Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Image photo	Rathaus Augsburg.jpg
Type	Stadt
Wappen	Augsburg wappen.svg
Lat deg	48 |lat_min 22 |lat_sec 0
Lon deg	10 |lon_min 54 |lon_sec 0
Bundesland	Bayern
Regierungsbezirk	Schwaben
Landkreis	Kreisfreie Stadt
Höhe	446-561
Fläche	146.93
Einwohner	263477
Stand	2007-01-01
Plz	86150–86199
Plz-alt	8900
Vorwahl	0821
Kfz	A
Gemeindeschlüssel	09 7 61 000
Bürgermeister	Kurt Gribl
Bürgermeistertitel	Oberbürgermeister
Partei	CSU }}

Native name	''Paritätische Reichsstadt Augsburg
Conventional long name	Mixed Imperial City of Augsburg
Common name	Augsburg
Continent	Europe
Region	Alps
Country	Germany
Era	Middle Ages
Status	City
Empire	Holy Roman Empire
Government type	Republic
Year start	1276
Year end	1803
Event pre	Bishopric established
Date pre	4th century
Event start	Bishopric gained ''Reichsfreiheit''
Date start	''ca'' 888
Event1	City gained ''Reichsfreiheit''
Date event1	1276
Event2	Diet of Augsburg:''Confessio Augustana''
Date event2	1530
Event3	Joined SchmalkadicLeague
Date event3	1537
Event4	Peace of Augsburg
Date event4	1555
Event end	Occupied by Sweden
Date end	1632–35
Event post	Mediatised to Bavaria
Date post	1803
P1	Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg
Image p1
S1	Kingdom of Bavaria
Flag s1	Flag of Bavaria (lozengy).svg
Image coat	Wappen Augsburg 1811.svg
Symbol type	Coat of arms of Augsburgbefore 1985
Capital	Augsburg
Footnotes	}}

Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town (German: 'Universitätsstadt') and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a population exceeding 264,000 citizens. After Neuss and Trier, Augsburg is Germany's third oldest city. Augsburg is the only German city with its own legal holiday, the ''Augsburger Hohes Friedensfest'', celebrated on August 8 of every year. This gives Augsburg more legal holidays than any other region or city in Germany.

History

The city was founded in 15 BC by Drusus and Tiberius as ''Augusta Vindelicorum'', on the orders of their stepfather Emperor Augustus. The name "''Augusta Vindelicorum''" means "''Augusta of the Vindelici''". This garrison camp soon became the capital of the Roman province of Raetia.

Early development was due to a 400-year affiliation with the Roman Empire, especially because of its excellent military, economic and geographic position at the convergence of the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach, and with direct access to most important Alpine passes. Thus, Augsburg was the intersection of many important European east-west and north-south connections, which later evolved as major trade routes of the Middle Ages.

Around 120 AD Augsburg became the capital of the Roman province Raetia. Augsburg was sacked by the Huns in the 5th century AD, by Charlemagne in the 8th century, and by Welf of Bavaria in the 11th century, but arose each time to greater prosperity.

Historical spellings of the name of the city include "Ausburch" and "Ausbourch."

Augsburg Confession

Augsburg was decreed an Imperial Free City on March 9, 1276. Augsburg also held its own bishop at this time. With a strategic location as intersection of trade routes to Italy, it became a major trading centre. Augsburg produced large quantities of woven goods, cloth and textiles. Augsburg became the base for the Fugger banking empire, who donated the Fuggerei part of the city devoted to housing for needy citizens in 1516 and remains in use today.

In 1530, the Augsburg Confession was presented to the Holy Roman Emperor at the Diet of Augsburg. Following the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, after which the rights of religious minorities in imperial cities were to be legally protected, a mixed Catholic–Protestant city council presided over a majority Protestant population; ''see Paritätische Reichsstadt''.

Thirty Years' War

Religious peace in the city was largely maintained despite increasing Confessional tensions until the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). In 1629, Ferdinand II issued the Edict of Restitution, which restored the legal situation of 1552 which again curtailed the rights of the Protestant citizens. The inequality of the Edict of Restitution was rescinded when in April 1632, the Swedish army under Gustavus Adolphus captured Augsburg without resistance.

In 1634, the Swedish army was routed at nearby Nördlingen. By October 1634, Catholic troops had surrounded Augsburg. The Swedish garrison refused to surrender and a siege ensued through the winter of 1634/35 and thousands died from hunger and disease. According to J. N. Hays, "In the period of the Swedish occupation and the Imperial siege the population of the city was reduced from about 70,000 to about 16,000, with typhus and plague playing major roles."

Nine Years' War

In 1686, Emperor Leopold I, formed the League of Augsburg, termed by the English as the "Grand Alliance" after England joined in 1689: a European coalition, consisting (at various times) of Austria, Bavaria, Brandenburg, England, the Holy Roman Empire, the Palatinate of the Rhine, Portugal, Savoy, Saxony, Spain, Sweden, and the United Provinces. It was formed to defend the Palatinate from France. This organization fought the War of the Grand Alliance against France in the Nine Years War.

Augsburg's peak boom years occurred during the 15th and 16th centuries thanks to the bank and metal businesses of the merchant families Fugger and Welser, who held a local near total monopoly on their respective industries. Augsburg's wealth attracted artists seeking patrons and rapidly became a creative centre for famous painters, sculptors and musicians notably birthplace of : the Holbein painter family, the composer Leopold Mozart and the playwright Berthold Brecht. Rococo became so prevalent that it became known as “Augsburg style” throughout Germany.

Industrial Revolution Revival

In 1806, when the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, Augsburg lost its independence to become part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1817 Augsburg became an administrative capital of the ''Oberdonaukreis'', then administrative capital in 1837 for the district Swabia and Neuburg.

During the end of the 18th century, Augsburg's textile industry again rose to prominence followed by the connected machine manufacturing industry.

Military

Augsburg was historically a militarily important city due to its strategic location. During the German re-armament prior to World War II, the Wehrmacht enlarged Augsburg's one original Kaserne (barracks) to three: Somme Kaserne ((housing Wehrmacht Artillerie-Regiment 27)); Arras Kaserne ((housing Wehrmacht Infanterie Regiment 27)) and Panzerjäger Kaserne (housing Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 27 (later Panzerjäger-Abteilung 27). Wehrmacht Panzerjäger-Abteilung 27 was later moved to Füssen.

The Reichswehr Infanterie Regiment 19 was stationed in Augsburg and became the base unit for the Wehrmacht Infanterie Regiment 40, a subsection of the Wehrmacht Infanterie Division 27 (which later became the Wehrmacht Panzerdivision 17). Elements of Wehrmacht II Battalion of Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 99 (especially Wehrmacht Panzerjäger Kompanie 14) was composed of parts of the Wehrmacht Infanterie Division 27. The Infanterie Regiment 40 remained in Augsburg until the end of the war, finally surrendering to the United States.

The three Kaserne changed hands confusingly between the American and Germans, finally ending up in US hands for the duration of the Cold War.

During World War II, one subcamp of the Dachau concentration camp was located outside Augsburg, supplying approximately 1300 forced labourers to local military-related industry, most especially the Messerschmitt AG military aircraft firm headquartered in Augsburg.

In 1941 Rudolf Hess without Hitler's permission secretly took off from a local airport and flew to Scotland to meet the Duke of Hamilton, and crashed in Eaglesham in an attempt to mediate the end of the European front of World War II and join sides for the upcoming Russian Campaign.

In 1945, the U.S. Army occupied the heavily bombed and damaged city. ''(see Bombing of Augsburg in World War II)''. An American military presence in the city started with the 11th Airborne Division, followed by the 24th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Seventh Corps Artillery, 701st Military Intelligence Brigade and finally the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade, which returned the former Kaserne to German hands in 1998. Originally the Heeresverpflegungshauptamt Südbayern and a Officers' caisson existed on or near the location of Reese-Kaserne, but was demolished by the occupying Americans. The former Wehrmacht Kaserne became the three main US barracks in Augsburg: Reese;, Sheridan and FLAK. US Base FLAK had been an anti-aircraft barracks since 1936 and US Base Sheridan "united" the former infantry barracks with a smaller Kaserne for former Luftwaffe communications units.

Politics

Municipality

From 1266 until 1548, the terms ''Stadtpfleger'' (head of town council) and ''Mayor'' were used interchangeably, or occasionally, simultaneously. In 1548 the title was finally fixed to ''Stadtpfleger'', who officiated for several years and was then awarded the title for life (though no longer governing), thus resulting confusingly, in records of two or more simultaneous ''Stadtpfleger''.

After the transfer to Bavaria in 1806, Augsburg was ruled by a Magistrate with two mayors, supported by an additional council of "Community Commissioners": the Gemeindebevollmächtige.

As of 1907, the Mayor was entitled Oberbürgermeister, as Augsburg had reached a population of 100,000, as per the Bavarian Gemeindeordnung.

Town Council

2,3 2,7 1,3 2,5 1,7 3,5 2,7 19

class="hintergrundfarbe5" colspan="10"	Election results of the Town Council since 1972 in percent
! Year	! ! width="60"	! ! width="60"	! ! width="60"	! ! width="60"	! ! width="60"	[[Deutsche Kommunistische Partei	! ! width="60"	! ! width="60"	other
! 1972	44,9	46,5	|	–	–	0,7	–	0,9	4,7
1978	46,8	44,5	|	–	–	0,4	–	0,6	4,9
1984	32,9	44,9	|	4,2	–	0,2	–	0,7	15,8
1990	43,1	28,4	|	10,8	–	–	10,0	–	5,2
1996	44,1	29,4	|	10,5	–	–	2,8	–	11,5
2002	43,5	36,4	|	8,7	1,8	1,2	–	–	4,9
2008	40,1	30,1	|	10,3	1,5	3,5	–	–	11,8
!Seats 20081		25	|	1	6	–	22	–	–	73

¹ Local elections on March 2, 2008     ²2008: Die Linke     ³ Pro Augsburg: 6, Freie Wähler: 1

Members of the Bundestag

Augsburg is located in the ''Wahlkreis 253 Augsburg-Stadt'' constituency, which includes Königsbrunn and the District of Augsburg (Landkreis Augsburg).

Christian Ruck of the CSU was directly elected to the Bundestag with 49.2% of the vote in the 16th German Bundestag.

Indirectly elected to the Bundestag to adhere to the Landesliste were Miriam Gruß for the FDP, Heinz Paula for the SPD and Claudia Roth for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen.

Main sights

Town Hall, built in 1620 in Renaissance style with the Der Goldene Saal

Perlachturm, a bell tower built in 989

''Fuggerei'' (see above)

Bishop's Residence, built about 1750 in order to replace the older bishop's palace; today the administrative seat of Swabia

Cathedral, founded in the 9th century

Schaezlerpalais, a Rococo mansion (1765)

St. Ulrich and St. Afra—one church is Roman Catholic, the other Lutheran, the duality being a result of the Peace of Augsburg concluded in 1555 between Catholics and Protestants

Mozart Haus Augsburg (where composer father Leopold Mozart was born and Mozart visited it several times)

Augsburger Puppenkiste, a puppet theatre

Eiskanal, the world's first artificial whitewater course (venue for the whitewater events of the 1972 Munich Olympics)

Dorint Hotel Tower

Childhood home of Bertolt Brecht

The Augsburg Botanical Gardens (Botanischer Garten Augsburg)

Incorporations

Augsburg-OberhausenAugsburg-Göggingen

Year
July 1, 1910	Meringerau	9.5 km²
January 1, 1911	Pfersee >
January 1, 1911	Oberhausen || align="right">8.6 km²
January 1, 1913	Lechhausen >
January 1, 1913	Hochzoll >
April 1, 1916	Kriegshaber >
July 1, 1972	Göggingen || align="right" |
July 1, 1972	Haunstetten >
July 1, 1972	Inningen >

Historical population development

Year	! Population
1635	16,432
1645	19,960
1806	26,200
1830	29,019
December 1, 1871 ¹	51,220
December 1, 1890 ¹	75,629
December 1, 1900 ¹	89,109
December 1, 1910 ¹	102,487
June 16, 1925 ¹	165,522
June 16, 1933 ¹	176,575
May 17, 1939 ¹	185,369
September 13, 1950 ¹	185,183
June 6, 1961 ¹	208,659
May 27, 1970 ¹	211,566
June 30, 1975	252,000
June 30, 1980	246,600
June 30, 1985	244,200
May 27, 1987 ¹	242,819
June 30, 1997	257,300
December 31, 2002	259,231
December 31, 2003	259,217
December 31, 2004	260,407
December 31, 2005	263,804
December 31, 2006	269,449

¹ Census result

Partner cities

Inverness, United Kingdom since 1956 Amagasaki, Japan, since 1959 Nagahama, Japan, since 1959 Bourges, France, since 1963 Dayton, United States, since 1964 Liberec, Czech Republic, since 2001 Jinan, People's Republic of China, since 2004

Information on the partner cities can also be found at www.augsburg.de

Transport

Roads

The main road link is autobahn A 8 between Munich and Stuttgart.

Public transport

Public transport is very well catered for. It is controlled by the Augsburger Verkehrsverbund (Augsburg transport union, AVV) extended over central Swabia. There are seven rail Regionalbahn lines, five tram lines, 27 city bus lines and six night bus lines, as well as, several taxi companies.

The tram network is now 35.5 km-long after the opening of new lines to the university in 1996, the northern city boundary in 2001 and to the Klinikum Augsburg (Augsburg hospital) in 2002. Tram line 6, which runs 5.2 km from Friedberg West to Rotes Tor, opened in December 2010.

Rail services

Augsburg has seven stations. The Hauptbahnhof (main station) built from 1843 to 1846 is Germany’s oldest main station in a large city still providing services in the original building. It is currently being modernized and an underground tram station is built underneath it. Hauptbahnhof is on the Munich–Augsburg and Ulm–Augsburg lines and is connected by ICE and IC services to Munich, Berlin, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Stuttgart. As of December 2007, the French TGV connected Augsburg with a direct High Speed Connection to Paris. In addition EC and night train services connect to Amsterdam, Paris and Vienna and connections will be substantially improved by the creation of the planned Magistrale for Europe.

The AVV operates seven Regionalbahn lines from the main station to:

Mammendorf

Schmiechen

Aichach/Radersdorf

Meitingen/Donauwörth

Dinkelscherben

Schwabmünchen

Klosterlechfeld

Starting in 2008, the regional services are planned to be altered to S-Bahn frequencies and developed long term as integrated into the Augsburg S-Bahn.

Air transport

Until 2005 Augsburg was served by nearby Augsburg Airport (AGB). In that year all air passenger transport has been relocated to Munich Airport. Since then the Airport only serves for General aviation and business aviation.

Economy

Augsburg is a vibrant industrial city. Many global market leaders namely MAN, EADS or KUKA produce high technology products like printing systems, large diesel engines, industrial robots or components for the Airbus A380 and the Ariane carrier rocket. After Munich, Augsburg is considered the high-tech centre for Information and Communication in Bavaria and takes advantage of its lower operating costs, yet close proximity to Munich and potential customers.

Major companies

Boewe Systec

EADS

EMCON Technologies (former Zeuna-Staerker)

Fujitsu Technology Solutions

KUKA Robotics / Systems

MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg)

manroland

MT-Aerospace

NCR

Osram

Premium AEROTEC

Siemens

UPM-Kymmene (former Haindl)

Verlagsgruppe Weltbild

WashTec (former Kleindienst)

Education

Augsburg is home to the following universities and colleges:

University of Augsburg, founded in 1970

Hochschule Augsburg (University of Applied Sciences, formerly Fachhochschule Augsburg)

Media

The local newspaper is the ''Augsburger Allgemeine'' first published in 1807. Besides, there are several local radio stations and an local TV station (a.tv).

Notable citizens

died 304 Saint Afra

c.890-973 Saint Ulrich

1070-1127 Saint Wolfhard

1459–1525 Jakob Fugger Noted banker and financial broker. An area within the city, called the Fuggerei was set aside for the poor and needy. Founded in 1519.

1460–1524 Hans Holbein the Elder, a pioneer in the transformation of German art from the Gothic to the Renaissance style.

1497–1543 Hans Holbein the Younger, portrait and religious painter.

1517–1579 Paulus Hector Mair, martial artist.

1573–1646 Elias Holl, architect

1580–1627 Julius Schiller, lawyer and astronomer.

1704–1767 Johann Jakob Haid, engraver

1719–1787 Leopold Mozart, father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

1740-1786 Christoph Christian Sturm, German preacher and author.

1898–1956 Bertolt Brecht, famous German writer.

1858–1913 Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine.

1920-2011 Mietek Pemper, compiled and typed Oskar Schindler's list, which saved 1,200 Jewish prisoners from the Holocaust.

1933 Ulrich Biesinger, a former German footballer, part of the team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup.

1939 Helmut Haller, a footballer who represented West Germany at three World Cups.

1948 Wolf Blitzer, journalist and CNN reporter

1957 Bernhard Langer, famous professional golfer.

1959 Bernd Schuster, a German football coach and former player.

1961 Armin Veh, a German football coach.

1980 Benny Greb, a German solo drum artist.

1983 Philipp Kohlschreiber, a German tennis player.

1985 Bianca Voitek, a German female bodybuilder.

Sports

FC Augsburg is a football team based in Augsburg and plays in the Impuls Arena. FC Augsburg was promoted to Bundesliga in 2011. The new stadium (opened in July 2009) also hosted games of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The city is home to a DEL (first-division) ice hockey team, the Augsburger Panther. The original club, AEV, was formed in 1878, the oldest German ice sport club and regularly draws around 4000 spectators, quite reasonable for German ice hockey. Home games are played at the Curt Frenzel Stadion: not truly an indoor rink as the sides are open, though a new stadium is in the process of planning.

For the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, a Lech River dam protective diversionary canal for river ice was converted into the world's first artificial whitewater slalom course: the Eiskanal and remains a world-class venue for whitewater competition and served as prototype for two dozen similar foreign courses.

Local City Nicknames

While commonly coined ''Fuggerstadt'' (Fuggers' city) due to the Fuggers residing there, within Swabia it's also often referred to as ''Datschiburg'': which originated sometime in the 19th century refers to Augsburgs favorite sweet: the ''Datschi'' made from fruit, preferably prunes, and thin cake dough. The ''Datschiburger Kickers'' charity football team (founded in 1965) reflects this in its choice of team name.

See also

List of civic divisions of Augsburg

League of Augsburg

Augsburg College, a private Lutheran College in the United States that takes its name from the Augsburg Confession

List of mayors of Augsburg

Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the Diesel engine, who also used biodiesel

Notes

References

''Die Chroniken der schwäbischen Städte, Augsburg'', (Leipzig, 1865–1896).

Werner, ''Geschichte der Stadt Augsburg'', (Augsburg, 1900).

Lewis, "The Roman Antiquities of Augsburg and Ratisbon", in volume xlviii, ''Archæological Journal'', (London, 1891).

External links

Stadt Augsburg Official site (English version)

Augsburg Region Tourism

Fotosafari Augsburg An interactive set of pictures which allows you to explore Augsburg

Augsburg City Plan District of Augsburg The history of Augsburg in data

Category:Roman legions' camps in Germany Category:Roman towns and cities in Germany Category:15 BC establishments Category:1972 Summer Olympic venues

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Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	Bo Burnham
background	solo_singer
birth name	Robert Burnham
birth date	August 21, 1990
origin	Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA
instrument	Vocals, guitar, electric piano, ukulele
genre	Comedy, satire
occupation	Singer–songwriter, actor, rapper, comedian
years active	2006–present
label	Comedy Central Records
website	}}

Robert "Bo" Burnham (born ) is an American comedian, singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and Internet celebrity. Writing comedic and satirical songs with a politically incorrect slant, he achieved fame when his YouTube videos took off; they have received more than 70 million views . Comedy Central Records released both his first EP (''Bo Fo Sho'', June 2008) and his first full-length self-titled album (March 2009). On January 29, 2011, it was announced that Burnham finished #1 overall in voting in 2011's Comedy Central Stand-up Showdown.

Personal life

Bo Burnham was born the youngest of three on August 21, 1990 to Patricia and Scott Burnham.

In February 2008, Patricia was a staff nurse at Burnham's school, and Scott owned a North Shore, Massachusetts construction company. Their two older children, Pete and Samm, were concurrently enrolled in their third and second years at Cornell University and Suffolk Law School, respectively.

Burnham attended the all-boys' Catholic high school, St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers, Massachusetts, where he was on the school honor roll and was involved in theatre and the campus ministry program. The school's assistant principal, Wendy Olson, remarked in a February 2008 interview that while "[t]he Bo on YouTube is not the Bo we see around here, [...] no one at St. John's is surprised at his creativity or that he's pursuing his dream, which is to make a name for himself." Burnham graduated from St. John's in Spring 2008.

Burnham applied to New York University (NYU), University of Southern California (USC), and Yale University, and was accepted to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Although expected to begin attending in Autumn 2008, he deferred his enrollment for a year to focus on his burgeoning media career. Burnham later related that his first year on tour while friends had gone to college made him to fucking die. I'd be on the road, in South Dakota, looking on Facebook at all my friends at parties."

, Burnham was reported to be dating a girl from "a nearby suburban town". Subsequently, in an interview conducted at the 2011 Cat Laughs Comedy Festival in Kilkenny, Burnham revealed that he has a "girlfriend of five years".

Home-grown music

Burnham was performing skits ("Bo Shows") in his home by age three, and grew up listening to boomer-generation comedians like George Carlin and Richard Pryor.

As detailed by Burnham himself, 2006 was the beginning of what would become his musical comedy career. Rehearsing a play at St. John's that summer, Burnham began writing songs about teenage angst and debuting them to his fellow high school thespians. He then videotaped himself performing two songs and posted them to the video-sharing website YouTube in December 2006, so that his older brother Pete could watch them from college. While response to his videos on YouTube ("My Whole Family... " and "My 'little' secret...") was initially unexceptional, when they were copied to Break.com they became an overnight sensation, with traffic to his videos multiplying over 111 times.

Accompanying himself on guitar or electric piano, Burnham continued to release self-described "pubescent musical comedy" songs and videos online as his fame and recognition grew. Described by ''The Boston Globe''s Joseph P. Kahn as "simultaneously wholesome and disturbing, intimate in a folksy-creepy sort of way," Burnham wrote and released R-rated songs about white supremacy, Helen Keller's disabilities, homosexuality, and more. All of Burnham's home-released videos were self-recorded in and around his family's home in Hamilton, Massachusetts, most in his bedroom. Occasionally jokingly addressing his audience in his videos, ("Hello, Internet pedophiles,") Burnham rarely changes expression or camera angle while performing—simply setting the video camera on a stack of books. Speaking with ''The A.V. Club'' in 2009, Burnham expressed his intent to give his productions a "do-it-yourself [feel], almost like voyeurism".

In Autumn 2007, Douglas Edley, talent agent from The Gersh Agency, had Burnham recommended to him by his assistant. The next day Edley called Burnham and told him: "I gotta represent you." Said Edley in a February 2008 telephone interview: "He's definitely the youngest comedian I've worked with - he was getting ready for his SATs when I called - but the quality of his writing is amazing." It was this call from Edley—whom Burnham had initially thought to be "a very advanced Internet predator"—that was Burnham's wake-up call as to his potential professional success. In addition to Burnham, Edley also represents several top-tier comedians, including Drew Carey and Dave Chappelle.

Career

Represented by Douglas Edley, Burnham recorded a performance in London for Comedy Central's ''The World Stands Up'' in January 2008 (aired ), and signed a four-record deal with Comedy Central Records. Comedy Central Records released Burnham's first EP, the six-song ''Bo Fo Sho'', as an online release-only album on . Burnham's first full album, the self-titled ''Bo Burnham'', was released by Comedy Central Records on .

Burnham has performed his music in the United States, including Cobb's Comedy Club, YouTube Live in San Francisco, Caroline's Comedy Club in New York City, and internationally in London and Montreal. In August 2010, Burnham was nominated for "Best Comedy Show" at the 2010 Edinburgh Comedy Awards—"the world’s most prestigious comedy prize" with a £10,000 cash prize—after his inaugural performance (of ''Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words'') at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He was instead awarded the "Panel Prize"—carrying a £5,000 prize—for "the show or act who has most captured the comedy spirit of the 2010 Fringe."

Compared to Ben Folds, Eminem, and Andrew Dice Clay, Burnham's music and performances tackle such taboo subjects as race, gender, human sexuality, and sex. Burnham describes his on-stage persona as a "more arrogant, stuck-up version [of] himself." When speaking with ''The Detroit News'' about his rapping, he expressed his intent to honor and respect the perspective and culture of hip-hop music.

Uphill

As Burnham progressed through his initial popularity to more mainstream audiences and venues, he received pushback from fellow comics who viewed his ascension via YouTube popularity as illegitimate.

Burnham's first experience with controversy regarding his music came on , when fifteen Westminster College students (members of the campus' Gay-Straight Alliance, Black Students Association, International Club, and Cultural Diversity Organization) protested his concert there that evening. Of the controversy, he said, "It's so ironic because gay bashers were the ones labeling me in high school, [...] I try and write satire that’s well-intentioned. But those intentions have to be hidden. It can't be completely clear and that’s what makes it comedy." The ''Columbia Daily Tribune'' related that at the end of his Westminster performance, Burnham was approached by a paraplegic fan. While Burnham was plainly uncomfortable and nervous, given that his music mocks the handicapped, the young fan instead related a blonde joke to the teenaged musician. Despite the college's admission that they had booked Burnham while ignorant of his content, dean of students John Comerford praised the opportunities for discourse the controversy brought the school.

Tours

''Fake I.D.'' – Autumn 2009 ''Bo Burnham and (No) Friends'' – Autumn 2010 ''Bo Burnham Live (UK Tour)'' – June 2011

Film

While performing at the Montreal Just for Laughs festival in 2008, Burnham met with the award-winning director and producer Judd Apatow. That September, Burnham negotiated with Universal Pictures to write and create the music for an Apatow-produced comedy film which he describes as the "anti-''High School Musical''", although Burnham insists the script isn't a parody of the Disney musicals, but an attempt to emulate the high school he attended. Hoping to star in the film he's writing, Burnham told ''Wired'' magazine that he's naming the star "Bo" in a "not-so-subtle hint [he] want[s] to be in it". In a interview with ''Boston's Weekly Dig'', Burnham elaborated on his work with the film. When he isn't performing, Burnham spends eight hours a day writing the music, and his nights writing the script, of which he's finished the first draft. Co-writing the screenplay with Burnham is his high school friend Luke Liacos. Burnham explained the script-writing opportunity is a boon to his comedy career, as the comedian had been having complications with censors and learning that his material wasn't well-suited to television. "It would work much better in a 90-minute format." In August 2010, Burnham told ''The Guardian'' that his script had been submitted. In an October 2010 interview with MTV, Burnham admitted that he doesn't know anything about the future of the project, and that it's all effectively up in the air as far as he knew.

In , viral marketing began appearing for ''Funny People'', in which Burnham stars in a NBC sitcom called ''Yo Teach!''. In the "promo", Burnham stars opposite Jason Schwartzman, as a student in the latter's English class.

On May 21, 2010, Burnham taped his first one-hour stand-up special entitled ''Words, Words, Words'' for Comedy Central from the House of Blues in Boston as part of the network's new "House of Comedy" series of stand-up specials. The special aired on Comedy Central on October 16, 2010. It was released on October 18, 2010.

Television

On September 7, 2010, ''Variety'' magazine reported that MTV had ordered a half-hour long television "put pilot" from Burnham "about a kid fresh out of high school who's pursing the new American dream of being a celebrity without having any talent." Burnham will write and executive produce alongside Dan Lagana, Luke Liacos, and Dave Becky.

Awards

At the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, he was nominated for the main Edinburgh Comedy Award and won both the Edinburgh Comedy Awards' panel prize and the Malcolm Hardee 'Act Most Likely to Win a Million Quid' Award.

Performance credits

Discography

''Bo Fo Sho'' (2008), Comedy Central Records – Released as an online-only EP ''Bo Burnham'' (2009), Comedy Central Records – Double-disc set containing the Compact Disc album, and a DVD with his ''Comedy Central Presents'' special, all of his YouTube videos, and other performances ''Words Words Words'' (2010), Comedy Central Records – A live performance paralleling the one hour special of the same name, also includes two studio tracks, "Words Words Words" and "Oh Bo".

Filmography

''Comedy Central Presents'' (), Himself – , Burnham is the youngest comedian to be featured thereon ''American Virgin'' (2009) ''Funny People'' (2009) – ''Yo Teach!'' Cast Member ''Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words'' (2010) - Himself ''Hall Pass'' (2011) - Bartender ''Sin Bin'' (2011) – Villainous student liaison

References

External links

Bo Burnham at Comedy Central

Category:Living people Category:1990 births Category:American comedy musicians Category:People from Essex County, Massachusetts

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