Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: ''Elephas'' and ''Loxodonta'', with the third genus ''Mammuthus'' extinct. Three species of elephant are generally recognized today: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant (also known as the Indian elephant). However, some researchers postulate the existence of a fourth species of elephant in West Africa. All other species and genera of Elephantidae are extinct. Most have been extinct since the last ice age, although dwarf forms of mammoths might have survived as late as 2,000 BCE. Elephants and other Elephantidae were once classified with other thick-skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata.

Elephants are the largest living land animals on Earth today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth, an elephant calf typically weighs . They typically live for 50 to 70 years, but the oldest recorded elephant lived for 82 years. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about , with a shoulder height of , a metre (yard) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch.

Elephants are a symbol of wisdom in Asian cultures and are famed for their memory and intelligence, where their intelligence level is thought to be equal to that of dolphins and primates. Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek , meaning "ivory" or "elephant".

According to observations, healthy adult elephants have no natural predators, although lions may take calves or weak individuals. They are, however, threatened by human intrusion and poaching.

Etymology

Olifant and its variations (ex. ''oliphant'', ''olyphant'') are archaic spellings of ''elephant''. Aside from elephants, the word has been used to refer to ivory, elephant tusks, musical horns made of elephant tusks, or a musical instrument resembling such horns.

It appears in Middle English as ''olifant'' or ''olifaunt'', and was borrowed from Medieval French ''olifanz''. The French word owes something to both Old High German ''olbenta'' "camel", and to Latin ''elephantus'' "elephant", a word of Greek origin. OHG ''olbenta'' is a word of old Germanic origin; cf. Gothic ''ulbandus'' also meaning "camel". But the form of the OHG and Gothic words suggests it is also a borrowing, perhaps indeed directly or indirectly from Greek "ἐλέφας" (''elephas''), which in Homer only meant "ivory" but from Herodotus and on the word also referred to the animal. The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek ''e-re-pa-to'', written in Linear B syllabic script.

Taxonomy and evolution

The African elephant genus contains two or, arguably, three living species; whereas the Asian elephant species is the only surviving member of the Asian elephant genus, but can be divided into four subspecies. The African and the Asian elephant diverged from a common ancestor some 7.6 million years ago.

African elephant

The Elephants of the genus ''Loxodonta'', known collectively as African elephants, are currently found in 37 countries in Africa.

African elephants are distinguished from Asian elephants in several ways, the most noticeable being their much larger ears. Also, the African elephant is typically larger than the Asian elephant and has a concave back. In Asian elephants, only males have tusks, but both males and females of African elephants have tusks and are usually less hairy than their Asian cousins.

African elephants have traditionally been classified as a single species comprising two distinct subspecies, namely the savanna elephant (''Loxodonta africana africana'') and the forest elephant (''Loxodonta africana cyclotis''), but recent DNA analysis suggests that these may actually constitute distinct species. This split is not universally accepted by experts. A third species of African elephant has also been proposed.

The authors of an analysis of nuclear DNA extracted from "African savanna elephant, African forest elephant, Asian elephant, the extinct American mastodon, and the woolly mammoth" concluded in 2010 that African savanna and forest elephants are indeed separate species:

:We unequivocally establish that the Asian elephant is the sister species to the woolly mammoth. A surprising finding from our study is that the divergence of African savanna and forest elephants—which some have argued to be two populations of the same species—is about as ancient as the divergence of Asian elephants and mammoths. Given their ancient divergence, we conclude that African savanna and forest elephants should be classified as two distinct species.

This reclassification has implications for conservation. If there are two separate species, each will be less abundant (particularly the rarer) and could be more endangered than a more numerous and wide-ranging single species. There is also a potential danger that if the forest elephant is not explicitly listed as an endangered species, poachers and smugglers might be able to evade the law forbidding trade in endangered animals and their products.

The forest elephant and the savanna elephant can hybridize (interbreed), though their preferences for different terrains reduce such opportunities. As the African elephant has only recently been recognized to comprise two separate species, groups of captive elephants have not been comprehensively classified and some could well be hybrids.

Under the new two species classification, ''Loxodonta africana'' refers specifically to the savanna elephant, the largest of all elephants. It is the largest land animal, with males standing to at the shoulder and weighing up to a reported . The female is smaller, standing about at the shoulder. Most often, savanna elephants are found in open grasslands, marshes, and lakeshores. They range over much of the savanna zone south of the Sahara.

The other putative species, the forest elephant (''Loxodonta cyclotis''), is usually smaller and rounder, and its tusks thinner and straighter compared with the savanna elephant. The forest elephant can weigh up to and stand about tall. Much less is known about these animals than their savanna cousins, because environmental and political obstacles make them difficult to study. Normally, they inhabit the dense African rain forests of central and western Africa, although occasionally they roam the edges of forests, thus overlapping the savanna elephant home ranges and hybridizing. In 1979, Iain Douglas-Hamilton estimated the continental population of African elephants at around 1.3 million animals. This estimate is controversial and is believed to be a gross overestimate,, but it is very widely cited and has become a ''de facto'' baseline that continues to be incorrectly used to quantify downward population trends in the species. Through the 1980s, ''Loxodonta'' received worldwide attention due to the dwindling numbers of major populations in East Africa, largely as a result of poaching. According to IUCN’s African Elephant Status Report 2007, there are between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants in the wild. Although this estimate only covers about half of the total elephant range, experts do not believe the true figure to be much higher, as it is unlikely that large populations remain to be discovered. By far, the largest populations are now found in southern and eastern Africa, which together account for the majority of the continental population. According to a recent analysis by IUCN experts, most major populations in eastern and southern Africa are stable or have been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s, at an average rate of 4.5% per year.

Elephant populations in West Africa, on the other hand, are generally small and fragmented, and only account for a small proportion of the continental total. Much uncertainty remains as to the size of the elephant population in central Africa, where the prevalence of forest makes population surveys difficult, but poaching for ivory and bushmeat is believed to be intense through much of the region. South African elephant population more than doubled, rising from 8,000 to over 20,000, in the thirteen years after a 1995 ban on the trade in elephant ivory. The ban on the ivory trade in southern Africa (but not elsewhere) was lifted in February 2008, sparking controversy among environmental groups.

Asian elephant

The Asian elephant, ''Elephas maximus'', is smaller than the African. It has smaller ears, and typically, only the males have large external tusks.

The world population of Asian elephants—also called Indian elephants—is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants. More precisely, it is estimated that there are between 38,000 and 53,000 wild elephants and between 14,500 and 15,300 domesticated elephants in Asia, with perhaps another 1,000 scattered around zoos in the rest of the world. The Asian elephants' decline has possibly been more gradual than the African and caused primarily by poaching and habitat destruction by human encroachment.

Several subspecies of ''Elephas maximus'' have been identified, using morphometric data and molecular markers. ''Elephas maximus maximus'' (Sri Lankan elephant) is found only on the island of Sri Lanka. It is the largest of the Asians. There are an estimated 3,000–4,500 members of this subspecies left today in the wild, although no accurate census has been carried out recently. Large males can weigh upward to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and stand over 3.4 m (11 ft) tall. Sri Lankan males have very large cranial bulges, and both sexes have more areas of depigmentation than other Asians. Typically, their ears, face, trunk, and belly have large concentrations of pink-speckled skin. There is an orphanage for elephants in Pinnawala, Sri Lanka, which plays a large role in protecting the Sri Lankan elephant from extinction.

''Elephas maximus indicus'' (Indian elephant) makes up the bulk of the Asian elephant population. Numbering approximately 36,000, these elephants are lighter grey in colour, with depigmentation only on the ears and trunk. Large males will ordinarily weigh only about 5,000 kg (11,000 lb), but are as tall as the Sri Lankan. The mainland Asian can be found in 11 Asian countries, from India to Indonesia. They prefer forested areas and transitional zones, between forests and grasslands, where greater food variety is available.

The Sumatran elephant, ''Elephas maximus sumatranus'', found only on Sumatra, is smaller than the Indian elephant. Population estimates for this group range from 2,100 to 3,000 individuals. It is very light grey in colour and has less depigmentation than the other Asians, with pink spots only on the ears. Mature Sumatrans will usually only measure 1.7–2.6 m (5.6–8.5 ft) at the shoulder and weigh less than 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). It is considerably smaller than its other Asian (and African) cousins and exists only on the island of Sumatra, usually in forested regions and partially wooded habitats.

In 2003, a further subspecies was identified on Borneo. Named the Borneo pygmy elephant, it is smaller and tamer than any other Asian elephants. It also has relatively larger ears, longer tail and straighter tusks.

Physical characteristics

Trunk

The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. African elephants are equipped with two fingerlike projections at the tip of their trunk, while Asians have only one. The elephant's trunk is sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree.

Most herbivores (plant eaters, like the elephant) possess teeth adapted for cutting and tearing off plant materials. However, except for the very young or infirm, elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouths. They will graze on grass or reach up into trees to grasp leaves, fruit, or entire branches. If the desired food item is too high up, the elephant will wrap its trunk around the tree or branch and shake its food loose or sometimes simply knock the tree down altogether.

The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk—up to 14 litres (15 quarts) at a time—and then blow it into their mouths. Elephants also suck up water to spray on their bodies during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animals will then spray dirt and mud, which dries and acts as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel.

This appendage also plays a key role in many social interactions. Familiar elephants will greet each other by entwining their trunks, much like a handshake. They also use them while play-wrestling, caressing during courtship and mother-child interactions, and for dominance displays; a raised trunk can be a warning or threat, while a lowered trunk can be a sign of submission. Elephants can defend themselves very well by flailing their trunks at unwanted intruders or by grasping and flinging them.

An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. By raising the trunk up in the air and swiveling it from side to side, like a periscope, it can determine the location of friends, enemies, and food sources.

Some elephants have been afflicted by floppy trunk syndrome.

Tusks

The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory, and occasionally as weapons.

Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population.

Some extinct relatives of elephants had tusks in their lower jaws in addition to their upper jaws, such as ''Gomphotherium'', or only in their lower jaws, such as ''Deinotherium''.

Teeth

Elephants' teeth are very different from those of most other mammals. Over their lives they usually have 28 teeth. These are:

The two upper second incisors: these are the tusks.

The milk precursors of the tusks.

12 premolars, 3 in each side of each jaw.

12 molars, 3 in each side of each jaw.

This gives elephants a dental formula of:

Unlike most mammals, which grow baby teeth and then replace them with a permanent set of adult teeth, elephants have cycles of tooth rotation throughout their entire lives. The tusks have milk precursors, which fall out quickly and the adult tusks are in place by one year of age, but the chewing teeth are replaced five or, very rarely, six times in an elephant's lifetime.

Only four chewing teeth (premolars and/or molars), one on each side of each jaw, are in primary use at any given time (or two, as one replaces the other at each location). Adult teeth do not replace milk teeth by emerging from the jaws vertically as human teeth do. Instead, new teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front, where the latter break off in pieces until they are gone. In African elephants, the first two sets of chewing teeth (premolars) are in place when an elephant is born. The first chewing tooth on each side in each jaw falls out when the elephant is about two years old. The second set of chewing teeth falls out when the elephant is about six years old. The third set is lost at 13 to 15 years of age, and set four lasts to approximately 28 years of age. The fifth set of chewing teeth (molars) lasts until the elephant is in its early 40s. The sixth (and usually final) set must last the elephant the rest of its life. If an elephant lives to more than 60 years of age, the last set of molars is worn to stumps, and it can no longer feed properly. Moss reports a female elephant in its sixties whose final set of molars were worn smooth and about one-quarter of their original size and who survived "with extra chewing and longer feeding bouts." Abscesses of chewing teeth, as well as of tusks and jaws, are common in elephants, and may lead to premature death.

Tusks in the lower jaw are also second incisors. These grew out large in ''Deinotherium'' and some mastodons, but in modern elephants they disappear early without erupting.

Skin

Elephants are colloquially called ''pachyderms'' (from their original scientific classification), which means thick-skinned animals. An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is considerably thinner. Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart. This is most noticeable in the young. Asian calves are usually covered with a thick coat of brownish red fuzz. As they get older, this hair darkens and becomes more sparse, but it will always remain on their heads and tails.

The species of elephants are typically greyish in colour, but the Africans very often appear brown or reddish from wallowing in mud holes of colored soil. Wallowing is an important behaviour in elephant society. Not only is it important for socialization, but the mud acts as a sunscreen, protecting its skin from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Although tough, an elephant's skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths to protect it from burning, as well as from insect bites and moisture loss, an elephant's skin would suffer serious damage. After bathing, the elephant will usually use its trunk to blow soil on its body to help dry and bake on its new protective coat. As elephants are limited to smaller and smaller areas, there is less water available, and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources.

Wallowing also aids the skin in regulating body temperatures. Elephants have difficulty in releasing heat through the skin because, in proportion to their body size, they have very little of it. The ratio of an elephant's mass to the surface area of its skin is many times that of a human. Elephants have even been observed lifting up their legs to expose the soles of their feet, presumably in an effort to expose more skin to the air. Since wild elephants live in very hot climates, they must have other means of getting rid of excess heat.

Legs and feet

An elephant's legs are roughly shaped like columns or pillars, as they must be to support its bulk. The elephant needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large padded feet. For this reason, an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. In fact, African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently.

The feet of an elephant are nearly round. African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot. Beneath the bones of the foot is a tough, gelatinous material that acts as a cushion or shock absorber. Under the elephant's weight, the foot swells, but it gets smaller when the weight is removed. An elephant can sink deep into mud, but can pull its legs out readily because its feet become smaller when they are lifted.

Elephants swim well, but cannot trot, jump, or gallop. They do have two gaits: a walk and a faster gait that is similar to running.

In walking, the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase", the faster gait does not meet all the criteria of running, as elephants always have at least one foot on the ground. However, an elephant moving fast uses its legs much like other running animals, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. In this gait, an elephant will have three feet off the ground at one time. As both of the hind feet and both of the front feet are off the ground at the same time, this gait has been likened to the hind legs and the front legs taking turns running. Tests at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre are reported to show that fast-moving elephants 'run' with their front legs, but 'walk' with their hind legs.

Although they start this "run" at only 8 km/h, elephants have been reported to reach speeds up to 40 km/h (25 mph), all the while using the same gait. In tests at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre, the fastest elephants reached a top speed of 18 km/h (11 mph). At this speed, most other four-legged creatures are well into a gallop, even accounting for leg length. Spring-like kinetics could explain the difference between the motion of elephants and other animals.

Ears

The large flapping ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin stretched over cartilage and a rich network of blood vessels. On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. This breeze cools the surface blood vessels, and then the cooler blood gets circulated to the rest of the animal's body. The hot blood entering the ears can be cooled as much as before returning to the body. Differences in the ear sizes of African and Asian elephants can be explained, in part, by their geographical distribution. Africans originated and stayed near the equator, where it is warmer. Therefore, they have bigger ears. Asians live farther north, in slightly cooler climates, and thus have smaller ears.

The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. If an elephant wants to intimidate a predator or rival, it will spread its ears out wide to make itself look more massive and imposing. During the breeding season, males give off an odor from the musth gland located behind their eyes. Joyce Poole, a well-known elephant researcher, has theorized that the males will fan their ears in an effort to help propel this "elephant cologne" great distances.

Biology and behavior

Evolution

The earliest known ancestors of modern-day elephants evolved about 60 million years ago. The ancestor of the elephants from 37 million years ago was aquatic and had a similar lifestyle to a hippopotamus.

Social behavior

Elephants live in a structured social order. The social lives of male and female elephants are very different. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female, or matriarch. Adult males, on the other hand, live mostly solitary lives.

The social circle of the female elephant does not end with the small family unit. In addition to encountering the local males that live on the fringes of one or more groups, the female's life also involves interaction with other families, clans, and subpopulations. Most immediate family groups range from five to fifteen adults, as well as a number of immature males and females. When a group gets too big, a few of the elder daughters will break off and form their own small group. They remain very aware of which local herds are relatives and which are not. The life of the adult male is very different. As he gets older, he begins to spend more time at the edge of the herd, gradually going off on his own for hours or days at a time. Eventually, days become weeks, and somewhere around the age of fourteen, the mature male, or bull, sets out from his natal group for good. While males do live primarily solitary lives, they will occasionally form loose associations with other males. These groups are called bachelor herds. The males spend much more time than the females fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turns. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding.

The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. However, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate.

Mating

The mating season is short and females are only able to conceive for a few days each year. She will detach herself from the herd. The scent of the female (cow) elephant in heat (or estrus) attracts the male and she also uses audible signals to attract the male. As the female can usually outrun the male, she does not have to mate with every male that approaches her.

The male initiates the courtship and the female ignores him for several minutes. He then stops and starts again. Elephants display a range of affectionate interactions, such as nuzzling, trunk intertwining, and placing their trunks in each other's mouths (image 2).

In a rarely observed display of his affection, he may drape his trunk outside of his tusks during the ritual (image 1). The interactions may last for 20–30 minutes and do not necessarily result in the male mounting the female, though he may demonstrate arousal during the ritual.

The female elephant is not passive in the ritual and uses the same techniques as the male.

African as well as Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, those between males result in a "companionship", consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 46% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity.

Intelligence

With a mass just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any other land animal. A wide variety of behaviours associated with intelligence have been attributed to elephants, including those associated with grief, making music, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness. Elephants are believed to rank equally in terms of intelligence with cetaceans and nonhuman primates. The elephant's brain is similar to that of humans in terms of structure and complexity; the elephant brain exhibits a gyral pattern more complex and with more numerous convolutes, or brain folds, than that of humans, primates or carnivores, but less complex than cetaceans. However, the cortex of the elephant brain is "thicker than that of cetaceans" and is believed to have as many cortical neurons (nerve cells) and cortical synapses as that of humans, which exceeds that of cetaceans.

Senses

Elephants have well innervated trunks, and an exceptional sense of hearing and smell. The hearing receptors reside not only in ears, but also in trunks that are sensitive to vibrations, and most significantly feet, which have special receptors for low frequency sound and are exceptionally well innervated. Elephants communicate by sound over large distances of several kilometers partly through the ground, which is important for their social lives. Elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully positioning their feet.

The eyesight of elephants is relatively poor.

Self-awareness

Mirror self recognition is a test of self-awareness and cognition used in animal studies. A mirror was provided and visible marks were made on the elephant. The elephants investigated these marks, which were visible only via the mirror. The tests also included invisible marks to rule out the possibility of their using other senses to detect these marks. This shows that elephants recognize the fact that the image in the mirror is their own self, and such abilities are considered the basis for empathy, altruism and higher social interactions. This ability has also been demonstrated in humans, apes, bottlenose dolphins, and magpies.

Communication

Elephants make a number of sounds when communicating. Elephants are famous for their trumpet calls, which are made when the animal blows through its nostrils. Trumpeting is usually made during excitement. Its use varies from startlement to a cry of help to rage. Elephants also make rumbling growls when greeting each other. The growl becomes a bellow when the mouth is open and a bellow becomes a moan when prolonged. This can escalate with a roar when threatening another elephant or another animal.

Elephants can communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound (infrasound), a sub-sonic rumbling, which can travel in the air and through the ground much farther than higher frequencies. These calls range in frequency from 15–35 Hz and can be as loud as 117 dB, allowing communication for many kilometres, with a possible maximum range of around 10 km. This sound can be felt by the sensitive skin of an elephant's feet and trunk, which pick up the resonant vibrations much as the flat skin on the head of a drum. To listen attentively, every member of the herd will lift one foreleg from the ground, and face the source of the sound, or often lay its trunk on the ground. The lifting presumably increases the ground contact and sensitivity of the remaining legs. This ability is thought also to aid their navigation by use of external sources of infrasound. Discovery of this new aspect of elephant social communication and perception came with breakthroughs in audio technology, which can pick up frequencies outside the range of the human ear. Pioneering research in elephant infrasound communication was done by Katy Payne, of the Elephant Listening Project, and is detailed in her book ''Silent Thunder''. Though this research is still in its infancy, it is helping to solve many mysteries, such as how elephants can find distant potential mates, and how social groups are able to coordinate their movements over extensive range. Joyce Poole has also begun decoding elephant utterances that have been recorded over many years of observation, hoping to create a lexicon based on a systematic catalogue of elephant sounds.

Diet

Elephants are herbivores, and spend up to 16 hours a day eating plants. Their diets are highly variable, both seasonally and across habitats and regions. Elephants are primarily browsers, feeding on the leaves, bark, and fruits of trees and shrubs, but they may also eat considerable grasses and herbs. As is true for other nonruminant unglulates, elephants only digest approximately 40% of what they eat. They make up for their digestive systems' lack of efficiency in volume. An adult elephant consumes 140–270 kg (300–600 lb) of food a day.

Sleep

The average sleep time in a 24-hour period of an elephant is said to be only three plus hours. "To be so big, they have to eat most of the time." Jerome Siegel

Reproduction and life cycle

Elephant calves

Female elephant social life revolves around breeding and raising of the calves. A female will usually be ready to breed around the age of thirteen, when she comes into estrus, a short phase of receptiveness lasting a couple of days, for the first time. Females announce their estrus with smell signals and special calls. Females prefer bigger, stronger, and, most importantly, older males. Such a reproductive strategy tends to increase their offspring's chances of survival.

After a twenty-two-month pregnancy, the mother gives birth to a calf that weighs about 115 kg (250 lb) and stands over 75 cm (2.5 ft) tall. Elephants have a very long development. As is common with more intelligent species, they are born with fewer survival instincts than many other animals. Instead, they rely on their elders to teach them what they need to know. Today, however, the pressures humans have put on the wild elephant populations, from poaching to habitat destruction, mean that the elderly often die at a younger age, leaving fewer teachers for the young. The consequences of this for the next generation are not known.

A new calf is usually the center of attention for herd members. Adults and most of the other young will gather around the newborn, touching and caressing it with their trunks. The baby is born nearly blind and at first relies almost completely on its trunk to discover the world around it.

Elephants within a herd are usually related, and all members of the tightly-knit female group participate in the care and protection of the young. After the initial excitement, the mother will usually select several full-time baby-sitters, or "allomothers", from her group. An elephant is considered an allomother when she is not able to have her own calf. The more allomothers, the better the calf's chances of survival. A benefit of being an allomother is that she can gain experience or receive assistance when caring for her own calf. According to Cynthia Moss, a well known researcher, these allomothers will help in all aspects of raising the calf. They walk with the young as the herd travels, helping the calves along if they fall or get stuck in the mud. The more allomothers a calf has, the more free time its mother has to feed herself. Providing a calf with nutritious milk means the mother has to eat more nutritious food herself.

Effect on the environment

Elephants can have profound impacts on the ecosystems they occupy, and both positive and negative effects on other species especially with their foraging activities. By pulling down trees to eat leaves, breaking branches, and pulling out roots, they reduce woody cover, creating clearings in forests, converting forests to savannas, and converting savannas to grasslands. These changes tend to benefit grazers at the expense of browsers.

Dung beetles and termites both eat elephant feces. During the dry season, elephants use their tusks to dig into river beds to reach underground sources of water. These holes may then become essential sources of water for other species. Elephants make paths through their environment that are used by other animals. Some of these pathways have apparently been used by several generations of elephants, used by humans and eventually even been converted to roads.

Threats

Hunting

The threat to the African elephant presented by the ivory trade is unique to the species. Larger, long-lived, slow-breeding animals, like the elephant, are more susceptible to overhunting than other animals. They cannot hide, and it takes many years for an elephant to grow and reproduce. An elephant needs an average of 140 kg (300 lb) of vegetation a day to survive. As large predators are hunted, the local small grazer populations (the elephant's food competitors) find themselves on the rise. The increased number of herbivores ravage the local trees, shrubs, and grasses. Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions. However, many African governments legally allow limited hunting. The large amount of money that is charged for the necessary permits is often used to support conservation efforts, and the small number of permits issued (usually for older animals) ensure that populations are not depleted.

At the turn of the 20th century, it is estimated that elephants numbered between 5 and 10 million, but hunting and habitat destruction had reduced their numbers to 400,000 to 500,000 by the end of the century. In the ten years preceding 1990 the population more than halved from 1.3 million to around 600,000, largely caused by the ivory trade, prompting an international ivory ban. While elephant populations are increasing in parts of southern and eastern Africa, other African nations report a decrease of their elephant populations by as much as two-thirds, and populations in even some protected areas are in danger of being eliminated Chad has a decades-old history of poaching of elephants, which has caused the elephant population of the region, which exceeded 300,000 in 1970, to drop to approximately 10,000 today. In Virunga National Park, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the number of elephants living in the observable area of the park fell from 2,889 in 1951 to 348 in 2006.

Habitat loss

Another threat to elephants' survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants. These conflicts kill 150 elephants and up to 100 people per year in Sri Lanka. The Asian elephants' demise can be attributed mostly to loss of its habitat.

As larger patches of forest disappear, the ecosystem is affected in profound ways. The trees are responsible for anchoring soil and absorbing water runoff. Floods and massive erosion are common results of deforestation. Elephants need massive tracts of land because, much like the slash-and-burn farmers, they are used to crashing through the forest, tearing down trees and shrubs for food and then cycling back later on, when the area has regrown. As forests are reduced to small pockets, elephants become part of the problem, quickly destroying all the vegetation in an area, eliminating all their resources.

National parks

Africa's first official reserve, Kruger National Park, eventually became one of the world's most famous and successful national parks. There are, however, many problems associated with the establishment of these reserves. For example, elephants range through a wide tract of land with little regard for national borders. Once a reserve is established and fences erected, many animals find themselves cut off from their winter feeding grounds or spring breeding areas. Some animals may die as a result, while others, like the elephants, may just trample over the fences, wreaking havoc in nearby fields. When confined to small territories, elephants can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the local landscapes.

Additionally, some reserves, such as Kruger National Park has, in the opinion of wildlife managers, suffered from elephant overcrowding, at the expense of other species of wildlife within the reserve. On 25 February 2008, the South Africa announced that they would reintroduce culling for the first time since 1994 to control elephant numbers although no cull has yet taken place. Nevertheless, as scientists learn more about nature and the environment, it becomes very clear that these parks may be the elephants' last hope against the rapidly changing world around them.

Fertilizer

At Bengkulu province in Indonesia, four elephants died and based on the autopsy of one of them there was a high content of nitrogen in its body. The initial suspicion is the elephants had eaten fertilizer spread around trees in the plantation. The elephants may have been after the salt in the fertilizer and that would have led to their deaths.

Humans and elephants

Hunting

Elephant hunting, both legal and illegal, has had some unexpected consequences on elephant anatomy as well. African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait.

It is possible, if unlikely, that continued selection pressure could bring about a complete absence of tusks in African elephants. The effect of tuskless elephants on the environment, and on the elephants themselves, could be dramatic. Elephants use their tusks to root around in the ground for necessary minerals, tear apart vegetation, and spar with one another for mating rights. Without tusks, elephant behaviour could change dramatically.

Domestication and use

Elephants have been working animals used in various capacities by humans. Seals found in the Indus Valley suggest that the elephant was first domesticated in ancient India. However, elephants have never been truly domesticated: the male elephant in his periodic condition of ''musth'' is dangerous and difficult to control. Therefore, elephants used by humans have typically been female, war elephants being an exception; as female elephants in battle will run from a male, only males could be used in war. It is generally more economical to capture wild young elephants and tame them than to breed them in captivity (see also elephant "crushing").

The Laotians have been domesticating elephants for centuries, and about 500 domesticated elephants are still employed, the majority of which work in the Xaignabouli province. These elephants are mainly employed in the logging industry, with ecotourism emerging as a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative. Elefantasia is a local INGO aiming to reconvert logging elephants into ecotourism practices, thus allowing Asian elephants the ability to supply their mahouts with income while still allowing them to breed.

Elephants are also commonly exhibited in zoos and wild animal parks. About 1200 elephants are kept in western zoos. A study shows that the lifespan of elephants in European zoos is about half as long as those living in protected areas in Africa and Asia. As of July 2010, the oldest living African elephant in captivity is ''Ruaha'' (59) at Zoo Basel .

Elephants are revered in India (and are worshipped in ceremonies such as the Aanayoottu).

Warfare

War elephants were used by armies in the Indian subcontinent, the Warring States of China, and later by the Persian Empire. This use was adopted by Hellenistic armies after Alexander the Great experienced their worth against King Porus, notably in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid diadoch empires. The Carthaginian general Hannibal took elephants across the Alps when he was fighting the Romans, but brought too few elephants to be of much military use, although his horse cavalry was quite successful; he probably used a now-extinct third African subspecies, the North African forest elephant, smaller than its two southern cousins, and presumably easier to domesticate. A large elephant in full charge could cause tremendous damage to infantry, and cavalry horses would be afraid of them (see Battle of Hydaspes).

In the Southeast Asia, the powerful Khmer Empire had come to regional dominance by the 9th century AD, drawing heavily on the use of war elephants. With the collapse of Khmer power in the 15th century, the successor region powers of Burma (now Myanmar) and Siam (now Thailand) also adopted the widespread use of war elephants. A notable example of a battle using elephants in Southeast Asia is Yuttahadhi.

Industry

Throughout Myanmar (Burma), Siam, India, and most of South Asia, elephants were used in the military for heavy labour, especially for uprooting trees and moving logs, and were also commonly used as executioners to crush the condemned underfoot.

Elephants have also been used as mounts for safari-type hunting, especially Indian ''shikar'' (mainly on tigers), and as ceremonial mounts for royal and religious occasions, while Asian elephants have been used for transport and entertainment.

Zoo and circuses

There is growing resistance against the capture, confinement, and use of wild elephants. Animal rights advocates allege elephants in zoos and circuses "suffer a life of chronic physical ailments, social deprivation, emotional starvation, and premature death". Zoos argue that standards for treatment of elephants are extremely high and minimum requirements for such things as minimum space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment and veterinary care are set to ensure the well-being of elephants in captivity. Circuses continue to have a mixed record. Recently, the city of Los Angeles closed an elephant act with Circus Vazquez due to numerous instances of abuse and neglect (April 2008), and, according to PETA, 27 elephants owned by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus have died since 1992.

Elephants have traditionally been a major part of circuses around the world, being intelligent enough to be trained in a variety of acts (see for example P.T. Barnum's Jumbo and John L. Sullivan, the famous "Boxing Elephant"). However, conditions for circus elephants are unnatural (confinement in small pens or cages, restraints on their feet, lack of companionship of other elephants). Perhaps as a result, there are occasional instances of them turning on their keepers or handlers (examples include Black Diamond and "Murderous Mary").

Elephants raised in captivity sometimes show "rocking behavior", a rhythmic and repetitive swaying which is unreported in free-ranging wild elephants. Thought to be symptomatic of stress disorders, and probably made worse by a barren environment, rocking behavior may be a precursor to aggressive behavior in captive elephants. This link is to an image of Devi (''little princess''), a 30-year-old Asian elephant raised in captivity at the San Diego Zoo showing "rocking behavior".

Hybrids

African and Asian elephant species have disjunct distributions, and do not hybridize in the wild. However, in 1978 at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull. "Motty", the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant's cheeks, ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type center hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumors of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are said to have been deformed and none survived.

===Elephant aggression=== Despite its popularity in zoos, and portrayal as gentle giants in fiction, elephants are among the world's most dangerous animals. They can crush and kill any other land animal, even the rhinoceros. They can experience bouts of rage, and engage in actions that have been interpreted as vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attacked human villages after cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people regularly. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people were reported killed by elephants between 2001 and 2006.

Musth

Adult male elephants naturally periodically enter the state called ''musth'' (Hindi for "madness"), sometimes spelled "must" in English. Elephants in musth display highly aggressive behavior and elevated levels of reproductive hormones.

Other causes

Local people have reported their belief that some elephants were drunk during their attacks, although there is no confirmed evidence of this. In December 1998, a herd of elephants overran a village in India. Although locals reported that nearby elephants had recently been observed drinking beer which rendered them "unpredictable", officials considered it the least likely explanation for the attack. An attack on another Indian village occurred in October 1999, and again locals believed the reason was drunkenness, but again the theory was not widely accepted. Purportedly drunk elephants raided yet another Indian village again on December 2002, killing six people, which led to the killing of about 200 elephants by locals.

In popular culture

Elephants are ubiquitous in Western popular culture as emblems of the exotic because their unique appearance and size sets them apart from other animals and because, like other African animals such as the giraffe, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus, they are unfamiliar to Western audiences. Popular culture's stock references to elephants rely on this exotic uniqueness. For instance, a "white elephant" is a byword for something expensive, useless and bizarre.

As characters, elephants are relegated largely to children's literature, in which they are generally cast as models of exemplary behaviour, but account for some of this branch of literature's most iconic characters. Many stories tell of isolated young elephants returning to a close-knit community, such as ''The Elephant’s Child'' from Rudyard Kipling's ''Just So Stories'' (1902), ''Dumbo'' (1942) or ''The Saggy Baggy Elephant'' (1947). Other elephant heroes given human qualities include Laurent de Brunhoff's anthropomorphic ''Babar'' (1935), David McKee's Elmer (1989) and Dr. Seuss's Horton (1940). More than other exotic animals, elephants in fiction are surrogates for humans, with their concern for the community and each other depicted as something to aspire to.

The use of the elephant as a symbol of the Republican Party (United States) began with an 1874 cartoon by Thomas Nast.

The University of Alabama has a mascot of an elephant named Big Al (mascot).

See also

Elephantidae

Elephants in Kerala culture

Elephant's graveyard

Execution by elephant

History of elephants in Europe

Mela shikar

Ivory trade

Year of the Elephant/Al-Fil

List of elephants in mythology and religion

List of fictional elephants

List of historical elephants

References

Further reading

Wikisource: "The Blindmen and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe

External links

ElephantVoices: information about elephant communication

Category:Greek loanwords Category:Herbivorous animals Category:Tool-using species

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Coordinates	33°55′31″N18°25′26″N
name	Alexandra Burke
background	solo_singer
birth name	Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke
birth date	August 25, 1988
birth place	Islington, London, England, UK
genre	R&B;, soul, pop, electro
occupation	Singer, dancer, model
years active	2005, 2008-
label	Epic, Syco, RCA
associated acts	Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Flo Rida, Cobra Starship
website	}}

Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is a British R&B; and pop recording artist who rose to fame after winning the fifth series of British television series ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Burke is currently signed to Epic Records, Syco Records and RCA Records. Burke is only one of two female ''The X Factor'' winners. (Burke and Leona Lewis). Burke is currently the second most successful winner of the show, after Leona Lewis.

As the winner of ''The X Factor'', Burke released her debut single, "Hallelujah", originally a Leonard Cohen song, that became the current European record holder for single sales over a period of 24 hours, selling 105,000 copies in one day. It was also the top-selling song of the year in the UK, and became the 2008 UK Christmas number one single. By January 2009, UK sales of Burke's version of "Hallelujah" had passed one million copies, a first for a British female soloist.

Her debut album, ''Overcome'', was released in October 2009 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number one. The album's lead single "Bad Boys" was released a week ahead of the album and debuted at number one, selling over 780,000 in the UK and becoming her second consecutive number-one single and first Brit-nominated single. She has sinced followed "Bad Boys" with singles that have consecutively reached the top ten in the UK Singles Chart. Her most recent single, "Start Without You", became her third solo UK number one hit (in addition to two number one singles as a featured artist in charity singles, "Hero" and "Everybody Hurts"). To date, Burke has achieved four Number ones in Ireland: "Hallelujah", "Bad Boys", "All Night Long" and "Start Without You". Burke has been nominated three times for a Brit Award for Best British Single as a solo artist, with "Hallelujah" in 2009, "Bad Boys" in 2010, and "All Night Long" in 2011. As of December 2010, Burke has sold over 4 million records in the UK with combined sales of her singles and her album ''Overcome''.

After the ''All Night Long Tour'', Burke became the first ''X Factor'' contestant to have a judging panel role when she became a judge during the auditions of ''So You Think You Can Dance''. She has just finished recording her second studio album, which is due to be released in late autumn 2011. It was rumoured that a new single would be released at the end of August.

Early life

Burke started singing when she was five, and at nine years old she sang on stage in Bahrain with her mother. Burke is of Jamaican, African, Irish and Dougla descent. At the age of twelve, Burke entered the television talent show ''Star for a Night'' where she was the youngest person in the competition. She was beaten to the number-one spot by Joss Stone. At age twelve, she sang down the phone to Stevie Wonder. When Burke's mother asked her to sing to Jean Carne, Carne was so impressed that she asked her to perform at her show the next night. Burke attended Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington, Angel and after her GCSEs she left school to pursue a career in music. Before her ''X Factor'' success, she had been working as a singer, gigging at weekends in clubs. She also went on tour with "Young Voices", a charity that raises money for children with leukemia, where she performed at large venues such as the Royal Albert Hall.

Career history

===2005, 2008–2009:''The X Factor''===

Burke auditioned for the second series of ''The X Factor'' in 2005 (which was eventually won by Shayne Ward). She made it through to the final seven in Louis Walsh's 16–24 category, effectively the top 21 of the competition; however, Walsh did not choose her for his final four as he felt that she was too young for the competition. Burke however did not give up and went on to seek professional singing lessons over the next three years, proving her dedication and commitment to becoming a popstar.

Burke's second bid to win ''The X Factor'' came in 2008. Falling into the "Girls" category, she was mentored by Girls Aloud's Cheryl Cole who selected her for the finals—a series of ten weekly live shows in which contestants are progressively eliminated by public vote. On the first live show, Burke performed Whitney Houston's classic "I Wanna Dance with Somebody". For the second live show she covered "I'll Be There" by The Jackson 5. In week three, big band week, Burke performed Christina Aguilera's "Candyman" and received her first standing ovation. For the disco-themed fourth live show, Burke performed Donna Summer's "On the Radio". During Mariah Carey week on 8 November, Burke and the other finalists met Carey for individual masterclasses, with Carey complimenting Burke on her voice. Burke performed "Without You" and received a standing ovation from the judges who all gave her positive comments. Cowell commented that "by any standard, that was just outstanding". Following the show Burke's performance was also praised by Carey who called her rendition of the song "absolutely amazing".

In weeks 6 and 7, Burke received positive comments from the judging panel for her performances of "You are so Beautiful" and Dan Hartman's "Relight My Fire" (the popularity of which in the UK is mostly a result of Take That's 1993 revival thereof). Week 8 saw her replace Diana Vickers as the bookies' favourite after performing Britney Spears' "Toxic" and Beyoncé Knowles' "Listen", for which she received yet another standing ovation. In week 9, Burke performed Rihanna's hit song "Don't Stop the Music" and again received positive comments, with Louis calling her "the British Beyoncé" and Simon commenting "...We may be seeing the birth of a star here [...] you've got it all, that was a terrific performance".

Burke was joined in the grand final by Irish teenager Eoghan Quigg and boyband JLS. The three finalists were required to sing three songs – a Christmas song, a duet with an established music artist, and the song from their favourite performance of the series. Her Christmas song was an adaptaition of "Silent Night". She then sang "Listen" as a duet with Beyoncé (who later performed her UK number-one single "If I Were a Boy"), and after performing with the American singer she proclaimed: "I have achieved a dream". Her final song before the first-round voting result was "You Are So Beautiful".

After the elimination of Quigg she sang what was to become her debut single, a 1984 song by Leonard Cohen, ''Hallelujah'', for the first time. Finally, with over eight million votes cast in total, Burke was revealed as the winner with 58% of the final vote. The single went on to become the Christmas number one of 2008, holding the top spot for three weeks and selling one million copies. There was also a campaign to take Jeff Buckley's cover of ''Hallelujah'' to the top of the Christmas chart to deny Burke the top spot. The campaign was fuelled by Jeff Buckley fans' dislike of ''The X Factor'''s commercialism and the song's arrangement, as well as a desire by this contingent to introduce younger music fans to Buckley's version. Burke herself was not enamoured of the choice of song, and dismissed the original by remarking "It just didn’t do anything for me". As winner, Burke received a recording contract with record label, Syco, which is co-owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The contract had a stated value of £1 million, of which £150,000 was a cash advance and the remainder allocated to recording and marketing costs.

2009–2011: ''Overcome''

On 13 February 2009 it was reported that Burke signed a £3.5 million, five-album US record deal with Epic Records. Burke's first album was originally scheduled for March 2009, however, Simon Cowell confirmed that her album was scheduled for release later in the year to allow Burke to polish her skills and find the right songs for the album, so that it would not be rushed. The album was released on 19 October 2009 in the UK, titled ''Overcome''.

Burke's first commercial single from her debut album is titled "Bad Boys", which features Flo Rida. The single premiered in the UK on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 on 25 August 2009. On 18 October 2009, ''Bad Boys'' topped the UK Singles Chart. After visiting Burke in the studio, Beyoncé spoke of possibly recording a duet with her and also asked for Burke to join her for Beyonce's second European leg of her ''I Am… Tour''. ''Bad Boys'' was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry on 7 January 2010.

American rapper 50 Cent has expressed an interest in Burke, correctly predicting that she would win ''The X Factor'' and invited her to appear in an upcoming music video of his, most likely for a song from his upcoming album ''Before I Self Destruct''. On 19 July 2009, Burke confirmed that she had signed a six figure contract with Italian fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana, to become the face of a new fashion line. She will also model their clothes and accessories in her music videos. Burke performed on the Royal Variety Show on 7 December 2009.

It was confirmed by Burke on 17 November 2009, that "Broken Heels" would be the second commercial single, (third overall), from ''Overcome''. She also confirmed via her Official Twitter page that the video was shot in Los Angeles on 22 and 23 November 2009. On 18 January 2010, Burke began her European Promo Tour in Brussels, Belgium. On 12 March 2010, Burke confirmed on Twitter that "All Night Long" will be her new single, featuring Pitbull. She appeared on ''Dancing on Ice'' during the semi-final to perform ''All Night Long''.

On 29 April 2010, Burke entered FHM's poll for the world's top 100 sexiest women 2010 at number 75. This is her first appearance on the poll since she rose to fame in 2008. It has been since confirmed that Burke's next single will be a completely new song, "Start Without You", which is set to be released on 5 September 2010. The video for "Start Without You" debuted on August 19 through VEVO on later premiered on The BOX. The song was performed at T4 On The Beach on 4 July 2010. Additionally, Burke was announced as the first ever brand ambassador for Sure Women, for which she starred in a television advert. Burke gained her fifth consecutive top ten hit, and her third number one single, after "Start Without You" stormed to the top of the charts, beating Katy Perry to the top spot.

The re-packaged edition of ''Overcome'' is to be released of November 29, 2010. ''Music Week'' reports that the deluxe makeover includes three brand new tracks; "Perfect", "Before the Rain" and "What Happens On the Dancefloor" featuring Cobra Starship; as well as three number one and two Top 10 singles (including "Start Without You"). A DVD accompanies the release featuring seven videos, including an exclusive promo for the track 'The Silence'. The magazine also confirmed that Burke will promote the record with a performance on ''The X Factor''. A new track on the album was recently stated to be a duet with "an amazing group". On October 25, Burke announced via her Twitter that a new version of "The Silence" will be the album's fifth commercial single being released in early December. The official music video for The Silence was released on 27 October 2010, via MSN Videos UK. It was confirmed that there would be no further singles from the album after "The Silence".

2011–present: All Night Long tour and second studio album

Burke stated that her next album will get "down and dirty", promising the record that will take risks. Burke took a break from recording so that she could embark on her first headline concert tour, the All Night Long Tour and said she would continue recording two days after the tour ends. She is working with RedOne for a lot of the album, but will also reunite with Bruno Mars, StarGate, Rico Love, Autumn Rowe and Ne-Yo, among others. Burke became a guest judge during the auditions of English version of ''So You Think You Can Dance''. This made Burke the first ever ''The X Factor'' contestant to have a judging role. Burke stated that she had recorded a duet, with an "amazing" artist. She said, she was working in the studio with songwriter, Autumn Rowe, and met him through him and the duet just sort of "happened". It was confirmed that Burke had featured on Swizz Beatz new album, on track "Show Off". In June it was reported that Alexandra has signed a record deal with RCA Records and her next album will be jointly handled by the Syco and RCA Records. Her new single is expected to receive its first play on radio in August. On 4th of August, Alexandra confirmed that she had finished recording her second album,Speaking about it she described the album as "uptempo" and sexier", she explained: "I've taken loads of risks with it and I'm the executive producer too. With the first album when songs were being mixed, Simon [Cowell] was the one who picked the tracklisting. But with this one, I haven't let anything go past these ears. I approve everything." On the 30th of August it was revealed in Manchester Pride that the new single will premier on the 5th September 2011 on UK radio stations.

2KX

It was announced that Burke and JLS would work together to create a brand new fashion line, titled, ''2KX''. Burke and JLS stated in an interview, "We are eagerly waiting for the first stocks of the ultra-hyped men’s and women’s underwear range, due very soon." It was revealed that the Underwear Collection would launch in March 2011, and their Clothing Collection would be released in April 2011. The fashion range will be available to buy in USC stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The range with include both men's and women's clothes that are designed to be worn causally in the day and dressed up at night. The underwear will sell for £15 - £19. tThey have released a charity t-shirt in aid of Capital FM’s ''Help a Capital Child''. The T-shirt costs £15 and for every t-shirt sold, 2KX will donate £1.50 to ''Help a Capital Child''. The business' target aims is to raise £10,000 for the charity by 2011.

They explained what ''2KX'' title meant, the name stands for 2010, the year the group created the label – 2K is the abbreviation for the year 2000 and X is the Roman numeral for 10. The company was founded in 2010 and is based in London, UK.

Personal life

In May 2009, Burke began dating a childhood friend, Nicholas Sagar. However, Burke confirmed that the pair were on break in early 2011, after Burke said "At the moment we're kind of on a break because he lives in LA and it's long distance. We're both so busy - I'm on tour and I'm trying to build a new life right now."

Discography

''Overcome'' (2009)

''TBA'' (2011)

Tours

2009: The X Factor Live

2011: All Night Long Tour

Awards and nominations

|- | rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|2009 |"Hallelujah" |rowspan="2"|BRIT Award for Best British Single | |- |"Hero" | |- |Alexandra Burke |MOBO Award for Best UK Newcomer | |- | rowspan="14" style="text-align:center;"|2010 |"Bad Boys" |BRIT Award for Best British Single | |- |Alexandra Burke |Glamour Women of the Year Awards for Best Newcomer | |- |Overcome |Urban Music Award for Best Album 2010 | |- |rowspan="2"|"All Night Long" |Urban Music Award for Best Collaboration (with Pitbull) | |- |Urban Music Award for Best Music Video | |- |Alexandra Burke |BT Digital Music Awards for Best Female Artist | |- |rowspan="3"|"Bad Boys" |BT Digital Music Awards for Best Song | |- |BT Digital Music Awards for Best Video | |- | The 2010 Popjustice £20 Music Prize | |- |rowspan="5"|Alexandra Burke |MOBO Award for Best UK Act | |- |Cosmopolitan for Ultimate UK Music Star | |- |MTV Europe Music Award for Best Push Act | |- | XS AWARDS for Best British Star | |- | WSC Gala Awards 2010 for Best Female Artist | |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 2011 | All Night Long | BRIT Award for Best British Single | |- |Alexandra Burke |Glamour Women of the Year Awards for Best UK Musician/Solo Artist | |- |}

Philanthropy

Before her ''X Factor'' appearance and success, Burke went on tour with "Young Voices", a charity that helps to raise money for children with leukemia, where she performed many times at large venues such as the Royal Albert Hall.

Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, many celebrities, including Burke, wanted to help the suffering people of the country. She was confirmed for the Haiti Charity single, ''Everybody Hurts'', commenting "I hope the single raises lots of money. It's great that we can come together and do this. It's a very special song." Soon after, Burke revealed she would be travelling to Haiti so she can physically help the people out there, saying "For me, singing two lines on a single doesn't mean I have really helped. I wanted to go out and physically help the kids. I'm not a doctor, but I can give clothes, food and love. At least I'll be able to make a couple of kids smile." Burke visited and helped in the week beginning 8 February 2010, and posted two video blogs about her visit on YouTube. She later returned six months later to check the progress of the country after being a huge part in the ''Save the Children'' charity campaign.

Burke was confirmed to join various female celebrities to join the Peru Inka Trail Hike for Breast Cancer Care, along with Fearne Cotton, Denise Van Outen, and Holly Willoughby.

In January 2011, Burke helped to launch Save the Children UK's No Child Born To Die campaign. The campaign aims to reduce child mortality over the next five years.

References

External links

Forwards to a Facebook site

Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:Black British musicians Category:English female singers Category:English people of Jamaican descent Category:English people of Irish descent Category:British people of Indian descent Category:English pop singers Category:English rhythm and blues singers Category:Singers from London Category:People from Islington Category:Reality show winners Category:The X Factor (UK) contestants Category:X Factor series winners

cy:Alexandra Burke da:Alexandra Burke de:Alexandra Burke es:Alexandra Burke fa:الکساندرا برک fr:Alexandra Burke it:Alexandra Burke mk:Александра Бурк nl:Alexandra Burke ja:アレクサンドラ・バーク no:Alexandra Burke pl:Alexandra Burke pt:Alexandra Burke ru:Бёрк, Александра simple:Alexandra Burke fi:Alexandra Burke sv:Alexandra Burke

Coordinates	33°55′31″N18°25′26″N
name	Damien Rice
background	solo_singer
birth name	Damien Rice
birth date	December 07, 1973
origin	Kildare, Ireland
instrument	Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Clarinet, Percussion
genre	Folk, indie rock, folk rock
occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer
years active	1991–present
label	Vector RecordingsRepublic RecordsHeffa RecordsWarner Bros. RecordsDRM/14th Floor Records
associated acts	Juniper, Bell X1, Lisa Hannigan
website	www.damienrice.com
notable instruments	}}

Damien Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who plays guitar, piano, clarinet and percussion.

Rice was raised in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland and began his musical career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper. After leaving the band he worked as a farmer in Tuscany and busked throughout Europe before returning to Ireland in 2001 and beginning a solo musical career.

In 2002 his debut album ''O'' reached #8 on the UK albums chart, won the Shortlist music prize and generated three top-30 singles in the UK. Rice released his second album ''9'' in 2006 and his songs have appeared in numerous films and television episodes.

Rice's personal activities include musical contributions to charitable projects such as the Songs for Tibet, Freedom Campaign and the Enough Project.

Early life

Rice was born to George and Maureen Rice and raised in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland.

Career

Rice began his music career using the stage name "Dodima" Rice and formed the rock band Juniper along with Paul Noonan, Dominic Philips, David Geraghty and Brian Crosby in 1991. The band met whilst they were attending Salesian College secondary school in Celbridge, Co. Kildare as students. After touring throughout Ireland the band released their debut EP ''Manna'' in 1995. Based in Straffan, Kildare the band continued touring and signed a six album record deal with Polygram. Their recording projects generated the singles “Weatherman” and “Single of the Fortnight” which received favorable reviews.

After achieving his musical goals with Juniper, Rice became frustrated with the artistic compromises required by the record label, and he left the band in 1998. Rice moved to Tuscany in Italy and took up farming for some time, then returned to Ireland before busking around Europe. After returning to Ireland a second time, Rice gave a demo recording to his cousin, music producer David Arnold who then gave Rice a mobile studio.

2000 to present

In 2001, Rice's song "The Blower's Daughter" made the top 40 chart. Over the next year he continued to record his album with New York drummer Tom Osander aka Tomo, Paris pianist Jean Meunier, London producer David Arnold, Dublin vocalist Lisa Hannigan and cellist Vyvienne Long. Rice then embarked on a tour of Ireland with Hannigan, Tomo, Vyvienne, and Dublin bassist Shane Fitzsimons.

In 2002, Rice’s debut album ''O'' was released in Ireland, the UK and the US. The album peaked at #8 on the UK albums chart and remained on the chart for 97 weeks, selling 650,000 copies in the USA. The album won the Shortlist music prize and the songs "Cannonball" and "Volcano" became top 30 hits in the UK.

In 2006 Rice released his second album ''9'' which was recorded during the two years prior. That year he also recorded at Abbey Road Studios for the program ''Live from Abbey Road''.

2007 was a year of heavy touring with Rice appearing at England's Glastonbury Festival and the Rock Werchter festival in Belgium. That same year he performed with David Gray at the UK leg at Wembley Stadium, London and played at the T in the Park music event in Scotland. Rice also performed at the Latitude Festival in Suffolk, the V Festival in Stafford, Staffordshire, Hylands Park in Chelmsford, Essex and the Osheaga Festival in Montreal. He made additional appearances in Ireland and North America.

In 2010, Damien played at the Iceland Inspires concert held in Hljómskálagarðurinn near Reykjavík centrum.

Rice recorded a cover of the Juniper track, "Crosseyed Bear" for the compilation, ''Help: A Day in the Life''. Rice's albums are published under his record label Heffa (originally named DRM) in Ireland and Vector Records in North American. Records released in the UK, Europe and other countries are published by 14th Floor Records via Warner Music.

In spring 2011, Rice featured on the debut album by French actress and singer Melanie Laurent. He appears on two tracks on her debut album en t'attendant while collaborating on a total of five tracks which feature on the album.

Reception

''O'' received favorable reviews and scored 80 on the review aggregator Metacritic. A review in Allmusic said “the entire record makes the empty highway less lonely, the sunshine a little warmer, and life a little more poetic”, describing it as a “hopelessly beautiful record”. A review in the The Guardian called the album “gorgeous and understated”. Rolling Stone magazine review said the album contained “songs that, for all their quietness, leave a dark, lasting impression.” However, a review in Stylus said, “you can actually hear the moment when the album turns sour.”

In 2009, The Irish Times placed Rice at number thirty four in a list of "The Best 50 Irish Acts Right Now" calling him "the quiet one, the intense one, the singer-songwriter most revered by the other quiet and intense ones" and as "a most excruciatingly honest songwriter."

Rice's songs have been heard on numerous television shows including ''True Blood'', ''Hidden Palms'', ''Bones'', ''The Cleaner'', ''Jericho'', ''ER'', ''The Black Donnellys'', ''The OC, Alias'', ''Lost'', ''Huff'', ''Misfits'', ''Crossing Jordan'','' Grey's Anatomy'', ''Criminal Minds'', ''House'', ''Spin 1038'', ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'','' The Inbetweeners'', ''One Tree Hill'', and the Korean drama, ''Spring Waltz''.

Rice's songs have appeared in films such as ''Reservation Road'', ''Higher Ground'', ''Closer'', ''I am David'', ''Stay'', ''In Good Company'', ''The Girl in the Café'', ''Shrek the Third'' and ''Dear Frankie''.

His music is referenced in the novel The Suicide Club and his songs have been used in professional figure skating competitions.

Personal life

Rice participated in the Freedom Campaign, the Burma Campaign UK and the U.S. Campaign for Burma to free Burmese democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi. He campaigned for her release by writing and performing the song "Unplayed Piano" at the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo.

In 2008 he participated in a music album called Songs for Tibet in support of the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso and Tibet.

In 2010, he contributed the song "Lonely Soldier" to the Enough Project which supported women's rights in the Congo.

Discography

Studio albums

Year

Details

Peak chart positions

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2002

*Released: 1 February 2002

*Label: Vector

IRE">Music recording sales certification

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2002

*Released: 1 February 2002

*Label: Vector

IRE: 10x Platinum

IFPI>NOR: Gold

British Phonographic Industry>UK: 3x Platinum

RIAA>US: Gold

2006

*Released: 3 November 2006

*Label: Heffa

*UK: Gold

Live albums

Year

Details

Peak chart positions

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''[[Live at Fingerprints Warts & All">Music recording sales certification

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''[[Live at Fingerprints Warts & All''

*Released: 23 October 2007

Warner Bros. Records>Warner Bros.

''Live from the Union Chapel''

*Released: 26 November 2007

*Label: DRM/14th Floor

EPs

Year

Details

Peak chart positions

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2004

*Released: November 16, 2004

*Label: Vector

Singles

Date

Title

Peak chart positions

Album

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September 21, 2001

"The Blower's Daughter"

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May 17, 2002

March 17, 2003

"[[Woman Like a Man">Music recording sales certification

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2004

*Released: November 16, 2004

*Label: Vector

Singles

Date	Title	Peak chart positions	Album
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September 21, 2001	"The Blower's Daughter"					rowspan="2"
May 17, 2002
March 17, 2003	"[[Woman Like a Man"					Non-album track
October 11, 2003	"Volcano"					rowspan="2"
October 20, 2003
April 19, 2004	"Moody Mooday/Lonelily" (vinyl-only)
June 24, 2004	"Lonely Soldier" (with Christy Moore)
July 5, 2004	"Cannonball (re-mix)"
December 13, 2004	"The Blower's Daughter (re-issue)"
March 21, 2005	"Volcano (re-issue)"
June 20, 2005	"Unplayed Piano" (with Lisa Hannigan)					Non-album track
November 20, 2006	"9 Crimes"					rowspan="3"
February 5, 2007	"Rootless Tree"
September 17, 2007

Other contributions

''Eklektikos Live'' (2005) - "Volcano"

''Sounds Eclectic: The Covers Project'' (2007) - "Creep"

Collaborations

''Be Yourself'', Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club (September 2002)

''Skylarkin''', Mic Christopher (November 2002)

"Get The Party Started" (cover version with Lisa Hannigan on ''Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 1'') (2003)

''Burn the Maps'', The Frames (September 2004)

''The Beekeeper'', Tori Amos (February 2005)

"Don't Explain", Herbie Hancock, Lisa Hannigan (August 2005)

''Live At The Olympia'', Aslan (2005 - official bootleg)

''The Swell Season'', Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová (April 2006)

"Que Sera, Sera", David Gray on ''Live Earth - The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis'' (November 2007)

''Movin' On Up'', with 50 Cent on the album ''Night Shift: Live from Bonnaroo Festival' (recorded at the 2008 Bonnaroo Festival)

Rice and Lisa Hannigan appear on Herbie Hancock's ''Then and Now - The Definitive Herbie Hancock'', singing "Don't Explain"

''To Love Somebody'', Ray Lamontagne on ''Taratata'', a French TV show

"There Are Debts", David Hopkins on ''There Are Debts'' (December 2010)

Song ''Back to Beginning'' from Lamb's album ''5'' (2011)

See also

List of songs performed by Damien Rice

Juniper

References

External links

Damien Rice - Official website

Damien Rice - Official MySpace page

The Coconut Skins Community - The newest Damien Rice community

Rice, Damine Category:Irish male singers Category:Irish folk singers Category:Irish pop singers Category:Irish singer-songwriters Category:Irish record producers Category:Irish buskers Category:Winners of the Shortlist Music Prize Category:Living people Category:People from County Kildare

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Coordinates	33°55′31″N18°25′26″N
Name	Babe Ruth
Width	256
Position	Outfielder / Pitcher
Bats	Left
Throws	Left
Birth date	February 06, 1895
Birth place	Baltimore, Maryland
Death date	August 16, 1948
Death place	New York, New York
Debutdate	July 11
Debutyear	1914
Debutteam	Boston Red Sox
Finaldate	May 30
Finalyear	1935
Finalteam	Boston Braves
Stat1label	Batting average
Stat1value	.342
Stat2label	Home runs
Stat2value	714
Stat3label	Hits
Stat3value	2,873
Stat4label	Runs batted in
Stat4value	2,217
Stat5label	Win–loss record
Stat5value	94–46
Stat6label	Earned run average
Stat6value	2.28
Teams	Boston Red Sox (–) New York Yankees (–) Boston Braves ()
Highlights	2× All-Star selection (1933, 1934) 7× World Series champion (, , , , , , ) 1923 AL MVP New York Yankees #3 retired Major League Baseball All-Century Team Ranks in the top 10 of numerous career statistics MLB Records .690 career slugging % 1.164 career OPS
Hofdate
Hofvote	95.13% }}

George Herman Ruth, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935. Ruth originally broke into the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox as a starting pitcher, but after he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, he converted to a full-time right fielder and subsequently became one of the league's most prolific hitters. Ruth was a mainstay in the Yankees' lineup that won seven pennants and four World Series titles during his tenure with the team. After a short stint with the Boston Braves in 1935, Ruth retired. In 1936, Ruth became one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ruth has since become regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture. He has been named the greatest baseball player in history in various surveys and rankings, and his home run hitting prowess and charismatic personality made him a larger than life figure in the "Roaring Twenties". Off the field he was famous for his charity, but also was noted for his often reckless lifestyle. Ruth is credited with changing baseball itself. The popularity of the game exploded in the 1920s, largely due to his influence. Ruth ushered in the "live-ball era", as his big swing led to escalating home run totals that not only excited fans, but helped baseball evolve from a low-scoring, speed-dominated game to a high-scoring power game.

In 1998, ''The Sporting News'' ranked Ruth number one on the list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players". In 1999, baseball fans named Ruth to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 1969, he was named baseball's Greatest Player Ever in a ballot commemorating the 100th anniversary of professional baseball. In 1993, the Associated Press reported that Muhammad Ali was tied with Babe Ruth as the most recognized athletes, out of over 800 dead or alive athletes, in America. The study found that over 97% of Americans over 12 years of age identified both Ali and Ruth. According to ESPN, he was the first true American sports celebrity superstar whose fame transcended baseball. In a 1999 ESPN poll, he was ranked as the third-greatest US athlete of the century, behind Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.

Ruth was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), setting the season record which stood until broken by Roger Maris in 1961. Ruth's lifetime total of runs at his retirement in 1935 was a record, until first surpassed by Hank Aaron in 1974. Unlike many power hitters, Ruth also hit for average: his .342 lifetime batting is tenth highest in baseball history, and in one season (1923) he hit .393, a Yankee record. His .690 career slugging percentage and 1.164 career on-base plus slugging (OPS) remain the Major League records. Ruth dominated the era in which he played. He led the league in home runs during a season twelve times, slugging percentage and OPS thirteen times each, runs scored eight times, and runs batted in (RBIs) six times. Each of those totals represents a modern record (as well as the all-time record, except for RBIs).

Early years

Ruth was born at 216 Emory Street in Pigtown, a rough neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Ruth's German-American parents, Kate Schamberger-Ruth and George Herman Ruth, Sr., owned a succession of saloons and sold lightning rods. Only one of Ruth's seven siblings, his sister Mamie, survived past infancy.

Not much is known about Ruth's early childhood. His mother was constantly ill (she later died of tuberculosis while Ruth was still a teenager). Ruth later described his early life as "rough". When he was seven years old, his father sent him to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory and orphanage, and signed custody over to the Catholic missionaries who ran the school (the site of St. Mary's was occupied by Cardinal Gibbons School). Ruth remained at St. Mary's for the next 12 years, only visiting with his family for special occasions. Brother Matthias Boutlier, the Head of Discipline at St. Mary's, first introduced Ruth to the game of baseball. He became a father figure in Ruth's life, teaching him how to read and write, and worked with Ruth on hitting, fielding and as his skills progressed, pitching. During his time in St. Mary's, Ruth was also taught tailoring, where he became a qualified shirtmaker and was a part of both the school band and the drama club.

Baltimore Orioles

In 1913, St. Mary's Industrial School was playing a game against Mount St. Mary's University (then college) in Emmitsburg, Maryland. That day, the game was attended by Joe Engel, a former Mount St. Mary's student who was now a pitcher for the Washington Senators. Impressed with Ruth's pitching abilities, Engel, along with a teacher at St. Mary's, Brother Gilbert, brought Ruth to the attention of Jack Dunn, owner and manager of the then minor-league Baltimore Orioles. After watching Ruth pitch in a workout for half an hour, Dunn signed Ruth to a contract for $250 ($}} in current dollar terms) a month on February 14, 1914. Since Ruth was only 19 years old, Dunn had to become Ruth's legal guardian as well; at that time, the age of majority was 25. When the other players on the Orioles caught sight of Ruth, they nicknamed him "Jack's newest babe". The reference stayed with Ruth the rest of his life, and he was most commonly referred to as Babe Ruth from then on. "Babe" was not a unique nickname (see e.g., Babe Adams). His teammates eschewed the public nickname "Babe", and instead called him "George"; or "Jidge" (a nickname for George); or "The Big Fellow"; or just "Bam".

On July 7, 1914, Dunn offered to trade Ruth, along with Ernie Shore and Ben Egan, to Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics. Dunn asked $10,000 ($}} in current dollar terms) for the trio, but Mack refused the offer. The Cincinnati Reds, who had an agreement with the Orioles, also passed on Ruth. Instead, the team elected to take George Twombley and Claud Derrick. Two days later, on July 9, Dunn sold the trio to Joe Lannin and the Boston Red Sox. The amount of money exchanged in the transaction is disputed.

Major League career

Red Sox Years

Ruth appeared in five games for the Red Sox in 1914, pitching in four of them. He picked up the victory in his major league debut on July 11. The Red Sox had many star players in 1914, so Ruth was soon optioned to the minor league Providence Grays of Providence, Rhode Island for most of the remaining season. Behind Ruth and Carl Mays, the Grays won the International League pennant. Shortly after the season, in which he'd finished with a 2–1 record, Ruth proposed to Helen Woodford, a waitress whom he had met in Boston. They were married in Ellicott City, Maryland, on October 17, 1914.

During spring training in 1915, Ruth secured a spot in the Red Sox starting rotation. He joined a pitching staff that included Rube Foster, Dutch Leonard, and Smokey Joe Wood. Ruth won 18 games, lost eight, and helped himself by hitting .315. He also hit his first four home runs. The Red Sox won 101 games that year on their way to a victory in the World Series. Ruth did not pitch in the series, and grounded out in his only at-bat.

In 1916, after a slightly shaky spring, he went 23–12, with a 1.75 ERA and nine shutouts, both of which led the league. On June 27, he struck out ten Philadelphia A's, a career high. On July 11, he started both games of a doubleheader, but the feat was not what it seemed; he only pitched one-third of an inning in the opener because the scheduled starter, Foster, had trouble getting loose. Ruth then pitched a complete-game victory in the nightcap. Ruth had unusual success against Washington Senators star pitcher Walter Johnson, beating him four times in 1916 alone, by scores of 5–1, 1–0, 1–0 in 13 innings, and 2–1. Johnson finally outlasted Ruth for an extra-inning 4–3 victory on September 12; in the years to come, Ruth would hit ten home runs off Johnson, including the only two Johnson would allow in 1918–1919. Ruth's nine shutouts in 1916 set an AL record for left-handers which would remain unmatched until Ron Guidry tied it in 1978.

Despite a weak offense, hurt by the sale of Tris Speaker to the Indians, the Red Sox made it to the World Series. They defeated the Brooklyn Robins four games to one. This time Ruth made a major contribution, pitching a 14-inning complete-game victory in Game Two.

Ruth went 24–13 with a 2.01 ERA and six shutouts in 1917, and hit .325, but the Sox finished second, nine games behind the Chicago White Sox. On June 23 against the Washington Senators, after walking the leadoff hitter, Ruth erupted in anger, was ejected, and threw a punch at the umpire, which would result in a ten-game suspension. Ernie Shore came into the game in relief, the baserunner was out stealing, and Shore retired all twenty-six batters he faced, for which he was credited with a perfect game until the 1990s. Ruth's outburst was an example of self-discipline problems that plagued Ruth throughout his career, and is regarded as the primary reason (other than financial) that then-owner Harry Frazee was willing to sell him to the Yankees two years later.

The left-hander was pitching a no-hitter in a 0–0 game against the Detroit Tigers on July 11, before a single deflected off his glove in the eighth inning. Boston finally pushed across a run in the ninth, and Ruth held onto his 1–0 victory by striking out Ty Cobb. In 1942, Ruth called this game his greatest thrill on the field.

In 1918, Ruth pitched in 20 games, posting a 13–7 record with a 2.22 ERA. He was mostly used as an outfielder, and hit a league-leading eleven home runs. His statistics were curtailed slightly when he walked off the team in July following an argument with Boston's manager.

Ruth threw a 1–0 shutout in the opener of the 1918 World Series, then won Game Four in what would be his final World Series appearance as a pitcher. Ruth won both his starts, allowing two runs (both earned) in seventeen innings for an ERA of 1.06. Ruth extended his World Series consecutive scoreless inning streak to 29⅔ innings, a record that would last until Whitey Ford broke it in 1961.

Emergence as a hitter

In the years 1915–1917, Ruth had been used in just 44 games in which he had not pitched. After the 1917 season, in which he hit .325, albeit with limited at bats, teammate Harry Hooper suggested that Ruth might be more valuable in the lineup as an everyday player.

In 1918, he began playing in the outfield more and pitching less, making 75 hitting-only appearances. Former teammate Tris Speaker speculated that the move would shorten Ruth's career, though Ruth himself wanted to hit more and pitch less. In 1918, Ruth batted .300 and led the A.L. in home runs with eleven despite having only 317 at-bats, well below the total for an everyday player.

During the 1919 season, Ruth pitched in only 17 of his 130 games. He also set his first single-season home run record that year with 29 (passing Ned Williamson's 27 in 1884), including a game-winning homer on a September "Babe Ruth Day" promotion. It was Babe Ruth's last season with the Red Sox.

Sold to New York

On December 26, 1919, Frazee sold Ruth to the New York Yankees. Popular legend has it that Frazee sold Ruth and several other of his best players to finance a Broadway play, ''No, No, Nanette'' (which, though it actually didn't debut until 1925, did have origins in a December 1919 play, ''My Lady Friends''). The truth is not so simple, as Frazee had another financial concern: Babe Ruth.

After the 1919 season, Ruth demanded a raise to $20,000 ($}} in current dollar terms)—double his previous salary. However, Frazee refused, and Ruth responded by letting it be known he wouldn't play until he got his raise, suggesting that he may retire to undertake other profitable ventures.

Frazee finally lost patience with Ruth, and decided to trade him. However, he was effectively limited to two trading partners—the Chicago White Sox and the then-moribund Yankees. The other five clubs rejected his deals out of hand under pressure from American League president Ban Johnson, who never liked Frazee and was actively trying to remove him from ownership of the Red Sox. The White Sox offered Shoeless Joe Jackson $60,000 ($}} in current dollar terms), but Yankees owners Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston offered an all-cash deal—$100,000 ($}} in current dollar terms).

Frazee, Ruppert and Huston quickly agreed to a deal. In exchange for Ruth, the Red Sox would get $125,000 ($}} million in current dollar terms) in cash and three $25,000 ($}} in current dollar terms) notes payable every year at 6 percent interest. Ruppert and Huston also loaned Frazee $300,000 ($}} million in current dollar terms), with the mortgage on Fenway Park as collateral. The deal was contingent on Ruth signing a new contract, which was quickly agreed to, and Ruth officially became property of the Yankees on December 26. The deal was announced ten days later.

In the January 6, 1920 edition of ''The Boston Globe'', Frazee described the transaction: : "I should have preferred to take players in exchange for Ruth, but no club could have given me the equivalent in men without wrecking itself, and so the deal had to be made on a cash basis. No other club could afford to give me the amount the Yankees have paid for him, and I don't mind saying I think they are taking a gamble. With this money the Boston club can now go into the market and buy other players and have a stronger and better team in all respects than we would have had if Ruth had remained with us."

However, the January 6, 1920 ''The New York Times'' was more prescient: : "The short right field wall at the Polo Grounds should prove an easy target for Ruth next season and, playing seventy-seven games at home, it would not be surprising if Ruth surpassed his home run record of twenty-nine circuit clouts next Summer."

The Yankee Years

1920–1925

After moving to the Yankees, Ruth's transition from a pitcher to a power-hitting outfielder became complete. In his fifteen year Yankee career, consisting of over 2,000 games, Ruth re-wrote the record books in terms of his hitting achievements, while making only five widely-scattered token appearances on the mound, winning all of them.

In 1920, his first year with the Yankees, Ruth hit 54 home runs and batted .376. His .847 slugging average was a Major League record until 2001. Aside from the Yankees, only the Philadelphia Phillies managed to hit more home runs as a team than Ruth did as an individual, slugging 64 in hitter-friendly Baker Bowl.

In 1921, Ruth improved to arguably the best year of his career, hitting 59 home runs, batting .378 and slugging .846 (the highest with 500+ at-bats in an MLB season) while leading the Yankees to their first league championship. On July 18, 1921, Babe Ruth hit career home run #139, breaking Roger Connor's record of 138 in just the eighth year of his career. (This was not recognized at the time, as Connor's correct career total was not accurately documented until the 1970s. Even if the record had been celebrated, it would have been on an earlier date, as Connor's total was at one time thought to be only 131.)

Ruth's name quickly became synonymous with the home run, as he led the transformation of baseball strategy from the "inside game" to the "power game", and because of the style and manner in which he hit them. His ability to drive a significant number of his home runs in the 450–500 foot range and beyond resulted in the lasting adjective "Ruthian", to describe any long home run hit by any player. Probably his deepest hit in official game play (and perhaps the longest home run by ''any'' player), occurred on July 18, at Detroit's Navin Field, in which he hit one to straightaway center, over the wall of the then-single-deck bleachers, and to the intersection, some from home plate.

As impressive as Ruth's 1921 numbers were, they could have been more so under modern conditions. Bill Jenkinson's 2006 book, ''The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs,'' attempts to examine each of Ruth's 714 career home runs, plus several hundred long inside-the-park drives and "fair-foul" balls. Until 1931 in the AL, balls that hit the foul pole were considered ground-rule doubles, and balls that went over the wall in fair territory but hooked foul were ruled foul. Many fields, including Ruth's home Polo Grounds, had exceptionally deep center fields—in the Polo Grounds' case, nearly five hundred feet. The author concluded that Ruth would have been credited with 104 home runs in 1921, if modern rules and field dimensions were in place. However, these claims ignore the extreme short distances down the left and right field lines, which were 279 and 258 feet respectively. In addition, the 21 foot overhang in left field often intercepted fly balls which would otherwise have been catchable and turned them into home runs. In either case, Ruth set major league records in total bases (457), extra base hits (119) and times on base (379), all of which stand to this day.

The Yankees had high expectations when they met the New York Giants in the 1921 World Series, and the Yankees won the first two games with Ruth in the lineup. However, Ruth badly scraped his elbow during Game 2, sliding into third base (he had walked and stolen both second and third). After the game, he was told by the team physician not to play the rest of the series. Although he did play in Games 3, 4 and 5, and pinch-hit in Game 8 of the best-of-9 Series, his productivity was diminished, and the Yankees lost the series. Ruth hit .316, drove in five runs and hit his first World Series home run. (Although the Yankees won the fifth game, Ruth wrenched his knee and did not return to the Series until the eighth [last] game.)

Ruth's appearance in the 1921 World Series also led to a problem and triggered another disciplinary action. After the series, Ruth played in a barnstorming tour. A rule then in force prohibited World Series participants from playing in exhibition games during the off-season, the purpose of which was to prevent Series participants from "restaging" the Series and undermining its value. Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended Ruth for the first six weeks of the 1922 season. Landis had made his point about adhering to the letter of the rules, but he also recognized that the rule was no longer needed, and rescinded it.

Despite his suspension, Ruth started his 1922 season on May 20 as the Yankees' new on-field captain. But five days later, he was ejected from a game for throwing dirt on an umpire, and then climbed into the stands to confront a heckler; Ruth was subsequently stripped of the captaincy. In his shortened season, Ruth appeared in 110 games, batted .315, with 35 home runs and drove in 99 runs, but compared to his previous two dominating seasons, the 1922 season was a disappointment for Ruth. Despite Ruth's off-year, Yankees managed to win the pennant to face the New York Giants for the second straight year in the World Series. In the series, Giants manager John McGraw instructed his pitchers to throw Ruth nothing but curveballs, and Ruth never adjusted. Ruth had just two hits in seventeen at-bats, and the Yankees lost to the Giants for the second straight year by 4–0 (with one tie game).

In 1923, the Yankees moved from the Polo Grounds, where they had sublet from the Giants, to their new Yankee Stadium, which was quickly dubbed "The House That Ruth Built". Ruth hit the stadium's first home run on the way to a Yankees victory over the Red Sox. Ruth finished the 1923 season with a career-high .393 batting average and major-league leading 41 home runs. For the third straight year, the Yankees faced the Giants in the World Series. Rebounding from his struggles in the previous two World Series, Ruth dominated the 1923 World Series. He batted .368, walked eight times, scored eight runs, hit three home runs and slugged 1.000 during the series, as the Yankees won their first World Series title, four games to two.

thumb|Ruth after being knocked unconscious from running into a wall at Griffith Stadium on July 5, 1924. On July 5, 1924, Ruth was knocked unconscious after running into a wall during a game at Griffith Stadium against the Washington Senators. Despite evident pain and a bruised pelvic bone, Ruth insisted on staying in the game and hit a double in his next at-bat. Ruth narrowly missed winning the Triple Crown in 1924. He hit .378 for his only American League batting title, led the major leagues with 46 home runs, and batted in 121 runs to finish second to Goose Goslin's 129. Ruth's on-base percentage was .513, the fourth of five years in which his OBP exceeded .500. However, the Yankees finished second, two games behind the Washington Senators, who went on to win their only World Series while based in D.C. During that same year, Ruth served in the New York national Guard 104th Field Artillery.

During spring training in 1925 Ruth's ailment was dubbed "the bellyache heard round the world," when one writer wrote that Ruth's illness was caused by binging on hot dogs and soda pop before a game. Venereal disease and alcohol poisoning (caused by tainted liquor, a major health problem during the Prohibition) have also been speculated to be the causes of his illness. However, the exact nature of his ailment has never been confirmed and remains a mystery. Playing just 98 games, Ruth had what would be his worst season as a Yankee as he finished the season with a .290 average and 25 home runs. The Yankees team finished next to last in the American League with a 69–85 mark, their last season with a losing record until 1965.

1926–1928

Babe Ruth performed at a much higher level during 1926, batting .372 with 47 home runs and 146 RBIs. The Yankees won the AL pennant and advanced to the World Series, where they were defeated by Rogers Hornsby and the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. In Game 4, he hit three home runs, the first time any player achieved this in a World Series game. Despite his batting heroics, he is also remembered for a costly baserunning blunder. Ruth had a reputation as a good but overaggressive baserunner (he had 123 stolen bases, including ten steals of home, but only a 51% career percentage). With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of the decisive seventh game, with the Yankees trailing 3–2, Ruth tried to steal second base. However, he was thrown out by ten feet, ending the game and the Series. Barrow later called this the only on-field boner Ruth ever made in his career.

This remains the only time that the final out of a World Series was a "caught stealing." The 1926 series was also known for Ruth's promise to Johnny Sylvester, a seriously ill 11-year old, that he would hit a home run on his behalf.

Ruth was the leader of the famous 1927 Yankees, also known as Murderer's Row because of the strength of its hitting lineup. The team won a then AL-record 110 games, a mark for a 154-game season surpassed by the 1954 Cleveland Indians (the 2001 Seattle Mariners now hold the record with 116 wins, though they played eight more games), took the AL pennant by 19 games, and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.

With the race long since decided, the nation's attention turned to Ruth's pursuit of his own home run mark of 59. Early in the season, Ruth expressed doubts about his chances: "I don't suppose I'll ever break that 1921 record. To do that, you've got to start early, and the pitchers have got to pitch to you. I don't start early, and the pitchers haven't really pitched to me in four seasons. I get more bad balls to hit than any other six men...and fewer good ones." Ruth was also being challenged for his slugger's crown by teammate Lou Gehrig, who nudged ahead of Ruth's total in midseason, prompting the ''New York World-Telegram'' to anoint Gehrig the favorite. But Ruth caught Gehrig (who would finish with 47), and then had a remarkable last leg of the season, hitting 17 home runs in September. His 60th came on September 30, in the Yankees' next-to-last game. Ruth was exultant, shouting after the game, "Sixty, count 'em, sixty! Let's see some son-of-a-bitch match that!" In later years, he would give Gehrig some credit: "Pitchers began pitching to me because if they passed me they still had Lou to contend with." In addition to his career-high 60 home runs, Ruth batted .356, drove in 164 runs and slugged .772.

The following season started off well for the Yankees, who led the AL by 13 games in July. But the Yankees were soon plagued by some key injuries, erratic pitching and inconsistent play. The Philadelphia Athletics, rebuilding after some lean years, erased the Yankees' big lead and even took over first place briefly in early September. The Yankees, however, took over first place for good when they beat the A's three out of four games in a pivotal series at Yankee Stadium later that month.

Ruth's play in 1928 mirrored his team's performance. He got off to a hot start and on August 1, he had 42 home runs. This put him ahead of his 60 home run pace from the previous season. But Ruth was hobbled by a bad ankle the latter part of the season, and he hit just twelve home runs in the last two months of the regular season. His batting average also fell to .323, well below his career average. Nevertheless, he ended the season with 54 home runs, which would be the fourth (and last) time he hit 50 home runs in a season.

The Yankees had a 1928 World Series rematch with the St. Louis Cardinals, who had upset them in the 1926 series. The Cardinals had the same core players as the 1926 team, except for Rogers Hornsby, who was traded for Frankie Frisch after the 1926 season. Ruth batted .625 (the second highest average in World Series history), including another three-home run game (in game 4), Gehrig batted .545, and the Yankees demolished the Cardinals in four games. The Yankees thus became the first major league team to sweep their opponents in consecutive World Series.

Decline and end with Yankees

In 1929, the Yankees failed to make the World Series for the first time in four years, and it would be another three years before they returned. Although the Yankees had slipped, Ruth led or tied for the league lead in home runs each year during 1929–1931. At one point during the 1930 season, as a stunt, Ruth was called upon to pitch for the first time since 1921, and he pitched a complete-game victory. (He had often pitched in exhibitions in the intervening years).

Also in 1929, the Yankees became the first team to use uniform numbers regularly (the Cleveland Indians had used them briefly in 1916). Since Ruth normally batted third in the order (ahead of Gehrig), he was assigned number 3 (to Gehrig's 4). The Yankees retired Ruth's number on June 13, 1948; however, it was kept in circulation prior to that.

In 1930, which was not a pennant year for the Yankees, Ruth was asked by a reporter what he thought of his yearly salary of $80,000 ($}} million in current dollar terms) being more than President Hoover's $75,000. His response: "I know, but I had a better year than Hoover." That quote has also been rendered as, "How many home runs did ''he'' hit last year?" (Ruth had supported Al Smith in the 1928 Presidential election, and snubbed an appearance with president Hoover.) Three years later, Ruth would make a public appearance with the ex-President at a Stanford – USC football game.

In the 1932 season, the Yankees went 107–47 and won the pennant under manager Joe McCarthy, as Ruth hit .341, with 41 home runs and 137 RBIs.

The Yankees faced Gabby Hartnett's Chicago Cubs in the 1932 World Series. The Yankees swept the Cubs and batted .313 as a team. During Game 3 of the series, after having already homered, Ruth hit what has now become known as Babe Ruth's Called Shot. During the at-bat, Ruth supposedly gestured to the deepest part of the park in center-field, predicting a home run. The ball he hit traveled past the flagpole to the right of the scoreboard and ended up in temporary bleachers just outside Wrigley Field's outer wall. The center field corner was 440 feet away, and at age 37, Ruth had hit a straightaway center home run that was perhaps a 490 foot blow. It was Ruth's last Series homer (and his last Series hit), and it became one of the legendary moments of baseball history.

Ruth remained productive in 1933, as he batted .301, with 34 home runs, 103 RBIs, and a league-leading 114 walks. Elected to play in the first All-Star game, he hit the first home run in the game's history on July 6, 1933, at Comiskey Park in Chicago. His two-run home run helped the AL to a 4–2 victory over the NL, and Ruth made a fine catch in the game. Film footage of his All-Star game home run revealed the 38-year-old Ruth had become noticeably overweight.

Late in the 1933 season, he was called upon to pitch in one game and pitched a complete game victory, his final appearance as a pitcher. For the most part, his Yankee pitching appearances (five in fifteen years) were widely-advertised attempts to boost attendance. Despite unremarkable pitching numbers, Ruth had a 5–0 record in those five games, raising his career totals to 94–46.

In 1934, Babe Ruth recorded a .288 average, 22 home runs, and made the All-Star team for the second consecutive year. During the game, Ruth was the first of five consecutive strikeout victims (all of whom were future Hall of Fame players) of Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell, perhaps the most famous pitching feat in All-Star game history. In what turned out to be his last game at Yankee Stadium, only about 2,000 fans attended. By this time, Ruth had reached a personal milestone of 700 home runs and was about ready to retire.

After the 1934 season, Ruth went on a baseball barnstorming tour in the Far East. Players such as Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Gomez, Earl Averill, Charlie Gehringer, and Lou Gehrig were among fourteen players who played a series of 22 games, with many of the games played in Japan. Ruth was popular in Japan, as baseball had been popular in Japan for decades. Riding in a motorcade, Ruth was greeted by thousands of cheering Japanese. The tour was considered a great success for further increasing the popularity of baseball in Japan, and in 1936 Japan organized its first professional baseball league.

Sold to the Braves

By this time, Ruth knew he had little left as a player. His heart was set on managing the Yankees, and he made no secret of his desire to replace McCarthy. However, Ruppert would not consider dumping McCarthy. The slugger and manager had never got along and Ruth's managerial ambitions further chilled their relations. Just before the 1934 season, Ruppert offered to make Ruth manager of the Yankees' top minor-league team, the Newark Bears. However, Ruth's wife, Claire Merritt Hodgson and business manager advised him to reject the offer.

After the 1934 season, the only teams that seriously considered hiring Ruth were the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers. A's owner/manager Connie Mack gave some thought to stepping down as manager in favor of Ruth, but later dropped the idea, saying that Ruth's wife would be running the team in a month if Ruth ever took over. Ruth was in serious negotiations with Tigers owner Frank Navin, but missed a scheduled interview in late 1934. Meanwhile, Ruppert negotiated with other major-league clubs, seeking one that would take Ruth either as a manager or player.

Boston Braves owner Emil Fuchs finally agreed to take Ruth. Even though the Braves had fielded fairly competitive teams in the last three seasons, Fuchs was sinking in debt and couldn't afford the rent on Braves Field. Fuchs thought Ruth was just what the Braves needed, both on and off the field.

After a series of phone calls, letters and meetings, the Yankees traded Ruth to the Braves on February 26, 1935. It was announced that in addition to remaining as a player, Ruth would become team vice president and would be consulted on all club transactions. He was also made assistant manager to Braves skipper Bill McKechnie. In a long letter to Ruth a few days before the press conference, Fuchs promised Ruth a share in the Braves' profits, with the possibility of becoming co-owner of the team. Fuchs also raised the possibility of Ruth becoming the Braves' manager, perhaps as early as 1936.

Amid much media hoopla, Ruth played his first home game in Boston in over 16 years. Before an opening-day crowd of over 25,000, Ruth accounted for all of the Braves' runs in a 4–2 defeat of the New York Giants. The Braves had long played second fiddle to the Red Sox in Boston, but Ruth's arrival spiked interest in the Braves to levels not seen since their stunning win in the 1914 World Series.

That win proved to be the only time the Braves were over .500 that year. By May 20, they were 7–17, and their season was effectively over. While Ruth could still hit, he could do little else, and soon stopped hitting as well. His conditioning had deteriorated so much that he could do little more than trot around the bases. His fielding was dreadful; at one point, three of the Braves' pitchers threatened not to take the mound if Ruth was in the lineup. Ruth was also annoyed that McKechnie ignored most of his managerial advice (McKechnie later said that Ruth's presence made enforcing discipline nearly impossible). He soon discovered that he was vice president and assistant manager in name only, and Fuchs' promise of a share of team profits was also hot air. In fact, Fuchs expected Ruth to invest some of ''his'' money in the team.

On May 25, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Ruth went 4-for-4, drove in 6 runs and hit 3 home runs in an 11–7 loss to the Pirates. These were the last three home runs of his career. His last home run cleared the roof at the old Forbes Field—he became the first player to accomplish that feat. Five days later, in Philadelphia, Ruth played in his last Major League game. He struck out in the first inning and, while playing the field in the same inning, hurt his knee and left the game. In the 1948 film The Babe Ruth Story there was a more dramatic recounting of Ruth's last game. The Braves were depicted as winning the game against the Pirates and learning he had been fired for walking off the field during the game, while still in the locker room.

Two days after that, Ruth summoned reporters to the locker room after a game against the Giants and announced he was retiring. He had wanted to retire as early as May 12, but Fuchs persuaded him to stay on because the Braves hadn't played in every National League park yet. That season, he hit just .181 with six home runs in 72 at-bats. The Braves season went as badly as Ruth's short season. They finished 38–115, the fourth-worst record in Major League history, just a few percentage points fewer than the infamous 1962 New York Mets.

Personal life

Ruth married Helen Woodford in 1914. Owing to his infidelities, they were reportedly separated around 1926. Helen died in a fire in Watertown, Massachusetts on January 11, 1929 in a house owned by Edward Kinder, a dentist whom she had been living with as "Mrs. Kinder". Kinder identified her body as being that of his wife, then went into hiding after Helen's true identity was revealed; Ruth himself had to get authorities to issue a new death certificate in her legal name, Margaret Helen Woodford Ruth.

Ruth had two daughters. Dorothy Ruth was adopted by Babe and Helen. Decades later, she wrote a book, ''My Dad, the Babe'', claiming that she was Ruth's biological child by a girlfriend named Juanita Jennings.

Ruth adopted Julia Hodgson when he married her mother, actress and model Claire Merritt Hodgson. Julia currently resides in Arizona, and threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the final game in the original Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2008.

Ruth and Claire regularly wintered in Florida, frequently playing golf during the off-season and while the Yankees were spring training in Tampa, Florida. After retirement, he had a winter beachfront home in Treasure Island, Florida, near St. Petersburg.

Radio and films

Ruth made many forays into various popular media. He was heard often on radio in the 1930s and 1940s, both as a guest and on his own programs with various titles: ''The Adventures of Babe Ruth'' was a 15-minute Blue Network show heard three times a week from April 16 to July 13, 1934. Three years later, he was on CBS twice a week in ''Here's Babe Ruth'' which was broadcast from April 14 to July 9, 1937. That same year he portrayed himself in "Alibi Ike" on ''Lux Radio Theater''. His ''Baseball Quiz'' was first heard Saturdays on NBC June 5 to July 10, 1943 and then later that year from August 28 to November 20 on NBC, followed by another NBC run from July 8 to October 21, 1944.

His film roles included a cameo appearance as himself in the Harold Lloyd film ''Speedy'' (1928). His first film appearance occurred in 1920, in the silent movie ''Headin' Home''. He made numerous other film appearances in the silent era, usually either playing himself or playing a ballplayer similar to himself.

Ruth's voice was said by some biographers to be similar to that of film star Clark Gable, although that was obviously not evident in the silent film era. He had an appropriate role as himself in ''Pride of the Yankees'' (1942), the story of his ill-fated teammate Lou Gehrig. Ruth had three scenes in the film, including one in which he appeared with a straw hat. He said, "If I see anyone touch it, I'll knock his teeth in!" The teammates convinced young Gehrig (Gary Cooper) to chew up the hat; he got away with it. In the second scene, the players go to a restaurant, where Babe sees a side of beef cooking and jokes, "Well, I'll have one of those..." and, the dramatic scene near the end, where Gehrig makes his speech at Yankee Stadium ending with "I consider myself the luckiest man..."

Retirement and post-playing days

In 1936, Ruth was one of the first five players elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Two years later, Larry MacPhail, the Brooklyn Dodgers general manager, offered him a first base coaching job in June. Ruth took the job but quit at the end of the season. The coaching position was his last job in Major League Baseball. His baseball career finally came to an end in 1943. In a charity game at Yankee Stadium, he pinch hit and drew a walk. In 1947, he became director of the American Legion's youth baseball program.

Baby Ruth candy bar controversy

For decades, the Baby Ruth candy bar was believed to be named after Babe Ruth and some sports marketing practitioners used this example of one of the first forms of sports marketing. However, while the name of the candy bar sounds nearly identical to the Babe's name, the Curtiss Candy Company has steadfastly claimed that Baby Ruth was named after President Grover Cleveland's daughter, Ruth Cleveland. Nonetheless, the bar first appeared in 1921, as Babe Ruth's fame was on the rise and long after Cleveland had left the White House and 15 years after his daughter had died. The company failed to negotiate an endorsement deal with Ruth, and many saw the company's story about the origin of the name of the bar as merely a ploy to avoid having to pay the baseball player any royalties. Ironically, Curtiss successfully shut down a rival bar that was approved by, and named for, Ruth, on the grounds that the names were too similar in the case of George H. Ruth Candy Co. v. Curtiss Candy Co, 49 F.2d 1033 (1931). Sports marketing experts now believe that the Curtiss Candy Company employed the first successful use of an ambush sports marketing campaign, capitalizing on the Babe's name, fame, and popularity.

The ''New York Times'' supports the evidence of the ambush marketing campaign when it wrote "For 85 years, Babe Ruth, the slugger, and Baby Ruth, the candy bar, have lived parallel lives in which it has been widely assumed that the latter was named for the former. The confection's creator, the Curtiss Candy Company, never admitted to what looks like an obvious connection – especially since Ruth hit 54 home runs the year before the first Baby Ruth was devoured. Had it done so, Curtiss would have had to compensate Ruth. Instead, it eventually insisted the inspiration was "Baby Ruth" Cleveland, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland. But it is an odd connection that makes one wonder at the marketing savvy of Otto Schnering, the company's founder."

Thus, in 1995, a company representing the Ruth estate brought the Baby Ruth candy bar into sponsorship officialdom when it licensed the Babe's name and likeness for use in a Baby Ruth marketing campaign. On page 34 of the spring, 2007, edition of the Chicago Cubs game program, there is a full-page ad showing a partially-unwrapped Baby Ruth in front of the Wrigley ivy, with the caption, "The official candy bar of Major League Baseball, and proud sponsor of the Chicago Cubs." Continuing the baseball-oriented theme, during the summer and post-season of the 2007 season, a TV ad for the candy bar showed an entire stadium (played by Dodger Stadium) filled with people munching Baby Ruths, and thus having to hum rather than singing along with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch.

Illness

In 1946, he began experiencing severe pain over his left eye. In November 1946, a visit to French Hospital in New York revealed Ruth had a malignant tumor in his neck that had encircled his left carotid artery. He received post-operative radiation therapy. Before leaving the hospital in February 1947, he lost approximately .

Around this time, developments in chemotherapy offered some hope. Teropterin, a folic acid derivative, was developed by Dr. Brian Hutchings of the Lederle Laboratories. It had been shown to cause significant remissions in children with leukemia. Ruth was administered this new drug in June 1947. He was suffering from headaches, hoarseness and had difficulty swallowing. He agreed to use this new medicine but did not want to know any details about it. All the while he was receiving this experimental medication, he did not know it was for cancer. On June 29, 1947, he began receiving injections and he responded with dramatic improvement. He gained over and had resolution of his headaches. On September 6, 1947, his case was presented anonymously at the 4th Annual Internal cancer Research Congress in St. Louis. Teropterin ended up being a precursor for methotrexate, a now commonly used chemotherapeutic agent.

It is now known that Ruth suffered from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPCA), a relatively rare tumor located in the back of the nose near the eustachian tube. Contemporary management for NPCA includes concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

On April 27, 1947, the Yankees held a ceremony at Yankee Stadium. Despite his health problems, Ruth was able to attend "Babe Ruth Day". Ruth spoke to a capacity crowd of more than 60,000, including many American Legion youth baseball players. Although lacking a specific memorable comment like Gehrig's "Luckiest man" speech, Ruth spoke from the heart, of his enthusiasm for the game of baseball and in support of the youth playing the game. (''Babe Ruth speaking at Yankee Stadium'')

Later, Ruth started the Babe Ruth Foundation, a charity for disadvantaged children. Another Babe Ruth Day held at Yankee Stadium in September 1947 helped to raise money for this charity.

After the cancer returned, Ruth attended the 25th anniversary celebration of the opening of Yankee Stadium on June 13, 1948. He was reunited with old teammates from the 1923 Yankee team and posed for photographs. The photo of Ruth taken from behind, using a bat as a cane, standing apart from the other players, and facing "Ruthville" (right field) became one of baseball's most famous and widely circulated photographs. The photo won the Pulitzer Prize.

Death

Shortly after he attended the Yankee Stadium anniversary event, Ruth was back in the hospital. He received hundreds of well-wishing letters and messages. This included a phone call from President Harry Truman. Claire helped him respond to the letters.

On July 26, 1948, Ruth attended the premiere of the film ''The Babe Ruth Story'', a biopic about his own life. William Bendix portrayed Ruth. Shortly thereafter, Ruth returned to the hospital for the final time. He was barely able to speak. Ruth's condition gradually became worse, and in his last days, scores of reporters and photographers hovered around the hospital. Only a few visitors were allowed to see him, one of whom was National League president and future Commissioner of Baseball, Ford Frick. "Ruth was so thin it was unbelievable. He had been such a big man and his arms were just skinny little bones, and his face was so haggard," Frick said years later.

On August 16, the day after Frick's visit, Babe Ruth died at age 53 due to pneumonia. An autopsy showed the cancer Ruth died from began in the nose and mouth and spread widely throughout his body from there. His body lay in repose in Yankee Stadium. His funeral was two days later at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York. Ruth was then buried in the Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven in Hawthorne, New York. At his death, the New York ''Times'' called Babe Ruth, "a figure unprecedented in American life. A born showman off the field and a marvelous performer on it, he had an amazing flair for doing the spectacular at the most dramatic moment."

Legacy

Ruth's impact on American culture still commands attention. Top performers in other sports are often referred to as "The Babe Ruth of ______." He is widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players in history. Many polls place him as the number one player of all time.

Ruth was mentioned in the poem ''"Line-Up for Yesterday"'' by Ogden Nash:

Films have been made featuring Ruth, or a Ruth-like figure ("The Whammer" in ''The Natural'', for example).

During World War II, Japanese soldiers would yell in English, "To hell with Babe Ruth", in order to anger American soldiers. An episode of Hawaii Five-O would be named "To Hell With Babe Ruth" because of that.

As a sidelight to his prominent role in changing the game to the power game, the frequency and popularity of Ruth's home runs eventually led to a rule change pertaining to those hit in sudden-death mode (bottom of the ninth or later inning). Prior to 1931, as soon as the first necessary run to win the game scored, the play was over, and the batter was credited only with the number of bases needed to drive in the winning run. Thus, if the score was 3–2 with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, and the batter smacked an "over the fence home run", the game would end at 4–3, with the batter only allowed a double, and the runners officially stopped on 2nd and 3rd (since they weren't needed to win the game). The new rule allowed the entire play to complete, justified on the grounds that the ball was dead and that all runners could freely advance, thus granting the full allotment of HR and RBI to the batter, as we know it today. Several players lost home runs that way, including Ruth. As noted in the inaugural edition of ''The Baseball Encyclopedia'' (MacMillan, 1969), Ruth's career total would have been changed to 715 if historians during the 1960s had been successful in pursuing this matter. Major League Baseball elected not to retrofit the records to the modern rules, and Ruth's total stayed at 714.

Another rules change that affected Ruth was the method used by umpires to judge potential home runs when the batted ball left the field near a foul pole. Before 1931, i.e. through most of Ruth's most productive years, the umpire called the play based on the ball's final resting place "when last seen". Thus, if a ball went over the fence fair, and curved behind the foul pole, it was ruled foul. Beginning in 1931 and continuing to the present day, the rule was changed to require the umpire to judge based on the point where the ball cleared the fence. Jenkinson's book (p. 374–375) lists 78 foul balls near the foul pole in Ruth's career, claiming that at least 50 of them were likely to have been home runs under the modern rule.

Ruth's 1919 contract that sent him from Boston to New York was sold at auction for $996,000 at Sotheby's on June 10, 2005. The most valuable memorabilia item relating to Ruth was his 1923 bat which he used to hit the first home run at Yankee Stadium on April 18, 1923. Ruth's heavy Louisville Slugger solid ash wood bat sold for $1.26 million at a Sotheby's auction in December 2004, making it the third most valuable baseball memorabilia item, behind Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball and the famous 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card.

Career batting statistics

Taken from Retrosheet.

2,174

G	! AB	! R	! H	! HR	! RBI	! BB	! SO	! Avg.	! OBP	! SLG
2,503	8,399	|	2,873	714	2,213	2,062	1,330	.342	.473	.690

All-time ranks

3rd on all-time home run list with 714

10th on all-time batting average list with .342

2nd on all-time RBI list with 2,217

1st on all-time slugging % with 0.690

2nd on all-time on-base % list with .474

1st on all-time OPS with 1.164

4th on all-time runs list with 2,174

6th on all-time total bases list with 5,793

3rd on all-time bases on balls list with 2,062

Career pitching statistics

2.28

Win (baseball)	W	Loss (baseball)>L	Earned run average>ERA	Games played>G	Games started>GS	Complete game>CG	Shutout>SHO	Save (baseball)>SV	Innings pitched>IP	Hit (baseball)>H	Run (baseball)>R	Earned run>ER	Home run>HR	Hit by pitch>HBP	Base on balls>BB	Strikeout>SO	Winning percentage>WPct	Walks plus hits per inning pitched>WHIP	Batting average>AVG	Bases on balls per 9 innings pitched>BB/9	Strikeouts per 9 innings pitched>K/9
94	46	|	163	148	107	17	4	1,221.1	974	400	309	10	29	441	488	.671	1.16	.220	3.25	3.60

Ruth was 89–46 with the Red Sox and was 5–0 with the Yankees overall. Ruth is 11th for career won-loss at 67.1%.

See also

Babe Ruth Award

Babe Ruth League

Curse of the Bambino

DHL Hometown Heroes

List of Major League Baseball Home Run Records

List of Major League Baseball RBI Records

References and notes

External links

BabeRuth.com – Official site

baberuthmuseum.com Ruth Museum

In March 2011, the VOA Special English service of the Voice of America broadcast a 15-minute program on Babe Ruth. A transcript and MP3 of the program, intended for English learners, can be found at Babe Ruth,1895-1948: America’s Greatest Baseball Player

Images

Babe Ruth: Rare and Unpublished - slideshow by ''Life magazine''

Babe Ruth: Totally Random Trivia - slideshow by ''Life magazine''

Further reading

}}

Category:1895 births Category:1948 deaths Category:500 home run club Category:American League All-Stars Category:American League batting champions Category:American League ERA champions Category:American League home run champions Category:American League RBI champions Category:American people of German descent Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Baseball players from Maryland Category:Boston Braves players Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:Brooklyn Dodgers coaches Category:Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery Category:Cancer deaths in New York Category:Deaths from esophageal cancer Category:Major League Baseball first base coaches Category:Major League Baseball left fielders Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Major League Baseball players with retired numbers Category:Major League Baseball right fielders Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Category:New York Yankees players Category:Sportspeople from Baltimore, Maryland Category:Vaudeville performers Category:Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Category:Providence Grays (minor league) players

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Coordinates	33°55′31″N18°25′26″N
Name	Rachael Yamagata
Background	solo_singer
Born	September 23, 1977 Arlington, Virginia
Instrument	PianoGuitarVocals
Genre	Adult alternativeIndieBlues rock
Vocal type	Contralto
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Label	RCA Victor (2003-2007); Warner Bros. Records (2008-2010); Frankenfish Records (2011 -)
Associated acts	Bumpus
Website	rachaelyamagata.com
Past members	}}

Rachael Yamagata (born September 23, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist from Arlington, Virginia. She began her career as a singer for the band Bumpus and has since released three EP's and two studio albums. Her songs have appeared on various television shows and she has collaborated with Jason Mraz, Rhett Miller, Ryan Adams, Toots and the Maytals and Ray Lamontagne.

Early life and education

A child of divorced parents, Yamagata divided her time growing up between her Japanese American father, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney and Harvard graduate; and her Italian-German mother, an artist/painter in New York City. Yamagata graduated from the Holton-Arms School for Girls in Bethesda, Maryland, and attended Northwestern and Vassar.

Music career

Bumpus

Yamagata became the vocalist for the Chicago funk-fusion band Bumpus, spending six years touring, writing and recording with the band. In 2001, after writing several songs that did not fit the funk style of Bumpus, Yamagata took her songs and used them to launch a solo career. In September 2002, she obtained a two-record deal with Arista's Private Music and her self-titled EP produced by Malcolm Burn, ''Rachael Yamagata EP'' was released in October.

Solo career

Her first full-length album, ''Happenstance'', followed in June 2004 and received favorable reviews. The album produced by John Alagia at Compass Point Studios and the song "I Want You" featured several members of The Klezmatics. Videos were produced for the singles "Worn Me Down" and "1963".

Her songs have appeared on several TV shows, including ''The L Word'', ''Charmed'', ''How I Met Your Mother'', ''ER '', ''Nip/Tuck'', ''Men in Trees'', ''Alias'', ''One Tree Hill'', ''Brothers & Sisters'', ''Grey's Anatomy'' and ''The O.C.,'' on which she made a guest performance.

Yamagata has toured with Mandy Moore and contributed a song to her 2007 album, ''Wild Hope''.

May 2008 Yamagata released the three song EP, ''Loose Ends''.

She released the full length album ''Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart''in October 2008 and Billboard magazine called the album called much darker and sadder in tone than its predecessor. That same month, a two-song live acoustic video performance appeared on LiveDaily Sessions, featuring the songs "Faster" and "Sunday Afternoon".

In April 2009, she performed her song "Elephants" on the television drama, One Life to Live.

The songs "Jonah" and "He Loves You Deep Inside" were also recorded for Elephants...Teeth Sinking into Heart but were not included on the original release. "Jonah" was included later as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the album while "He Loves You Deep Inside" was made available online.

Yamagata sang on Jason Mraz's second album, ''Mr. A–Z'' for the song "Did You Get My Message?". She also sang on "Fireflies" and "The Believer" for Rhett Miller's CD ''The Believer''; on Toots & the Maytals ''True Love''; "Barfly" on Ray Lamontagne's ''Till the Sun Turns Black''; and "Let it Ride", "Sweet Illusions", "Cold Roses", and "Friends", on Ryan Adams' ''Cold Roses''. She sings backup on six tracks on the Bright Eyes' album ''Cassadaga''. She co-wrote "Kaleidoscope" with Jill Cunniff, formerly of Luscious Jackson, for Cunniff's solo album ''City Beach'' and also plays keyboards and second vocals. Yamagata also performs with an ensemble cast on the ''30 Rock'' episode "Kidney Now!" The soundtrack for the film Dear John features the song "You Take My Troubles Away," Yamagata's duet with Dan Wilson. She is also covering a song called "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday" for the upcoming Muppets movie.

Yamagata is releasing a new album in the fall of 2011 through Pledgemusic. In addition to her new album, fans can purchase a multitude of rare memorabilia, spanning from autographed CDs to customized guitars. Rachael is set to release her third studio album "Chesapeake" independently through Frankenfish Records on October 11th.

Personal life

Yamagata has a twin brother, Benji and her half brother Josh Ruben is an actor and director.

Discography

Studio albums

''Happenstance'' (2004)

''Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart'' (2008)

Chesapeake (2011)

EPs

''EP'' (2003)

''Live at the Loft & More'' (2005)

''Loose Ends'' (2008)

Singles

Worn Me Down

Letter Read

1963

Be Be Your Love

Elephants

Faster

Sunday Afternoon

Starlight

Deal Breaker

Even If I Don't

Bumpus

''Bumpus'' (1999)

''Steroscope'' (2001)

Live/Compilations

''Live at the Bonnaroo Music Festival'' (2004), released exclusively on Bonnaroo

''Sony Connect Sets'' (2005), released exclusively on Sony Connect

''KCRW Sessions: Rachel Yamagata'' (2005), released exclusively on iTunes

''Napster session: Rachael Yamagata'' (2005), released exclusively on Napster

Other contributions

''WFUV: City Folk Live VII'' - "Worn Me Down" (2004)

Toots & the Maytals - ''True Love'' (2004)

Ryan Adams - ''Cold Roses'' (2005)

Jason Mraz - ''Mr. A-Z'' (2005)

Chris Holmes - ''Blister of the Spotlight'' (2006)

Rhett Miller - ''The Believer'' (2006)

Ray LaMontagne - ''Till the Sun Turns Black'' (2006)

Bright Eyes - ''Four Winds'' (2007)

Bright Eyes - ''Cassadaga'' (2007)

Ben Arthur - ''Mouhfeel'' (2007)

Mandy Moore - ''Wild Hope'' (2007)

Jill Cunniff - ''City Beach'' (2007)

John Francis - "The Better Angels" (2010)

Katharine McPhee - ''Unbroken'' (2010)

Terra Naomi - ''To Know I'm Ok'' (2011)

''Muppets: The Green Album'' (2011), performing "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday"

Songs in other media

Yamagata's songs have appeared in a number of films and television shows. These include:

''One Tree Hill (TV series) ''Elizabethtown (film) ''Bella (film) ''Definitely, Maybe'' ''Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series) ''30 Rock'' ''Gravity (TV series)

Year !! Title !! Type !! Song
2003	''Miss Match''	TV series episode: "Who's Sari Now?"
2004	One Tree Hill'' ||	TV series episode: "The Trick is to Keep Breathing"	"Be Be Your Love"
rowspan="9"	2005	Elizabethtown'' ||	Film	"Jesus Was A Cross Maker"
''ER (TV series)	ER''	TV series episode: "Back in the World"
''In Her Shoes (2005 film)	In Her Shoes''	Film
rowspan="2"	''The O.C.''	TV series episode: "The Second Chance"
TV series episode: "The New Kids on the Block"	"Worn Me Down"
''One Life to Live''	TV series episode
''Prime (film)	Prime''	Film
''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (film)	Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants''	Film
''Smallville''	TV series episode: "Smallville Beginnings"
rowspan="6"	2006	Bella'' ||	Film	"Meet Me By the Water"
''How I Met Your Mother''	TV series episode: "Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M."
''The Last Kiss''	Film
rowspan="2"	''Men in Trees''	TV series episode: "The Caribou in the Room"
TV series episode: "Talk for Tat"	"I Want You"
''One Fine Day (TV series)	One Find Day''	TV series episode
rowspan="4"	2007	|	Film	"Meet Me By the Water"
''Holiday in Handcuffs''	Film
''The L Word''	TV series promo: Fifth season preview
''Los Serrano''	TV series episode: "Las Fases del Amor"
rowspan="3"	2008	Brothers & Sisters'' ||	TV series episode: "Just A Sliver"	"Duet"
''Cashmere Mafia''	TV series episode: "The Deciders"
''The L Word''	TV series episode: "Lifecycle"
rowspan="10"	2009	|	TV series episode: "Kidney Now!"	"He Needs a Kidney" (as part of supergroup)
''The City (MTV series)	The City''	TV series episode
'':es:Fuga de cerebros (película)	Fuga de cerebros(Brain Drain)''	Film
rowspan="2"	''Grey's Anatomy''	TV series episode: "I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watchin' Me"
TV series episode: "I Will Follow You into the Dark"	"Duet"
''Hotel for Dogs (film)	Hotel for Dogs''	Film
''One Life to Live''	TV series episode: "Elephants"
''Private Practice (TV series)	Private Practice''	TV series episode: "Homeward Bound"
''So You Think You Can Dance (season 6)	So You Think You Can Dance''	TV series episode: "The Top 16 Perform"
''Taking the Stage''	TV series episode: "Dance Off"
rowspan="2"	2010	Gravity'' ||	TV series episode: "Damn Skippy"	"Elephants"
''Life Unexpected''	TV series episode: "Love Unexpected"

References

External links

Official website

Rachael Yamagata: Confessions on ''Happenstance''

Elephants Review

Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:People from Arlington County, Virginia Category:Alumni of women's universities and colleges Category:American female singers Category:American pop pianists Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American people of German descent Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American musicians of Japanese descent Category:Northwestern University alumni Category:RCA Records artists Category:Musicians from Virginia

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