accompanied Malcolm X to the Hajj Court, where he was allowed to make his pilgrimage.

On April 19, Malcolm X completed the Hajj, making the seven circuits around the Kaaba, drinking from the Zamzam Well, and running between the hills of Safah and Marwah seven times. After completing the Hajj, he was granted an audience with Prince Faisal. Malcolm X said the trip allowed him to see Muslims of different races interacting as equals. He came to believe that Islam could be the means by which racial problems could be overcome.

Africa

Malcolm X visited Africa on three separate occasions, once in 1959 and twice in 1964. During his visits, he met officials, gave interviews to newspapers, and spoke on television and radio in Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanganyika (now Tanzania), Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Sudan, Senegal, Liberia, Algeria, and Morocco. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and Ahmed Ben Bella of Algeria invited Malcolm X to serve in their governments.

In 1959, Malcolm X traveled to Egypt (then known as the United Arab Republic), Sudan, Nigeria, and Ghana to arrange a tour for Elijah Muhammad. The first of the two trips Malcolm X made to Africa in 1964 lasted from April 13 until May 21, before and after his Hajj. On May 8, following his speech at the University of Ibadan, Malcolm X was made an honorary member of the Nigerian Muslim Students' Association. During this reception the students bestowed upon him the name "Omowale", which means "the son who has come home" in the Yoruba language. Malcolm X wrote in his autobiography that he "had never received a more treasured honor."

On July 9, 1964, Malcolm X returned to Africa. On July 17, he was welcomed to the second meeting of the Organization of African Unity in Cairo as a representative of the Organization of Afro-American Unity. By the time he returned to the United States on November 24, 1964, Malcolm had met with every prominent African leader and established an international connection between Africans on the continent and those in the diaspora.

France and the United Kingdom

On November 23, 1964, on his way home from Africa, Malcolm X stopped in Paris, where he spoke at the Salle de la Mutualité. A week later, on November 30, Malcolm X flew to the United Kingdom, and on December 3 participated in a debate at the Oxford Union. The topic of the debate was "Extremism in the Defense of Liberty is No Vice; Moderation in the Pursuit of Justice is No Virtue", and Malcolm X argued the affirmative. Interest in the debate was so high that it was televised nationally by the BBC.

On February 5, 1965, Malcolm X went to Europe again. On February 8, he spoke in London, before the first meeting of the Council of African Organizations. The next day, Malcolm X tried to go to France, but he was refused entry. On February 12, he visited Smethwick, near Birmingham, which had become a byword for racial division after the 1964 general election, when the Conservative Party won the parliamentary seat after rumors that their candidate's supporters had used the slogan "If you want a nigger for your neighbour, vote Labour."

In the United States

After leaving the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X spoke before a wide variety of audiences in the United States. He spoke at regular meetings of Muslim Mosque, Inc., and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. He was one of the most sought-after speakers on college campuses, and one of his top aides later wrote that he "welcomed every opportunity to speak to college students." Malcolm X also spoke before political groups such as the Militant Labor Forum.

Tensions increased between Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam. As early as February 1964, a member of Temple Number Seven was given orders by the group to wire explosives to Malcolm X's car. In September 1964, ''Ebony'' published a photograph of Malcolm X holding an M1 Carbine and peering out a window. The photo was intended to illustrate his determination to defend himself and his family against the death threats he was receiving.

The Nation of Islam and its leaders began making both public and private threats against Malcolm X. On March 23, 1964, Elijah Muhammad told Boston minister Louis X (later known as Louis Farrakhan) that "hypocrites like Malcolm should have their heads cut off." The April 10 edition of ''Muhammad Speaks'' featured a cartoon in which his severed head was shown bouncing. On July 9, John Ali, a top aide to Muhammad, answered a question about Malcolm X by saying that "anyone who opposes the Honorable Elijah Muhammad puts their life in jeopardy." The December 4 issue of ''Muhammad Speaks'' included an article by Louis X that railed against Malcolm X, saying "such a man as Malcolm is worthy of death."

Some threats were made anonymously. During the month of June 1964, FBI surveillance recorded two such threats. On June 8, a man called Malcolm X's home and told Betty Shabazz to "tell him he's as good as dead." On June 12, an FBI informant reported getting an anonymous telephone call from somebody who said "Malcolm X is going to be bumped off."

In June 1964, the Nation of Islam sued to reclaim Malcolm X's residence in Queens, New York, which they claimed to own. The suit was successful, and Malcolm X was ordered to vacate. On February 14, 1965, the night before a scheduled hearing to postpone the eviction date, the house burned to the ground. Malcolm X and his family survived. No one was charged with any crime.

Assassination

On February 21, 1965, in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom, Malcolm X began to speak to a meeting of the Organization of Afro-American Unity when a disturbance broke out in the crowd of 400. A man yelled, "Nigger! Get your hand outta my pocket!" As Malcolm X and his bodyguards moved to quiet the disturbance, a man rushed forward and shot him in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. Two other men charged the stage and fired handguns, hitting him 16 times. Furious onlookers caught and beat one of the assassins as the others fled the ballroom. Malcolm X was pronounced dead at 3:30 pm, shortly after he arrived at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.

Talmadge Hayer, a Nation of Islam member also known as Thomas Hagan, was arrested on the scene. Eyewitnesses identified two more suspects, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson, also members of the Nation. All three were charged. At first Hayer denied involvement, but during the trial he confessed to having fired shots at Malcolm X. He testified that Butler and Johnson were not present and were not involved in the assassination, but he declined to name the men who had joined him in the shooting. All three men were convicted.

Butler, now known as Muhammad Abdul Aziz, was paroled in 1985. He became the head of the Nation of Islam's Harlem mosque in 1998. He continues to maintain his innocence. Johnson, who changed his name to Khalil Islam, was released from prison in 1987. During his time in prison, he rejected the teachings of the Nation of Islam and converted to Sunni Islam. He maintained his innocence until his death in August 2009. Hayer, now known as Mujahid Halim, was paroled in 2010.

Funeral

A public viewing was held at Harlem's ''Unity Funeral Home'' from February 23 through February 26, and it was estimated that between 14,000 and 30,000 mourners attended. The funeral was held on February 27 at the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ in Harlem. The church was filled to capacity with more than 1,000 people. Loudspeakers were set up outside the Temple so the overflowing crowd could listen and a local television station broadcast the funeral live.

Among the civil rights leaders attending were John Lewis, Bayard Rustin, James Forman, James Farmer, Jesse Gray, and Andrew Young. Actor and activist Ossie Davis delivered the eulogy, describing Malcolm X as "our shining black prince".

There are those who will consider it their duty, as friends of the Negro people, to tell us to revile him, to flee, even from the presence of his memory, to save ourselves by writing him out of the history of our turbulent times. Many will ask what Harlem finds to honor in this stormy, controversial and bold young captain—and we will smile. Many will say turn away—away from this man, for he is not a man but a demon, a monster, a subverter and an enemy of the black man—and we will smile. They will say that he is of hate—a fanatic, a racist—who can only bring evil to the cause for which you struggle! And we will answer and say to them: Did you ever talk to Brother Malcolm? Did you ever touch him, or have him smile at you? Did you ever really listen to him? Did he ever do a mean thing? Was he ever himself associated with violence or any public disturbance? For if you did you would know him. And if you knew him you would know why we must honor him.

Malcolm X was buried at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. At the gravesite after the ceremony, friends took the shovels from the waiting gravediggers and completed the burial themselves. Actor and activist Ruby Dee (wife of Ossie Davis) and Juanita Poitier (wife of Sidney Poitier) established the Committee of Concerned Mothers to raise funds to buy a house and pay educational expenses for Malcolm X's family.

Responses to assassination

Reactions to Malcolm X's assassination were varied. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sent a telegram to Betty Shabazz, expressing his sadness over "the shocking and tragic assassination of your husband."

While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had a great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem. He was an eloquent spokesman for his point of view and no one can honestly doubt that Malcolm had a great concern for the problems that we face as a race.

Elijah Muhammad told the annual Savior's Day convention on February 26, "Malcolm X got just what he preached." "We didn't want to kill Malcolm and didn't try to kill him," Muhammad said. "We know such ignorant, foolish teachings would bring him to his own end."

''The New York Times'' wrote that Malcolm X was "an extraordinary and twisted man" who "turn[ed] many true gifts to evil purpose" and that his life was "strangely and pitifully wasted". The ''New York Post'' wrote that "even his sharpest critics recognized his brilliance—often wild, unpredictable and eccentric, but nevertheless possessing promise that must now remain unrealized."

The international press, particularly that of Africa, was sympathetic. The ''Daily Times of Nigeria'' wrote that Malcolm X "will have a place in the palace of martyrs." The ''Ghanaian Times'' likened him to John Brown and Patrice Lumumba among "a host of Africans and Americans who were martyred in freedom's cause". ''Guangming Daily'', published in Beijing, stated that "Malcolm was murdered because he fought for freedom and equal rights", while in Cuba, ''El Mundo'' described the assassination as "another racist crime to eradicate by violence the struggle against discrimination".

Allegations of conspiracy

Within days of the assassination, questions were raised about who bore ultimate responsibility. On February 23, James Farmer, the leader of the Congress of Racial Equality, announced at a news conference that local drug dealers, and not the Nation of Islam, were to blame. Others accused the NYPD, the FBI, or the CIA, citing the lack of police protection, the ease with which the assassins entered the Audubon Ballroom, and the failure of the police to preserve the crime scene.

In the 1970s, the public learned about COINTELPRO and other secret FBI programs directed towards infiltrating and disrupting civil rights organizations during the 1950s and 1960s. John Ali, national secretary of the Nation of Islam, was identified as an FBI undercover agent. Malcolm X had confided in a reporter that Ali exacerbated tensions between him and Elijah Muhammad. He considered Ali his "archenemy" within the Nation of Islam leadership. On February 20, 1965, the night before the assassination, Ali met with Talmadge Hayer, one of the men convicted of killing Malcolm X.

In 1977 and 1978, Talmadge Hayer submitted two sworn affidavits re-asserting his claim that Butler and Johnson were not involved in the assassination. In his affidavits Hayer named four men, all members of the Nation of Islam's Newark Temple Number 25, as having participated with him in the crime. Hayer asserted that a man, later identified as Wilbur McKinley, shouted and threw a smoke bomb to create a diversion. Hayer said that another man, later identified as William Bradley, had a shotgun and was the first to fire on Malcolm X after the diversion. Hayer asserted that he and a man later identified as Leon Davis, both armed with pistols, fired on Malcolm X immediately after the shotgun blast. Hayer also said that a fifth man, later identified as Benjamin Thomas, was involved in the conspiracy. Hayer's statements failed to convince authorities to reopen their investigation of the murder.

Some, including the Shabazz family, have accused Louis Farrakhan of being involved in the plot to assassinate Malcolm X. In a 1993 speech, Farrakhan seemed to boast of the assassination:

Was Malcolm your traitor or ours? And if we dealt with him like a nation deals with a traitor, what the ''hell'' business is it of yours? A nation has to be able to deal with traitors and cutthroats and turncoats.

In a ''60 Minutes'' interview that aired during May 2000, Farrakhan stated that some of the things he said may have led to the assassination of Malcolm X. "I may have been complicit in words that I spoke", he said. "I acknowledge that and regret that any word that I have said caused the loss of life of a human being." A few days later Farrakhan denied that he "ordered the assassination" of Malcolm X, although he again acknowledged that he "created the atmosphere that ultimately led to Malcolm X's assassination." No consensus on who was responsible has been reached.

Philosophy

Except for his autobiography, Malcolm X left no published writings. His philosophy is known almost entirely from the myriad speeches and interviews he gave from 1952 until his death in 1965. Many of those speeches, especially from the last year of his life, were recorded and have been published.

Beliefs of the Nation of Islam

Before he left the Nation of Islam in 1964, Malcolm X taught its beliefs in his speeches. His speeches were peppered with the phrase "The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that...". It is virtually impossible to discern whether Malcolm X's beliefs diverged from the teachings of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X once compared himself to a ventriloquist's dummy who could only say what Elijah Muhammad told him.

Malcolm X taught that black people were the original people of the world, and that white people were a race of devils who were created by an evil scientist named Yakub. The Nation of Islam believed that black people were superior to white people, and that the demise of the white race was imminent. When he was questioned concerning his statements that white people were devils, Malcolm X said that "history proves the white man is a devil." He enumerated some of the historical reasons that, he felt, supported his argument: "Anybody who rapes, and plunders, and enslaves, and steals, and drops hell bombs on people... anybody who does these things is nothing but a devil."

Malcolm X said that Islam was the "true religion of black mankind" and that Christianity was "the white man's religion" that had been imposed upon African Americans by their slave-masters. He said that the Nation of Islam followed Islam as it was practiced around the world, but the Nation's teachings varied from those of other Muslims because they were adapted to the "uniquely pitiful" condition of black people in America. He taught that Wallace Fard Muhammad, the founder of the Nation, was Allah incarnate, and that Elijah Muhammad was his Messenger, or prophet.

While the civil rights movement fought against racial segregation, Malcolm X advocated the complete separation of African Americans from white people. The Nation of Islam proposed the establishment of a separate country for black people in the Southern or Southwestern United States as an interim measure until African Americans could return to Africa. Malcolm X suggested the United States government owed reparations to black people for the unpaid labor of their enslaved ancestors. He also rejected the civil rights movement's strategy of nonviolence and instead advocated that black people should protect themselves by any necessary means.

Independent views

After leaving the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X announced his willingness to work with leaders of the civil rights movement, though he felt that it should change its focus to human rights. So long as the movement remained a fight for ''civil rights'', its struggle would remain a domestic issue, but by framing the struggle as a fight for ''human rights'', it would become an international issue, and the movement could bring its complaint before the United Nations. Malcolm X said the emerging nations of the world would add their support to the cause of African Americans.

Malcolm X declared that he and the other members of the Organization of Afro-American Unity were determined to defend themselves from aggressors, and to secure freedom, justice and equality "by whatever means necessary", arguing that if the government was unwilling or unable to protect black people, they should protect themselves.

Malcolm X stressed the global perspective he gained from his international travels. He emphasized the "direct connection" between the domestic struggle of African Americans for equal rights with the liberation struggles of Third World nations. He said that African Americans were wrong when they thought of themselves as a minority; in a global context, black people were a majority, not a minority.

In his speeches at the Militant Labor Forum, which was sponsored by the Socialist Workers Party, Malcolm X criticized capitalism. After one such speech, when he was asked what political and economic system he wanted, he said he didn't know, but that it was no coincidence the newly liberated countries in the Third World were turning toward socialism. Malcolm X still was concerned primarily with the freedom struggle of African Americans. When a reporter asked him what he thought about socialism, Malcolm X asked whether it was good for black people. When the reporter told him it seemed to be, Malcolm X told him, "Then I'm for it."

Although he no longer called for the separation of black people from white people, Malcolm X continued to advocate black nationalism, which he defined as self-determination for the African-American community. In the last months of his life, however, Malcolm X began to reconsider his support of black nationalism after meeting northern African revolutionaries who, to all appearances, were white.

After his Hajj, Malcolm X articulated a view of white people and racism that represented a deep change from the philosophy he had supported as a minister of the Nation of Islam. In a famous letter from Mecca, he wrote that his experiences with white people during his pilgrimage convinced him to "rearrange" his thinking about race and "toss aside some of [his] previous conclusions". In a 1965 conversation with Gordon Parks, two days before his assassination, Malcolm said:

[L]istening to leaders like Nasser, Ben Bella, and Nkrumah awakened me to the dangers of racism. I realized racism isn't just a black and white problem. It's brought bloodbaths to about every nation on earth at one time or another.

Brother, remember the time that white college girl came into the restaurant—the one who wanted to help the [Black] Muslims and the whites get together—and I told her there wasn't a ghost of a chance and she went away crying? Well, I've lived to regret that incident. In many parts of the African continent I saw white students helping black people. Something like this kills a lot of argument. I did many things as a [Black] Muslim that I'm sorry for now. I was a zombie then—like all [Black] Muslims—I was hypnotized, pointed in a certain direction and told to march. Well, I guess a man's entitled to make a fool of himself if he's ready to pay the cost. It cost me 12 years.

That was a bad scene, brother. The sickness and madness of those days—I'm glad to be free of them.

Legacy

Malcolm X has been described as one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history. He is credited with raising the self-esteem of black Americans and reconnecting them with their African heritage. He is largely responsible for the spread of Islam in the black community in the United States. Many African Americans, especially those who lived in cities in the Northern and Western United States, felt that Malcolm X articulated their complaints concerning inequality better than the mainstream civil rights movement did. One biographer says that by giving expression to their frustration, Malcolm X "made clear the price that white America would have to pay if it did not accede to black America's legitimate demands."

In the late 1960s, as black activists became more radical, Malcolm X and his teachings were part of the foundation on which they built their movements. The Black Power movement, the Black Arts Movement, and the widespread adoption of the slogan "Black is beautiful" can all trace their roots to Malcolm X.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was a resurgence of interest in Malcolm X among young people fueled, in part, by his use as an icon by hip hop groups such as Public Enemy. Images of Malcolm X could be found on T-shirts and jackets. Pictures of him were on display in hundreds of thousands of homes, offices, and schools. This wave peaked in 1992 with the release of ''Malcolm X'', a much-anticipated film adaptation of ''The Autobiography of Malcolm X''.

Portrayals in film and on stage

The 1992 film ''Malcolm X'' was directed by Spike Lee and based on ''The Autobiography of Malcolm X''. It starred Denzel Washington, with Angela Bassett as Betty Shabazz and Al Freeman, Jr., as Elijah Muhammad. Critic Roger Ebert and director Martin Scorsese both named the film one of the ten best of the 1990s. Washington had previously played the part of Malcolm X in the 1981 Off Broadway play ''When the Chickens Came Home to Roost''. Other actors who have portrayed Malcolm X include: James Earl Jones, in the 1977 film ''The Greatest''. Dick Anthony Williams, in the 1978 television miniseries ''King'' and the 1989 ''American Playhouse'' production of the Jeff Stetson play ''The Meeting''. Al Freeman, Jr., in the 1979 television miniseries ''Roots: The Next Generations''. Morgan Freeman, in the 1981 television movie ''Death of a Prophet''. Ben Holt, in the 1986 opera ''X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X'' at the New York City Opera. Gary Dourdan, in the 2000 television movie ''King of the World''. Joe Morton, in the 2000 television movie ''Ali: An American Hero''. Mario Van Peebles, in the 2001 film ''Ali''.

Memorials and tributes

The Malcolm X House Site, at 3448 Pinkney Street in North Omaha, Nebraska, marks the place where Malcolm Little first lived with his family. The house where the Little family lived was torn down in 1965 by owners who did not know of its connection with Malcolm X. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 and a historic marker identifies the site because of the importance of Malcolm X to American history and national culture. In 1987 the site was added to the Nebraska register of historic sites and marked with a state plaque.

Lansing, Michigan, where Malcolm Little spent his early, formative years, is home to a Michigan Historical Marker erected in 1975 marking his homesite. The city is also home to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz Academy, a public charter school with an Afrocentric focus. The Academy is located in the building where Little attended elementary school.

In cities around the world, Malcolm X's birthday (May 19) is commemorated as Malcolm X Day. The first known celebration of Malcolm X Day took place in Washington, D.C., in 1971. The city of Berkeley, California, has recognized Malcolm X's birthday as a citywide holiday since 1979.

Many cities have renamed streets after Malcolm X; in 1987, New York mayor Ed Koch proclaimed Lenox Avenue in Harlem to be Malcolm X Boulevard. The name of Reid Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, was changed to Malcolm X Boulevard in 1985. In 1997, Oakland Avenue in Dallas, Texas, was renamed Malcolm X Boulevard. Main Street in Lansing, Michigan, was renamed Malcolm X Street in 2010.

There have been dozens of schools named after Malcolm X, including Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark, New Jersey, Malcolm Shabazz City High School in Madison, Wisconsin, and Malcolm X College in Chicago, Illinois. Meanwhile, the Malcolm X Library and Performing Arts Center of the San Diego Public Library system opened in 1996. It is the first library named after Malcolm X.

The U.S. Postal Service issued a Malcolm X postage stamp in 1999. In 2005, Columbia University announced the opening of the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. The memorial is located in the Audubon Ballroom, where Malcolm X was assassinated.

Published works

''The Autobiography of Malcolm X''. With the assistance of Alex Haley. New York: Grove Press, 1965. . ''Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements''. George Breitman, ed. New York: Merit Publishers, 1965. . ''Malcolm X Talks to Young People''. New York: Young Socialist Alliance, 1965. . ''Two Speeches by Malcolm X''. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1965. . ''Malcolm X on Afro-American History''. New York: Merit Publishers, 1967. . ''The Speeches of Malcolm X at Harvard''. Archie Epps, ed. New York: Morrow, 1968. . ''By Any Means Necessary: Speeches, Interviews, and a Letter by Malcolm X''. George Breitman, ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1970. . ''The End of White World Supremacy: Four Speeches by Malcolm X''. Benjamin Karim, ed. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1971. .

''The Last Speeches''. Bruce Perry, ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-87348-543-2.

''Malcolm X Talks to Young People: Speeches in the United States, Britain, and Africa''. Steve Clark, ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1991. ISBN 978-0-87348-962-1.

''February 1965: The Final Speeches''. Steve Clark, ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1992. ISBN 978-0-87348-749-8.

References

Footnotes

Works cited

Further reading

External links

;Interviews

;Speeches

;Other links

Category:1925 births Category:1965 deaths Category:20th-century African-American activists Category:African American Muslims Category:African American religious leaders Category:African American life in Omaha, Nebraska Category:African Americans' rights activists Category:American autobiographers Category:American burglars Category:American people of Grenadian descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American Sunni Muslims Category:Assassinated American civil rights activists Category:Assassinated religious leaders Category:Black supremacy Category:Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery Category:COINTELPRO targets Category:Converts to Islam from Protestantism Category:Deaths by firearm in New York Category:Deaths onstage Category:Former Nation of Islam members Category:Murdered African-American people Category:Muslim activists Category:Pan-Africanism Category:People from Boston, Massachusetts Category:People from Lansing, Michigan Category:People from North Omaha, Nebraska Category:People from Omaha, Nebraska Category:People from Queens Category:People murdered in New York Category:Racism in the United States

ar:مالكوم إكس ast:Malcolm X az:Malkolm X bn:ম্যালকম এক্স zh-min-nan:Malcolm X bs:Malcolm X br:Malcolm X bg:Малкълм Екс ca:Malcolm X cs:Malcolm X cy:Malcolm X da:Malcolm X de:Malcolm X et:Malcolm X es:Malcolm X eo:Malcolm X eu:Malcolm X fa:مالکوم ایکس fr:Malcolm X ga:Malcolm X gl:Malcolm X ko:맬컴 엑스 hr:Malcolm X ig:Malcolm X id:Malcolm X is:Malcolm X it:Malcolm X he:מלקולם אקס jv:Malcolm X ka:მალკოლმ იქსი ky:Малколм Икс lv:Malkolms X lt:Malcolm X hu:Malcolm X ms:Malcolm X nl:Malcolm X ja:マルコムX no:Malcolm X nn:Malcolm X uz:Malkolm X pl:Malcolm X pt:Malcolm X ro:Malcolm X ru:Малкольм Икс sc:Malcolm X sco:Malcolm X sq:Malcolm X simple:Malcolm X sk:Malcolm X sr:Malkolm Iks sh:Malcolm X fi:Malcolm X sv:Malcolm X ta:மல்கம் எக்ஸ் th:แมลคัม เอ็กซ์ tr:Malcolm X uk:Малколм Ікс ur:میلکم ایکس ug:مالكولم X vi:Malcolm X yo:Malcolm X diq:Malcolm X zh:麥爾坎·X

Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
Name	Michelle Obama
Image name	Michelle Obama official portrait headshot.jpg
Office	First Lady of the United States
Term start	January 20, 2009
Predecessor	Laura Bush
Birth date	January 17, 1964
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Birthname	Michelle LaVaughn Robinson
Nationality	American
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Barack Obama (m. 1992)
Children	Malia (born 1998) Sasha (born 2001)
Residence	Hyde Park, Chicago (private)The White House (official)
Alma mater	Princeton University (A.B.)Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Protestant Christian
Signature	Michelle Obama signature.svg }}

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago and to work at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. As the wife of a Senator, and later the First Lady, she has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition and healthy eating.

Family and education

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois, to Fraser Robinson III, a city water plant employee and Democratic precinct captain, and Marian (née Shields), a secretary at Spiegel's catalog store. Her mother was a full-time homemaker until Michelle entered high school. The Robinson and Shields families can trace their roots to pre-Civil War African Americans in the American South. Specifically, her roots can be traced to the Gullah people from South Carolina's Lowcountry region. Her paternal great-great grandfather, Jim Robinson, was an American slave in the state of South Carolina, where some of her paternal family still reside. Her maternal great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia Shields, also a slave, became pregnant by a white man. His name and the nature of their union have been lost. She gave birth to Michelle's biracial maternal great-great grandfather, Dolphus T. Shields.

Michelle grew up in a two-story house on Euclid Street in Chicago's South Shore community area. Her parents rented a small apartment on the house's second floor from her great-aunt, who lived downstairs. She was raised in what she describes as a "conventional" home, with "the mother at home, the father works, you have dinner around the table". The family entertained together by playing games such as Monopoly and by reading. They attended services at nearby South Shore Methodist Church. The Robinsons used to vacation in a rustic cabin in White Cloud, Michigan. She and her brother, Craig (who is 21 months older), skipped the second grade. By sixth grade, Michelle joined a gifted class at Bryn Mawr Elementary School (later renamed Bouchet Academy).

She attended Whitney Young High School, Chicago's first magnet high school, where she was a classmate of Jesse Jackson's daughter Santita. The round trip commute from the Robinsons' South Side home to the Near West Side, where the school was located, took three hours. She was on the honor roll for four years, took advanced placement classes, a member of the National Honor Society and served as student council treasurer. Obama graduated in 1981 as the salutatorian of her class.

Michelle was inspired to follow her brother to Princeton University; he graduated in 1983. At Princeton, she challenged the teaching methodology for French because she felt that it should be more conversational. As part of her requirements for graduation, she wrote a thesis entitled "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community." "I remember being shocked," she says, "by college students who drove BMWs. I didn't even know parents who drove BMWs." While at Princeton, she got involved with the Third World Center (now known as the Carl A. Fields Center), an academic and cultural group that supported minority students, running their day care center which also included after school tutoring. Robinson majored in sociology and minored in African American studies and graduated ''cum laude'' with a Bachelor of Arts in 1985. She earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. At Harvard she participated in demonstrations advocating the hiring of professors who were members of minorities and worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, assisting low-income tenants with housing cases. She is the third First Lady with a postgraduate degree, after her two immediate predecessors, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush. In July 2008, Obama accepted the invitation to become an honorary member of the 100-year-old black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which had no active undergraduate chapter at Princeton when she attended.

She met Barack Obama when they were among the few African Americans at their law firm, Sidley Austin (she has sometimes said only two, although others have pointed out there were others in different departments), and she was assigned to mentor him as a summer associate. Their relationship started with a business lunch and then a community organization meeting where he first impressed her. The couple's first date was to the Spike Lee movie ''Do the Right Thing''. They married in October 1992, and have two daughters, Malia Ann (born 1998) and Natasha (known as Sasha, born 2001). After his election to the U.S. Senate, the Obama family continued to live on Chicago's South Side, choosing to remain there rather than moving to Washington, D.C. Throughout her husband's 2008 campaign for President of the United States, she made a "commitment to be away overnight only once a week — to campaign only two days a week and be home by the end of the second day" for their two children. She is the first cousin, once removed, of Rabbi Capers C. Funnye Jr., one of the country’s most prominent black rabbis.

She once requested that her then-fiancé meet her prospective boss, Valerie Jarrett, when considering her first career move. Now, Jarrett is one of her husband’s closest advisors. The marital relationship has had its ebbs and flows; the combination of an evolving family life and beginning political career led to many arguments about balancing work and family. Barack Obama wrote in his second book, ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream'', that "Tired and stressed, we had little time for conversation, much less romance". However, despite their family obligations and careers, they continue to attempt to schedule date nights.

The Obamas' daughters attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, a private school. As a member of the school's board, Michelle fought to maintain diversity in the school when other board members connected with the University of Chicago tried to reserve more slots for children of the university faculty. This resulted in a plan to expand the school. Malia and Sasha now attend Sidwell Friends School in Washington, after also considering Georgetown Day School. Michelle stated in an interview on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' that they do not intend to have any more children. The Obamas have received advice from past first ladies Laura Bush, Rosalynn Carter and Hillary Rodham Clinton about raising children in the White House. Marian Robinson, Michelle's mother, has moved into the White House to assist with child care.

Career

Following law school, she was an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin, where she first met her future husband. At the firm, she worked on marketing and intellectual property. She continues to hold her law license, but as she no longer needs it for her work, it has been on a voluntary inactive status since 1993.

In 1991, she held public sector positions in the Chicago city government as an Assistant to the Mayor, and as Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development. In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies. She worked there nearly four years and set fundraising records for the organization that still stood 12 years after she left.

In 1996, she served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the University's Community Service Center. In 2002, she began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, beginning May 2005, as Vice President for Community and External Affairs. She continued to hold the University of Chicago Hospitals position during the primary campaign, but cut back to part time in order to spend time with her daughters as well as work for her husband's election; she subsequently took a leave of absence from her job. According to the couple’s 2006 income tax return, her salary was $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, while her husband had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate. The Obamas' total income, however, was $991,296, which included $51,200 she earned as a member of the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods, and investments and royalties from his books.

She served as a salaried board member of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (), a major Wal-Mart supplier with whom she cut ties immediately after her husband made comments critical of Wal-Mart at an AFL-CIO forum in Trenton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2007. She serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

2008 Presidential election

Although Obama has campaigned on her husband's behalf since early in his political career by handshaking and fund-raising, she did not relish the activity at first. When she campaigned during her husband's 2000 run for United States House of Representatives, her boss at the University of Chicago asked if there was any single thing about campaigning that she enjoyed; after some thought, she replied that visiting so many living rooms had given her some new decorating ideas.

At first, Obama had reservations about her husband's presidential campaign, due to fears about a possible negative effect on their daughters. She says that she negotiated an agreement in which her husband was to give up smoking in exchange for her support of his decision to run. About her role in her husband's presidential campaign she has said: "My job is not a senior adviser." During the campaign, she has discussed race and education by using motherhood as a framework.

In May 2007, three months after her husband declared his presidential candidacy, she reduced her professional responsibilities by 80 percent to support his presidential campaign. Early in the campaign, she had limited involvement in which she traveled to political events only two days a week and traveled overnight only if their daughters could come along; by early February 2008 her participation had increased significantly, attending thirty-three events in eight days. She made several campaign appearances with Oprah Winfrey. She wrote her own stump speeches for her husband's presidential campaign and generally spoke without notes.

Throughout the campaign, the media often labeled her as an "angry black woman," and some Web sites attempted to propagate this image, prompting her to respond: "Barack and I have been in the public eye for many years now, and we've developed a thick skin along the way. When you’re out campaigning, there will always be criticism. I just take it in stride, and at the end of the day, I know that it comes with the territory." By the time of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in August, media outlets observed that her presence on the campaign trail had grown softer than at the start of the race, focusing on soliciting concerns and empathizing with the audience rather than throwing down challenges to them, and giving interviews to shows like ''The View'' and publications like ''Ladies' Home Journal'' rather than appearing on news programs. The change was even reflected in her fashion choices, wearing more informal clothes in place of her previous designer pieces. The ''View'' appearance was partly intended to help soften her public image, and it was widely-covered in the press.

The presidential campaign was her first exposure to the national political scene; even before the field of Democratic candidates was narrowed to two, she was considered the least famous of the candidates' spouses. Early in the campaign, she told anecdotes about the Obama family life; however, as the press began to emphasize her sarcasm, she toned it down. ''New York Times'' op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd wrote: }}

On the first night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Craig Robinson introduced his younger sister. She delivered her speech, during which she sought to portray herself and her family as the embodiment of the American Dream. Obama said both she and her husband believed "that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond, and you do what you say you're going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them." She also emphasized loving her country, in response to criticism for her previous statements about feeling proud of her country for the first time. That keynote address was largely well received and drew mostly positive reviews. A Rasmussen Reports poll found that her favorability among Americans reached 55%.

On an October 6, 2008 broadcast, Larry King asked her if the American electorate was past the Bradley effect. She stated that her husband's achievement of the nomination was a fairly strong indicator that it was. The same night she also was interviewed by Jon Stewart on the ''Daily Show'' where she deflected criticism of her husband and his campaign. On Fox News' ''America's Pulse'', E. D. Hill referred to the fist bump shared by the Obamas on the night that he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination as a "terrorist fist jab"; Hill was taken off air and the show itself was cancelled.

First Lady of the United States

Public image and style

With the ascent of her husband as a prominent national politician, Michelle Obama has become a part of popular culture. In May 2006, ''Essence'' listed her among "25 of the World's Most Inspiring Women." In July 2007, ''Vanity Fair'' listed her among "10 of the World's Best Dressed People." She was an honorary guest at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball as a "young'un" paying tribute to the 'Legends,' which helped pave the way for African American Women. In September 2007, ''02138'' magazine listed her 58th of 'The Harvard 100'; a list of the prior year's most influential Harvard alumni. Her husband was ranked fourth. In July 2008, she made a repeat appearance on the ''Vanity Fair'' international best dressed list. She also appeared on the 2008 ''People'' list of best-dressed women and was praised by the magazine for her "classic and confident" look.

At the time of her husband's election, some sources anticipated that as a high-profile African-American woman in a stable marriage she would be a positive role model who would influence the view the world has of African-Americans. Her fashion choices were part of the 2009 Fashion week, but Obama's influence in the field did not have the impact on the paucity of African-American models who participate, that some thought it might.

She has been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy due to her sense of style, and also to Barbara Bush for her discipline and decorum. Her white, one-shoulder Jason Wu 2009 inaugural gown was said to be "an unlikely combination of Nancy Reagan and Jackie Kennedy". Obama's style is described as populist. She often wears clothes by designers Calvin Klein, Isabel Toledo, Narciso Rodriguez, Donna Ricco and Maria Pinto, and has become a fashion trendsetter, in particular her favoring of sleeveless dresses that showcase her toned arms.

She appeared on the cover and in a photo spread in the March 2009 issue of ''Vogue''. Every First Lady since Lou Hoover (except Bess Truman) has been in ''Vogue'', but only Hillary Clinton had previously appeared on the cover.

The media have been criticized for focusing more on the first lady's fashion sense than her serious contributions. She has stated that she would like to focus attention as First Lady on issues of concern to military and working families. ''U.S.News & World Report'' blogger, PBS host and Scripps Howard columnist Bonnie Erbe has argued that Obama's own publicists seem to be feeding the emphasis on style over substance. Erbe has stated on several occasions that she is miscasting herself by overemphasizing style.

Work undertaken and causes promoted

During her early months as First Lady, she visited homeless shelters and soup kitchens. She also sent representatives to schools and advocated public service. On her first trip abroad in April 2009, she toured a cancer ward with Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. She has begun advocating on behalf of military families. Like her predecessors Clinton and Bush, who supported the organic movement by instructing the White House kitchens to buy organic food, Obama has received attention by planting an organic garden and installing bee hives on the South Lawn of the White House, which will supply organic produce and honey to the First Family and for state dinners and other official gatherings.

Obama has become an advocate of her husband's policy priorities by promoting bills that support it. Following the enactment of the Pay equity law, Obama hosted a White House reception for women's rights advocates in celebration. She has pronounced her support for the economic stimulus bill in visits to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and United States Department of Education. Some observers have looked favorably upon her legislative activities, while others have said that she should be less involved in politics. According to her representatives, she intends to visit all United States Cabinet-level agencies in order to get acquainted with Washington.

She gained growing public support in her early months as first lady. She is notable for her support from military families and some Republicans. As the public is growing accustomed to her, she is becoming more accepted as a role model. ''Newsweek'' described her first trip abroad as an exhibition of her so-called "star power" and MSN described it as a display of sartorial elegance. There were questions raised in the American and British media regarding protocol when the Obamas met Queen Elizabeth II, and Michelle reciprocated a touch on her back by the Queen during a reception, purportedly against traditional royal etiquette. Palace sources denied that any breach in etiquette had occurred.

On June 5, 2009, the White House announced that Michelle Obama was replacing her current chief of staff, Jackie Norris, with Susan Sher, a longtime friend and adviser. Norris will become a senior adviser to the Corporation for National and Community Service. Then in February 2010, the resignation of White House Social Secretary, Desiree Rogers was announced to be effective the following month. Rogers had been at odds with other administration officials, such as David Axelrod, and then the White House State Dinner faux pas occurred on November 24, 2009. Rogers was replaced by Julianna Smoot.

After a year as First Lady, she undertook her first lead role in an administrationwide initiative. Her goal was to make progress in reversing the 21st century trend of childhood obesity. She stated that her goal is to make this effort her legacy: "I want to leave something behind that we can say, ‘Because of this time that this person spent here, this thing has changed.’ And my hope is that that’s going to be in the area of childhood obesity." She has named the movement "Let's Move!". This effort does not supplant her other efforts: supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, encouraging national service, promoting the arts and arts education, and fostering healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country. She has earned widespread publicity on the topic of healthy eating by planting the first White House vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt served as First Lady.

References

Further reading

External links

First Lady Michelle Obama at Whitehouse.gov

"About Michelle Obama" at BarackObama.com

Michelle Obama collected news and commentary at ''Chicago Tribune''

Michelle Obama collected news and commentary at U.S.News & World Report

Michelle Obama On Love, Family & Politics, interview with Katie Couric of ''CBS News'', February 15, 2008

Photoessay in ''Newsweek''

Category:1964 births Category:African American history Category:African American female lawyers Category:First Ladies of the United States Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:Illinois Democrats Category:Illinois lawyers Category:Living people Category:Obama family Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Princeton University alumni Category:Spouses of Illinois politicians Category:Spouses of United States Senators Category:United Church of Christ members Category:Whitney M. Young Magnet High School alumni Category:Women in Illinois politics

ar:ميشيل أوباما az:Mişel Obama zh-min-nan:Michelle Obama be:Мішэль Абама be-x-old:Мішэль Абама bcl:Michelle Obama bg:Мишел Обама bs:Michelle Obama ca:Michelle Obama cs:Michelle Obamová cy:Michelle Obama da:Michelle Obama de:Michelle Obama et:Michelle Obama es:Michelle Obama eo:Michelle Obama eu:Michelle Obama fa:میشل اوباما fr:Michelle Obama fy:Michelle Obama ga:Michelle Obama gl:Michelle Obama ko:미셸 오바마 hy:Միշել Օբամա hi:मिशेल ओबामा hr:Michelle Obama id:Michelle Obama it:Michelle Obama he:מישל אובמה jv:Michelle Obama kn:ಮಿಚೆಲ್ ಒಬಾಮ ka:მიშელ ობამა sw:Michelle Obama la:Michaela Obama lv:Mišela Obama lt:Michelle Obama hu:Michelle Obama mk:Мишел Обама ml:മിഷേൽ ഒബാമ mr:मिशेल ओबामा nl:Michelle Obama ja:ミシェル・オバマ no:Michelle Obama oc:Michelle Obama uz:Michelle Obama pap:Michelle La Vaugh Robinson Obama pl:Michelle Obama pt:Michelle Obama ro:Michelle Obama ru:Обама, Мишель sah:Мишел Обама simple:Michelle Obama sk:Michelle Obamová sr:Мишел Обама sh:Michelle Obama fi:Michelle Obama sv:Michelle Obama tl:Michelle Obama tt:Мишель Обама te:మిచెల్ ఒబామా/మిషెల్ ఒబామా th:มิเชลล์ โอบามา tr:Michelle Obama uk:Мішель Обама vi:Michelle Obama war:Michelle Obama yi:מישעל אבאמא yo:Michelle Obama zh:米歇爾·奧巴馬

Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
name	Corey Taylor
background	solo_singer
birth name	Corey Todd Taylor
born	December 08, 1973
origin	Des Moines, Iowa,
alias	#8, The Great Big Mouth, Faith, The Sickness,
genre	Alternative metal, nu metal, heavy metal, post-grunge, hard rock, alternative rock
occupation	Musician, songwriter, author
years active	1990–present
instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, banjo
voice type	Baritone
label	Roadrunner, Great Big Mouth
associated acts	Slipknot, Stone Sour,
website	Slipknot Official WebsiteStone Sour Official Website }}

Corey Todd Taylor (born December 8, 1973) sometimes known by the number 8, is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor was raised by his single mother. He developed a fond feeling toward classic rock after his grandmother introduced him to it. Taylor first met his father on March 28, 2005, and the two have developed a strong relationship. He currently has a wife, an ex-wife, and two children. By the release of Stone Sour's ''Come What(ever) May'', he was sober. On August 3, 2009 and July 29, 2010 he co-hosted the Kerrang! Awards alongside Scott Ian of Anthrax and The Damned Things.

Corey Taylor is a founding member of Stone Sour, and has released three studio albums with the band. Taylor joined Slipknot in 1997 to replace their original singer Anders Colsefni. He has released four studio albums with the band. Taylor constantly alternates between bands, as seen in 2001, after the release of ''Iowa'', where he reformed Stone Sour immediately after touring. He has worked with several bands, including Junk Beer Kidnap Band, Apocalyptica, Anthrax and Soulfly. Taylor writes and sings in styles that vary by genre. He is well known for his four octave Baritone vocal range. Taylor was ranked number 86 in Hit Parader's ''Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time''.

Personal life

Corey Taylor was born in Des Moines, Iowa on December 8, 1973, the first of three children. He lived in Orlando briefly with his uncle, George Robson though Taylor was mostly raised by his mother in Waterloo, Iowa, a place described by Taylor as a "hole in the ground with buildings around it."

In 1979, Taylor and his mother saw the science fiction series ''Buck Rogers in the 25th Century''. Before the series, there was a trailer for the 1978 horror film ''Halloween''. Taylor said this "developed some sense of Slipknot in [himself]." While ''Halloween'' introduced Taylor to masks and horror themes, Taylor's grandmother introduced him to rock music, showing him a collection of Elvis Presley records from the mid-fifties to late seventies. He especially found some songs like "Teddy Bear", "In the Ghetto", and "Suspicious Minds", to appeal to his interests the most, describing them as "good times." Taylor also began listening to Black Sabbath at a young age, beginning with their early work.

Taylor, along with his mother and sister, lived in an "old dilapidated farmhouse," which on days in late autumn would "look like Black Sabbath album covers." By age fifteen, Taylor had developed a drug addiction and had overdosed on cocaine twice. By this time, Taylor was living in Waterloo, Iowa, but later set out on his own and ended up at his grandmother's trailer in Ohio. She took legal custody of him and helped him buy musical equipment. When Taylor was eighteen, he left his grandmother's trailer and went to various places, Des Moines being a place he commonly went back to.

Taylor and his father first met when Taylor was an adult, and now have a strong relationship. On September 17, 2002, Corey's then-fiancée, Scarlett Stone, gave birth to their son Griffin Parker. Taylor also has a daughter named Angie, born on October 29, 1992 from an earlier relationship.

Taylor has also had alcohol abuse problems, which his ex-wife, Scarlett, helped him through as well as keeping him from committing suicide. In 2006, Taylor told MTV that he had attempted to jump off a balcony of the eighth floor of the Hyatt on Sunset Boulevard in 2003, but "somehow [Scarlett] stopped me". Scarlett then told him that either he would have to get sober or she would annul their marriage. Before Stone Sour started recording ''Come What(ever) May'' in January 2006, Taylor was sober. On August 3, 2009, he co-hosted the 2009 Kerrang! Awards alongside Scott Ian of Anthrax. The following year, they both once again co-hosted The Kerrang Awards, where Corey collected the K! Services to Metal award on behalf of Paul Gray who died after an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl, and had also shown signs of "significant heart disease". In early September, 2010, Taylor announced that his book, ''Seven Deadly Sins: Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good'' and was released on July 12, 2011 through Da Capo Press.

Music career

Slipknot

In Des Moines, Iowa, Joey Jordison, Shawn Crahan, and Mick Thomson approached him asking him to join Slipknot. He agreeably went to one of their practices, and ended up singing in front of them. They asked him to join the band because of his melodic vocals. While Taylor was positioned as lead vocalist for the band, their previous vocalist, Anders Colsefni, was moved to backing vocals and percussion. Unhappy with the position, Colsefni later left the band. thumb|left|250px||alt=A man wearing a mask while singing into a microphone.|Taylor performing with Slipknot in 2005 Feeling he could expand more in Slipknot than in Stone Sour, Taylor temporarily quit Stone Sour, even though they were recording an album with Sean McMahon. Taylor's first gig with Slipknot was on August 22, 1997, which according to band members did not go well. During his first gig, Taylor did not perform wearing a mask; however, for his second show nearly a month later, Corey wore a mask that resembles his debut album mask. Taylor's current mask was described by MTV's Chris Harris as looking "as though it were made of dried, human flesh—like Leatherface, if only he used moisturizer." One of the old dreadlocked masks is now in the possession of Dom Howard of British rock band Muse, after the two bands both played MetalFest. He was apparently subjected to Taylor's "sit the fuck down!" routine face-to-face during Slipknot's set and can be seen reliving the experience (wearing the mask) on Muse's Hullabaloo DVD. Despite rumours that Howard had stolen the mask, he in fact received it from a fan afterwards.

Taylor has recorded with Slipknot since the release of their second demo album, a self-titled demo used to promote the band to prospective labels and producers. As permanent vocalist, he recorded with Slipknot at Indigo Ranch in Malibu, California and released ''Slipknot'', the band's debut album that peaked number one on the Top Heatseekers chart, went 2× Platinum in the United States, and was included in the 2006 book ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''. Taylor was accused of copyright infringement, regarding the lyrics of the song "Purity". Taylor began recording for their second studio album, ''Iowa'', in 2001 at Sound City and Sound Image in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California. It was released August 28, 2001 and peaked number one on the UK Albums Chart, as well as number three on the ''Billboard'' 200. While writing ''Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)'', Taylor decided to write lyrics that would not warrant an explicit label. It peaked number two on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''All Hope Is Gone'' was the first Slipknot album to peak number one on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Stone Sour

Taylor is a founding member of the American hard rock band Stone Sour. After forming the band with drummer Joel Ekman, Shawn Economaki joined filling in the bass position, leaving the electric guitar position to be filled by Josh Rand. Stone Sour recorded a demo album in 1992, and another in 1994. In 1997, Taylor was approached by the metal band, Slipknot, resulting in him abandoning Stone Sour while they were recording a demo album with Sean McMahon at SR studios. Taylor did not return until five years later to record their debut album, ''Stone Sour'' in 2002. Both Taylor and guitarist Josh Rand contacted Jim Root, Slipknot's guitarist, and Shawn Economaki, Stone Sour's original bassist, to begin writing songs for their debut album. Drummer Joel Ekman came back on board as well. This "reformation" later resulted in Stone Sour recording at Catamount Studios in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Their self-titled debut album was released August 27, 2002, and it debuted at number 46 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Their second album, ''Come What(ever) May'' debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. It was released August 1, 2006, and charted on several different charts. ''Live in Moscow'' is currently their only album specifically released only for music download. During the recording of the album, drummer Joel Ekman left the band for personal reasons. As a result, drummer Roy Mayorga was recruited, taking his place. The group released their third studio album, ''Audio Secrecy'', on September 7, 2010.

Other work

Taylor has appeared as a guest musician on albums by Soulfly, Apocalyptica and Damageplan. At one point, he was heavily involved in the recording of thrash metal band Anthrax's album, ''Worship Music'', but the sessions remain unreleased. He also contributed to the ''Roadrunner United'' all-star album in 2005, providing vocals for the song "Rich Man". Taylor has also made a brief appearance in Steel Panther's singles "Death to All but Metal", "Eyes of a Panther", and "Asian Hooker". In 2006, Taylor founded the record company Great Big Mouth Records. Taylor has produced two albums: Face Cage's self-titled album and Walls of Jericho's ''Redemption''. Taylor provided guest narration on the track "Repentance" for Dream Theater's 2007 album ''Systematic Chaos''. In an interview with ''Billboard magazine'', Taylor confirmed that on January 13, 2009, he was planning on making a solo album, as well as returning to his side project Stone Sour after Slipknot's All Hope Is Gone World Tour. Taylor has stated that he is currently been writing songs that states "don't fit either of his main bands." He describes them as a cross between Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash, and Social Distortion, saying that there's "a country background that comes built-in with living in Iowa".

On the March 30, 2009, it was confirmed that Taylor and the Junk Beer Kidnap Band would be performing at Rockfest in 2009. The group performed on April 24, 2009 at People's Court in Des Moines, Iowa, marking Taylor's first official solo show. Taylor constantly performs with his band the Dum Fux, who make covers for 1970s punk rock and 1980s hair metal. Taylor also performs with Audacious P, a band that is primarily a Tenacious D covers band. Rapper Tech N9ne confirmed that Taylor was to perform on his album ''K.O.D.'', but was removed because Taylor did not submit his vocals in time. Taylor recently admitted that he tried out for the vacant singer spot in the band Velvet Revolver, but said that it just did not work out. However, according to a recent ''Billboard'' article, it seems likely that he may in fact become the vocalist for Velvet Revolver, though no official confirmation has been made. Duff McKagan added that they can neither "confirm or deny" Taylor's membership in the band but believes that Taylor is the "real deal". Slash has since ruled Corey out as the possible new vocalist explaining that "[it] just wasn't right" although he does love him. He however, has recorded 10 new songs with the band, drummer Matt Sorum stated it's unlikely it will ever be released. Taylor explained to Mark Hoppus on Hoppus on Music that McKagan and him were writing new music for a possible new supergroup.

As a solo artist he recently recorded a new song, "X-M@$", for The Teenage Cancer Trust. The video itself is dedicated to those who hate Christmas. The single was made available to digital retailers on December 12, 2010. It debuted at number thirty-seven in the UK.

In 2011, Taylor collaborated with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker on Barker's solo album Give The Drummer Some on the song "On My Own".

Style and influence

The first two Slipknot albums that Taylor performed vocals on, ''Slipknot'' and ''Iowa'', both contain gratuitous explicit content, and many critics claimed Taylor relied on the profanity, which is why Slipknot's third album, ''Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)'' is profanity free and did not warrant the explicit label. Unlike the previous vocalist for Slipknot, Ander Colsefini, Taylor has a vocal style that was characterized by drummer Joey Jordison as "really good melodic singing". Taylor's vocal style led him to getting placed at number 86 on the Hit Parader’s ''Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time''.

Taylor is currently involved in two major projects which have moods and genres considered to be different. Slipknot is considered to be heavy metal and alternative metal, and express moods such as hostility, anger, and rebellion. Stone Sour is considered to be hard rock, alternative metal, heavy metal, and post-grunge, and express moods such as bleakness, somberness, and anger. Taylor cites Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Dokken, Misfits, Black Flag, Slayer, Def Leppard, Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Cramps, Journey and Bob Dylan as influences.

Discography

Stone Sour

style="background:#dde; width:50px;"	Year	Name	Ref
2002	''Stone Sour (album)>Stone Sour''
2006	''Come What(ever) May''
2007	''Live in Moscow (album)>Live in Moscow''
2010	''Audio Secrecy''

Slipknot

style="background:#dde; width:50px;"	Year	Name	Ref
1998	''Slipknot Demo''
1999	''Slipknot (album)>Slipknot''
2001	''Iowa (album)>Iowa''
2004	''Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)''
2005	''9.0: Live''
2008	''All Hope Is Gone''

Other works

''Soularium'' SmakdabTons (band)Soulfly Slitheryn Slitheryn Black Flag (band)Anthrax (band)DamageplanRoadrunner UnitedKorn FaceCageApocalypticaDream TheaterWalls of Jericho (band)Steel Panther Corey Taylor Travis Barker, Corey Taylor

style="background:#dde; width:50px;"	Year	Artist	Album	Track(s)	Position	Ref
1998	Sister Soleil	|	"Liar"	Singing>Backing vocals
1998	|	''Smakdab (album)''	"Shadowed"	Vocals
2000	Snot ||	''Strait Up''	"Requiem"	Vocals
2000	|	Primitive (album)>Primitive''	"Jumpdafuckup"	Vocals
2001	|	''Slitheryn''	"Lost"	Backing Vocals
2001	|	''Slitheryn''	"Get Up"	Backing Vocals
2002	Black Flag ||	Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three>Rise Above''	"Room 13"	Vocals
2003	Anthrax ||	''With Full Force Festival in Germany''	"Bring the Noise"	Vocals
2004	|	''New Found Power''	"Fuck You"	Vocals
2005	|	''The All-Star Sessions''	"The Rich Man"	Vocals
2006	|	Family Values Tour 2006 CD>Family Values Tour 2006''	"Freak on a Leash (Live)"	Backing vocals
2006	|	''III''	—	Producer
2007	|	''Worlds Collide''	"I'm Not Jesus"	Vocals
2007	|	''Systematic Chaos''	"Repentance"	Spoken word>Spoken word contribution
2008	Walls of Jericho ||	Redemption (EP)>Redemption''	"Ember Drive", "My Last Stand", "Addicted"	Record producer>producer
2009	|	''Feel the Steel''	"Death to All But Metal", "Asian Hooker", "Eyes of a Panther"	Vocals
2010	|	''X-M@$''	X-M@$	Record producer>producer
2010	|	''Give the Drummer Some	"On My Own"	Vocals

Solo singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions	Album
!style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	!style="width:3em;font-size:75%"	!style="width:3em;font-size:75%"
2010	"X-M@$"				Non-album single

Filmography

rowspan="9" ''We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll'' ''Rollerball (2002 film) ''Disasterpieces'' ''Cable TV'' (Episode four, season two) ''Voliminal: Inside the Nine''

style="background:#dde; width:50px;"	Year	Film	Character	Director	Ref
1999	''Welcome to Our Neighborhood''	Self ||	Thomas Mignone
2001	|	Penelope Spheeris
2002	Rollerball'' ||	John McTiernan
2002	|	Matthew Amos
2003	|	Stuart Cable
2005	|	Shawn Crahan
2009	Slipknot (album)>Of the (sic): Your Nightmares, Our Dreams''

Book

On July 12, 2011 Corey released his first book titled Seven Deadly Sins: Settling the Argument Between Born Bad and Damaged Good. In the book Taylor explains his view on each of the seven deadly sins and shares experiences he has had with them.

Equipment

style="background:#dde; width:175px;"	Instrument	Years used	Ref
Audio-Technica AEW-T6100#Wireless Handheld Microphone	2000–present
Shure#Wireless microphones	Shure Wireless system		2004–2005
Ibanez	Ibanez Voice Chorus		1999–2000
Gibson Guitars	2009–present
Ibanez Custom Artcore Talman Semi-Hollow Body	2003–2005

References

;Literature ;Cited

External links

Corey Taylor Official Website

Corey Taylor Fansite

Slipknot website

Stone Sour website

Corey Taylor interview

Metal Underground: interview

NY rock: article

IGN: article

Duff McKagan on Corey Taylor in Seattle Weekly

Category:1973 births Category:American baritones Category:American heavy metal singers Category:American male singers Category:American rock singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musicians from Iowa Category:Living people Category:People from Des Moines, Iowa Category:People from Waterloo, Iowa Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:Roadrunner Records artists Category:Slipknot members Category:Stone Sour members

bg:Кори Тейлър cs:Corey Taylor da:Corey Taylor de:Corey Taylor et:Corey Taylor es:Corey Taylor fa:کوری تیلور fr:Corey Taylor id:Corey Taylor it:Corey Taylor he:קורי טיילור lb:Corey Taylor lt:Corey Taylor hu:Corey Taylor nl:Corey Taylor ja:コリィ・テイラー no:Corey Taylor pl:Corey Taylor pt:Corey Todd Taylor ro:Corey Taylor ru:Тейлор, Кори simple:Corey Taylor sk:Corey Taylor fi:Corey Taylor sv:Corey Taylor tr:Corey Taylor uk:Корі Тейлор