Events

1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. 147 Swiss Guards, including their commander, die fighting the forces of Charles V in order to allow Pope Clement VII to escape into Castel Sant'Angelo.

1536 – King Henry VIII orders English language Bibles be placed in every church.

1542 – Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time.

1659 – English Restoration: A faction of the British Army removes Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth and reinstalls the Rump Parliament.

1682 – Louis XIV of France moves his court to the Palace of Versailles.

1757 – Battle of Prague – A Prussian army fights an Austrian army in Prague during the Seven Years' War.

1757 – English poet Christopher Smart is admitted into St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics in London, beginning his six-year confinement to mental asylums.

1801 – Captain Thomas Cochrane in the 14-gun captures the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo.

1816 – The American Bible Society is founded in New York City.

1835 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr. publishes the first issue of the New York Herald.

1840 – The Penny Black postage stamp becomes valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

1844 – The Glaciarium, the world's first mechanically frozen ice rink, opens.

1857 – The British East India Company disbands the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry whose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British and is considered to be the First Martyr in the War of Indian Independence.

1861 – American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union.

1861 – American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is declared the new capital of the Confederate States of America.

1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends with the defeat of the Army of the Potomac by Confederate troops.

1877 – Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Sioux surrenders to United States troops in Nebraska.

1882 – Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish are stabbed and killed during the Phoenix Park Murders in Dublin.

1882 – The United States Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act.

1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.

1910 – George V becomes King of the United Kingdom upon the death of his father, Edward VII.

1935 – New Deal: Executive Order 7034 creates the Works Progress Administration.

1935 – The first flight of the Curtiss P-36 Hawk.

1937 – Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people are killed.

1940 – John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.

1941 – At California's March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO show.

1941 – The first flight of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.

1942 – World War II: On Corregidor, the last American forces in the Philippines surrender to the Japanese.

1945 – World War II: Axis Sally delivers her last propaganda broadcast to Allied troops.

1945 – World War II: The Prague Offensive, the last major battle of the Eastern Front, begins.

1954 – Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.

1960 – More than 20 million viewers watch the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret marries Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey.

1962 – St. Martín de Porres is canonized by Pope John XXIII.

1966 – Myra Hindley and Ian Brady are sentenced to life imprisonment for the Moors Murders in England.

1972 – Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin İnan are executed in Ankara for attempting to overthrow the Constitutional order.

1976 – An earthquake strikes Friuli, causing 989 deaths and the destruction of entire villages.

1981 – A jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries.

1983 – The Hitler diaries are revealed as a hoax after examination by experts.

1984 – 103 Korean Martyrs are canonized by Pope John Paul II in Seoul

1989 – Cedar Point opens Magnum XL-200, the first roller coaster to break the 200 ft height barrier, therefore spawning what is considered to be the "coaster wars".

1994 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrand officiate at the opening of the Channel Tunnel.

1994 – Former Arkansas state worker Paula Jones files a lawsuit against President Bill Clinton, alleging that he had sexually harassed her in 1991.

1996 – The body of former CIA director William Colby is found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he disappeared.

1997 – The Bank of England is given independence from political control, the most significant change in the bank's 300-year history.

1998 – Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his 5th career start.

1999 – First elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly held.

2001 – During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque.

2002 – Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is assassinated by an animal rights activist.

2004 – Aslan Abashidze, leader of Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara resigns after public protests and months of stalemate with the central authorities.

2010 – The second largest intraday point swing in Dow Jones Industrial Average history occurs.

Births

1405 – George Kastrioti Skanderbeg, Albanian hero (d. 1468)

1501 – Pope Marcellus II (d. 1555)

1574 – Pope Innocent X (d. 1655)

1638 – Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell, First Lord of the British Admiralty (d. 1696)

1713 – Charles Batteux, French philosopher (d. 1780)

1758 – André Masséna, French marshal (d. 1817)

1758 – Maximilien Robespierre, French Revolutionary (d. 1794)

1769 – Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1824)

1769 – Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician (d. 1834)

1797 – Joseph Brackett, American religious leader and composer (d. 1882)

1800 – Roman Sanguszko, Polish aristocrat and general (d. 1881)

1856 – Sigmund Freud, Austrian psychiatrist (d. 1939)

1856 – Robert Peary, American explorer (d. 1920)

1861 – Motilal Nehru, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1931)

1868 – Gaston Leroux, French writer (d. 1927)

1871 – Victor Grignard, French chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)

1871 – Christian Morgenstern, German author (d. 1914)

1872 – Willem de Sitter, Dutch scientist (d. 1934)

1879 – Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist (d. 1952)

1880 – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German painter (d. 1938)

1880 – Winifred Brunton, British-born South African painter (d. 1959)

1880 – William J. Simmons, American Ku Klux Klan leader (d. 1945)

1882 – Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany (d. 1951)

1895 – Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian Nazi (d. 1946)

1895 – Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian writer (d. 1974)

1895 – Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (d. 1926)

1897 – Paul Alverdes, German writer (d. 1979)

1898 – Konrad Henlein, Czechoslovakian politician (d. 1945)

1899 – Billy Cotton, British entertainer (d. 1969)

1902 – Harry Golden, American journalist (d. 1981)

1902 – Max Ophüls, German-born director (d. 1957)

1903 – Toots Shor, American restaurateur (d. 1977)

1904 – Raymond Bailey, American actor (d. 1980)

1904 – Moshe Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-born founder of the Feldenkrais method (d. 1984)

1904 – Harry Martinson, Swedish author and poet Nobel laureate (d. 1978)

1906 – Enrique Laguerre, Puerto Rican writer (d. 2005)

1906 – André Weil, French mathematician (d. 1998)

1907 – Weeb Ewbank, American football coach (d. 1998)

1909 – Loyd Sigmon, American amateur radio broadcaster (d. 2004)

1911 – Frank Nelson, American actor (d. 1986)

1913 – Carmen Cavallaro, American pianist (d. 1989)

1913 – Stewart Granger, English film actor (d. 1993)

1915 – Orson Welles, American film director and actor (d. 1985)

1915 – Theodore White, American writer (d. 1986)

1916 – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist (d. 1997)

1916 – Sif Ruud, Swedish actress

1917 – Kal Mann, American lyricist (d. 2001)

1920 – Ross Hunter, American film producer (d. 1996)

1920 – Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, Fijian statesman (d. 2004)

1920 – Martha Beck, American convicted murderer (d. 1951)

1921 – Erich Fried, German author (d. 1988)

1922 – Camille Laurin, Quebec psychiatrist and politician (d. 1999)

1922 – Vladimir Etush, Russian actor

1924 – Denny Wright, British guitarist (d. 1992)

1924 – Patricia Kennedy Lawford, American socialite (d. 2006)

1926 – Gilles Grégoire, Quebec politician, co-founder of the Parti Québécois (d. 2006)

1928 – Robert Poujade, French politician

1929 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2007)

1931 – Willie Mays, American baseball player

1934 – Richard Shelby, American politician

1936 – Bernard Lemaire, French Canadian businessman (Cascades)

1937 – Rubin Carter, American boxer

1938 – Jean Garon, Quebec economist and politician

1938 – Larry Gogan, Irish radio personality

1942 – Rin Kaiho, professional Go player

1943 – Andreas Baader, member of the German terrorist organization Red Army Faction (d. 1977)

1944 – Anton Furst, American production designer (d. 1991)

1944 – Masanori Murakami, first Japanese baseball player in major leagues

1945 – Jimmie Dale Gilmore, American musician

1945 – Bob Seger, American singer/songwriter

1947 – Martha Nussbaum, American philosopher

1947 – Alan Dale, New Zealand actor

1948 – Mary MacGregor, American singer

1949 – Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., Armenian-American voice actor and cartoonist

1951 – Samuel Doe, President of Liberia (d. 1990)

1952 – Christian Clavier, French actor

1952 – Gregg Henry, American actor and country musician

1952 – Michael O'Hare, American actor

1952 – Gerrit Zalm, Dutch politician and CEO (ABN AMRO)

1953 – Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1997-2007

1953 – Michelle Courchesne, Quebec politician

1953 – Graeme Souness, Scottish footballer/manager

1953 – Lynn Whitfield, American actress

1954 – Dora Bakoyannis, Greek politician

1955 – Tom Bergeron, American game show host

1956 – Lakis Lazopoulos, Greek comedian and scriptwriter

1958 – Lolita Flores, Spanish singer and actress

1960 – Roma Downey, Northern Irish actress

1960 – John Flansburgh, American musician (They Might Be Giants)

1960 – Anne Parillaud, French actress

1960 – Phyllis Treigle, American soprano

1961 – George Clooney, American actor

1961 – Gina Riley, Australian actress, writer, singer and comedian

1962 – Adam Yellin, American record producer

1964 – Dana Hill, American actress (d. 1996)

1964 – Tony Scalzo, American musician (Fastball)

1965 – Leslie Hope, Canadian actress

1968 – Lætitia Sadier, French singer (Stereolab)

1969 – Jim Magilton, Northern Irish footballer

1970 – Roland Kun, Nauruan politician

1970 – Kavan Smith, Canadian actor

1970 – Tristán Ulloa, Spanish actor

1971 – Chris Shiflett, American guitarist (Foo Fighters)

1972 – Martin Brodeur, Canadian ice hockey player

1972 – Naoko Takahashi, Japanese long-distance runner

1974 – Faruk Namdar, Turkish footballer

1977 – Christophe Brandt, Belgian cyclist

1977 – Marc Chouinard, French Canadian ice hockey player

1977 – Mark Eaton, American ice hockey player

1978 – John Abraham, American football player

1978 – Fredrick Federley, Swedish politician

1978 – Aleksandr Fyodorov, Russian bodybuilder

1979 – Kerry Ellis, West End actress / singer

1979 – Nikki Hayes, Irish radio personality

1979 – Gerd Kanter, Estonian discus thrower

1979 – Stefanos Kotsolis, Greek footballer

1980 – Nicole Brunner, American actress

1980 – Mark Ladwig, American figure skater

1980 – Scott Colton, American professional wrestler

1980 – Dimitris Diamantidis, Greek basketball player

1980 – Ricardo Oliveira, Brazilian footballer

1980 – Taebin, Korean singer (1TYM)

1980 – Kelly van der Veer, Dutch reality TV star

1981 – Matt Drake, British vocalist/guitarist (Evile)

1981 – Nicholas Setta, American Canadian football player (Hamilton Tiger-Cats)

1981 – Edyta Śliwińska, Polish dancer

1983 – Dani Alves, Brazilian footballer

1983 – Adrianne Palicki, American actress

1983 – Gabourey Sidibe, American actress

1983 – Trinley Thaye Dorje, Tibetan religious figure, the 17th Karmapa Lama (supported by the Chinese government)

1983 – Raquel Zimmermann, Brazilian model

1984 – Anton Babchuk, Ukrainian ice hockey player

1985 – Chris Paul, American basketball player

1985 – Tanerau Latimer, New Zealand All Black rugby player

1986 – Tyler Hynes, Canadian actor

1986 – Roman Kreuziger, Czech Astana pro cyclist

1987 – Moon Geun Young, South Korean actress

1989 – Dominika Cibulková, Slovakian tennis player

1990 – Caitlin Yankowskas, American figure skater

1991 – Valerio Frasca, Italian footballer

1996 – Dominic Scott Kay, American actor

Deaths

680 – Muawiyah I, first Caliph of the Umayyad dynasty (b. 602)

1502 – James Tyrrell, alleged murderer of the Princes in the Tower

1596 – Giaches de Wert, Flemish composer (b. 1535)

1620 – Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, Palestinian-born Kabbalist (b. 1543)

1631 – Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, English politician (b. 1570)

1638 – Cornelius Jansen, French bishop and religious reformer (b. 1585)

1708 – François de Laval, first bishop of New France (b. 1623)

1757 – Maximilian Ulysses Count Browne, Austrian field marshal (b. 1705)

1757 – Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, British politician (b. 1683)

1757 – Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, Prussian field marshal (b. 1684)

1840 – Francisco de Paula Santander, President of Colombia and independence leader (b. 1792)

1859 – Alexander von Humboldt, German naturalist and explorer (b. 1769)

1862 – Henry David Thoreau, American author and philosopher (b. 1817)

1877 – Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finnish poet (b. 1804)

1882 – Thomas Henry Burke, civil servant (b. 1829)

1882 – Lord Frederick Cavendish, British politician (b. 1836)

1902 – Bret Harte, American author (b. 1836)

1910 – King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (b. 1841)

1913 – Alexandros Schinas, Greek anarchist who assassinated King George I of Greece (b. 1870)

1919 – L. Frank Baum, American writer (b. 1856)

1939 – Konstantin Somov, Russian writer (b. 1869)

1949 – Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)

1951 – Élie Cartan, French mathematician (b. 1869)

1952 – Maria Montessori, Italian educator (b. 1870)

1961 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher (b. 1895)

1963 – Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-born physicist (b. 1881)

1963 – Monty Woolley, American actor (b. 1888)

1967 – Zhou Zuoren, Chinese writer (b. 1885)

1970 – Aleksandr Rodzyanko, Russian general (b. 1879)

1972 – Deniz Gezmiş, Turkish left-wing political activist (b. 1947)

1973 – Ernest MacMillan, Canadian orchestra conductor and composer (b. 1893)

1975 – József Mindszenty, Hungarian Catholic Cardinal (b. 1892)

1983 – Kai Winding, American trombonist and jazz composer (b. 1922)

1984 – Bonner Pink, British Conservative Party politician (b. 1912)

1984 – Mary Cain, Mississippi newspaper editor and politician (b. 1904)

1985 – Julie Vega, Filipino child actress and singer (b. 1968)

1987 – William Casey, American Central Intelligence Agency director (b. 1913)

1989 – Earl Blaik, former American football coach (b. 1897)

1990 – Charles Farrell, American actor (b. 1901)

1991 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, English actor (b. 1903)

1992 – Marlene Dietrich, German actress (b. 1901)

1992 – Gaston Reiff, Belgian athlete (b. 1921)

1992 – Jilly Rizzo, restaurateur (b. 1917)

1993 – Ann Todd, English actress (b. 1909)

1995 – Noel Brotherston, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1956)

1995 – Maria Pia de Saxe-Coburgo e Bragança (also known as Hilda Toledano), writer, self-styled Duchess of Braganza and claimant to the throne of Portugal (b. 1907)

2002 – Otis Blackwell, American pianist, singer and songwriter (b. 1932)

2002 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician (b. 1948)

2003 – Art Houtteman, baseball player (b. 1927)

2004 – Philip Kapleau, American Zen teacher (b. 1912)

2004 – Barney Kessel, American jazz guitarist (b. 1923)

2006 – Lillian Asplund, last American RMS Titanic survivor (b. 1906)

2006 – Shigeru Kayano, Japanese Ainu activist (b. 1926)

2006 – Grant McLennan, singer, songwriter and co-founder of Australian band The Go-Betweens (b. 1958)

2006 – Lorne Saxberg, Canadian television journalist (b. 1958)

2007 – Enéas Carneiro, Brazilian politician (b. 1938)

2007 – Curtis Harrington, American film director (b. 1926)

2007 – Đorđe Novković, Croatian songwriter (b. 1943)

2009 – Kevin Grubb, American NASCAR driver (b. 1978)

2010 – Robin Roberts, American baseball player (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances

Christian Feast Day:

*St. John at the Latin Gate

*Dominic Savio

*Evodius of Antioch (Roman Catholic Church)

*Gerard of Lunel

*Lucius of Cyrene

*Petronax of Monte Cassino

*St George's Day related observances (Eastern Orthodox Church):

**Day of Bravery, also known as Gergyovden (Bulgaria)

**Đurđevdan (Gorani, Roma)

**Shën Gjergji (Albania and Kosovo)

**Giorgoba (Georgian Orthodox Church)

**Yuri's Day in the Spring (Russian Orthodox Church)

*May 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Earliest day for Military Spouse Day, while May 12 is the latest, celebrated on the Friday before Mother's Day. (United States)

International No Diet Day

Martyrs' Day (Lebanon and Syria)

The first day of Hıdırellez (Turkey)

Police Day (Georgia)

External links

BBC: On This Day

On This Day in Canada

----

Category:Days of the year Category:May

Name	Lady Gaga
Img alt	Portrait of a young, pale-skinned Caucasian female with blond hair
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Born	March 28, 1986
Birth place	New York City, United States
Instrument	Vocals, piano, synthesizer, keytar
Genre	Pop, dance
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, performance artist, record producer, dancer, businesswoman, activist

Gaga has been influenced by glam rock artists such as David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop music artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. The Queen song "Radio Ga Ga" inspired her stage name, "Lady Gaga". She commented: "I adored Freddie Mercury and Queen had a hit called 'Radio Gaga'. That's why I love the name [...] Freddie was unique—one of the biggest personalities in the whole of pop music."

Gaga has the vocal range of a contralto. Her vocals have drawn frequent comparison to those of Madonna and Gwen Stefani, while the structure of her music is said to echo classic 1980s pop and 1990s Europop. While reviewing her debut album The Fame, The Sunday Times asserted "in combining music, fashion, art and technology, [Gaga] evokes Madonna, Gwen Stefani circa 'Hollaback Girl', Kylie Minogue 2001 or Grace Jones right now." Similarly, The Boston Globe critic Sarah Rodman commented that she draws "obvious inspirations from Madonna to Gwen Stefani... in [her] girlish but sturdy pipes and bubbly beats." Though her lyrics are said to lack intellectual stimulation, "[she] does manage to get you moving and grooving at an almost effortless pace." Music critic Simon Reynolds wrote that "Everything about Gaga came from electroclash, except the music, which wasn't particularly 1980s, just ruthlessly catchy naughties pop glazed with Auto-Tune and undergirded with R&B;-ish beats.

Gaga has identified fashion as a major influence. Her love of fashion came from her mother, who she stated was "always very well kept and beautiful." Entertainment Weekly put her outfits on its end of the decade "best-of" list, saying, "Whether it's a dress made of Muppets or strategically placed bubbles, Gaga's outré ensembles brought performance art into the mainstream."

Public image

Critical reception of Gaga's music, fashion sense and persona are mixed. Her status as a role model, trailblazer and fashion icon is by turns affirmed and denied. Gaga's albums have received mostly positive reviews, Her role as a self-esteem booster for her fans is also lauded, as is her role in breathing life into the fashion industry. Her performances are described as "highly entertaining and innovative"; in particular, the blood-spurting performance of "Paparazzi" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was described as "eye-popping" by MTV. She continued the "blood soaked" theme in The Monster Ball Tour, in which she wore a revealing leather corset and is "attacked" by a performer dressed in black who gnaws on her throat, causing "blood" to spurt down her chest, after which she lies "dying" in a pool of blood. Her performances of that scene in Manchester, England, triggered protests from family groups and fans in the aftermath of a local tragedy, in which a taxi driver had murdered 12 people. "What happened in Bradford is very fresh in people's minds and given all the violence which happened in Cumbria just hours earlier, it was insensitive," said Lynn Costello of Mothers Against Violence. Chris Rock later defended her flamboyant, provocative behavior. "Well, she's Lady Gaga," he said. "She's not 'Lady Behave Yourself.' Do you want great behavior from a person named Gaga? Is this what you were expecting?" She later returned to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards wearing a dress supplemented by boots, a purse and a hat—each fabricated from the flesh of a dead animal. The dress, named Time magazine's Fashion Statement of 2010 and more widely known as the "meat dress", was made by Argentinian designer Franc Fernandez and received divided opinions—evoking the attention of worldwide media but invoking the fury of animal rights organization PETA. Gaga, however, later denied any intention of causing disrespect to any person or organization and wished for the dress to be interpreted as a statement of human rights with focus upon those in the LGBT community.

Contrary to her outré style, the New York Post described her early look as like "a refugee from Jersey Shore" with "big black hair, heavy eye makeup and tight, revealing clothes." She has another six known tattoos, among them a peace symbol, which was inspired by John Lennon, who she stated was her hero, Towards the end of 2008, comparisons were made between the fashions of Gaga and fellow recording artist Christina Aguilera that noted similarities in their styling, hair, and make-up. When interviewed by Barbara Walters for her annual ABC News special 10 Most Fascinating People in 2009, Gaga dismissed the claim that she is intersex as an urban legend. Responding to a question on this issue, she stated, "At first it was very strange and everyone sorta said, 'That's really quite a story!' But in a sense, I portray myself in a very androgynous way, and I love androgyny." In addition to Aguilera's statement, comparisons continued into 2010 when Aguilera released the music video of her single "Not Myself Tonight". Critics noted similarities between the song and its accompanying music video with Gaga's video for "Bad Romance". There have also been similar comparisons made between Gaga's style and that of fashion icon Dale Bozzio from the band Missing Persons. Some have considered their respective images to be strikingly parallel although fans of Missing Persons note that Bozzio had pioneered the look more than thirty years earlier.

During an interview with Harper's Bazaar magazine published in May 2011, Gaga discussed the recent appearance of horn-like ridges on her cheekbones, temples, and shoulders. When asked about the necessary makeup to attach the prosthetics, she responded, "They're not prosthetics, they're my bones." She also clarified that they were not the result of plastic surgery, believing such surgery to only be the modern byproduct of fame-induced insecurity to which she does not subscribe. Further probing by the interviewer only got her to state that they are an artistic representation of her inner inspirational light, part of the "performance piece" that is her musical persona, an inevitability of her becoming who she now is.

In view of Lady Gaga's influence on modern culture and her rise to global fame, sociologist Mathieu Deflem of the University of South Carolina since the Spring of 2011 organizes a course titled "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of the Fame" with the objective of unravelling "sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga with respect to her music, videos, fashion, and other artistic endeavors".

Philanthropy

Besides her career in music, Gaga has enhanced her repertoire as a philanthropist who has contributed to various charities and humanitarian works. Although declining an invitation to record a benefit song, Gaga held a concert of The Monster Ball Tour following the 2010 Haiti earthquake and dedicated it to the country's reconstruction relief fund. This concert, held at the Radio City Music Hall, New York, on January 24, 2010, donated any received revenue to the relief fund while, in addition, all profits from sales of products on Gaga's official online store on that same day were donated. Gaga announced that an estimated total of $500,000 was collected for the fund. Hours after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, 2011, Gaga tweeted a message and a link to Japan Prayer Bracelets. With the company, she designed a bracelet, with all sales revenue going to Japanese relief efforts. The bracelets raised $1.5 million (as of March 29, 2011). Performing at MTV Japan's charity show on June 25, 2011 in Makuhari Messe, Gaga will appear for the benefit of the Japan Red Cross which aids victims suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.

Gaga also contributes in the fight against HIV and AIDS with the focus upon educating young women about the risks of the disease. In collaboration with Cyndi Lauper, Gaga joined forces with MAC Cosmetics to launch a line of lipstick under their supplementary cosmetic line, Viva Glam. Titled Viva Glam Gaga and Viva Glam Cyndi for each contributor respectively, all net proceeds of the lipstick line were donated to the cosmetic company's campaign to prevent HIV and AIDS worldwide. In a press release, Gaga declared, "I don't want Viva Glam to be just a lipstick you buy to help a cause. I want it to be a reminder when you go out at night to put a condom in your purse right next to your lipstick."

With the performance of the bilingual song "Americano" from her second studio album Born This Way (2011), Gaga jumped into the debate surrounding SB 1070, Arizona's immigration law. She premiered the tune for the first time on the Guadalajara, Mexico stop of her Monster Ball tour telling the local press that she could not “stand by many of the unjust immigration laws" in the United States.

LGBT advocacy

, October 11, 2009 |alt=A blond woman wearing a white shirt and black glasses speaking on a lectern carrying a 'National Equality March' poster. Behind her is a white stone balustrade of a building.]] Gaga attributes much of her early success as a mainstream artist to her gay fans and is considered to be a gay icon. Early in her career she had difficulty getting radio airplay, and stated, "The turning point for me was the gay community. I've got so many gay fans and they're so loyal to me and they really lifted me up. They'll always stand by me and I'll always stand by them. It's not an easy thing to create a fanbase." She thanked FlyLife, a Manhattan-based LGBT marketing company with whom her label Interscope works, in the liner notes of The Fame, saying, "I love you so much. You were the first heartbeat in this project, and your support and brilliance means the world to me. I will always fight for the gay community hand in hand with this incredible team." One of her first televised performances was in May 2008 at the NewNowNext Awards, an awards show aired by the LGBT television network Logo, where she sang her song "Just Dance". In June of the same year, she performed the song again at the San Francisco Pride event.

After The Fame was released, she revealed that the song "Poker Face" was about her bisexuality. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she spoke about how her boyfriends tended to react to her bisexuality, saying "The fact that I'm into women, they're all intimidated by it. It makes them uncomfortable. They're like, 'I don't need to have a threesome. I'm happy with just you'." She proclaimed that the October 11, 2009, National Equality March rally on the national mall was "the single most important event of her career." As she exited, she left with an exultant "Bless God and bless the gays," At the Human Rights Campaign Dinner, held the same weekend as the rally, she performed a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" declaring that "I'm not going to [play] one of my songs tonight because tonight is not about me, it's about you." She changed the original lyrics of the song to reflect the death of Matthew Shepard, a college student murdered because of his sexuality.

's "Don't ask, don't tell" rally in 2010]] Gaga attended the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards accompanied by four service members of the United States Armed Forces (Mike Almy; David Hall; Katie Miller and Stacy Vasquez). All of whom, under the U.S. military's "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy, had been prohibited from serving openly because of their sexuality. In addition, Gaga wore a dress fabricated from the flesh of a dead animal to the awards ceremony. one that Barack Obama had promised to be.

Gaga has most recently appeared at Europride, a pan-European international event dedicated to LGBT pride, held in Rome in June 2011. In a nearly twenty-minute speech, she criticised the intolerant state of gay rights in many European countries and described homosexuals as "revolutionaries of love" before performing acoustic renderings of "Born This Way" and "The Edge of Glory" in front of thousands at the Circus Maximus. She stated that "Today and every day we fight for freedom. We fight for justice. We beckon for compassion, understanding and above all we want full equality now". Gaga revealed that she is often questioned why she dedicates herself to "gayspeak" and "how gay" she is, to which, she told the audience: "Why is this question, why is this issue so important? My answer is: I am a child of diversity, I am one with my generation, I feel a moral obligation as a woman, or a man, to exercise my revolutionary potential and make the world a better place." She then joked: "On a gay scale from 1 to 10, I'm a Judy Garland fucking 42."

Discography

The Fame (2008)

The Fame Monster (2009)

Born This Way (2011)

Tours

The Fame Ball Tour (2009)

The Monster Ball Tour (2009–11)

Awards and nominations

See also

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of best-selling music artists

References

Further reading

External links

Year in Gaga: A Provocative 2010 —slideshow by Life magazine

Lady Gaga’s catwalk debut at Paris Fashion Week slideshow by IBTimes HK

Category:1986 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American contraltos Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American dance musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:American female pop singers Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Androgyny Category:Bisexual musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Feminist musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Interscope Records artists Category:Keytarists Category:LGBT Christians Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Living people Category:People from Manhattan Category:Pseudonymous musicians Category:Singers from New York Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni Category:Wonky Pop acts