National Geographic Society
Logo of the National Geographic Society
Abbreviation	NGS
Motto	"Inspiring people to care about the planet."[1]
Formation	Gardiner Greene Hubbard, January 27, 1888 (1888-01-27) (124 years ago)
Location	Washington, D.C., USA
Membership	8.5 million
President	John M. Fahey, Jr. (1998–present)
Chairman	Gilbert M. Grosvenor (1987–present)
Main organ	Board of Trustees
Website	NationalGeographic.com

The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history. The National Geographic Society’s logo is a yellow portraitframe – rectangular in shape – which appears on the margins surrounding the front covers of its magazines and as its television channel logo.

Overview[link]

A dancer of the cafes, Algeria, 1917 photograph from the National Geographic Magazine

The National Geographic Society's historical mission is "to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge while promoting the conservation of the world's cultural, historical, and natural resources."^[2] Its purpose is to inspire people to care about their planet, according to John M. Fahey, Jr., President and CEO since March 1998 and Chairman since January 2010. The Society is governed by a Board of Trustees whose 22 members include distinguished educators, business executives, former government officials, and conservationists.

The organization sponsors and funds scientific research and exploration. The Society publishes an official journal, National Geographic Magazine, in 34 languages. It also publishes other magazines, books, school products, maps, other publications, and web and film products in numerous languages and countries. Its educational foundation gives grants to education organizations and individuals to improve geography education.^[3] Its Committee for Research and Exploration, which has given grants for scientific research for most of the Society's history, recently awarded its 10,000th such grant.

Its various media properties reach about 360 million people monthly.^[4] National Geographic maintains a museum for the public in its Washington, D.C., headquarters. It has helped to sponsor popular traveling exhibits, such as an early 2010s "King Tut" exhibit featuring magnificent artifacts from the tomb of the young Egyptian Pharaoh; "The Cultural Treasures of Afghanistan" which opened in May 2008 and traveled to other cities for 18 months; and an exhibition of China's Terracotta Warriors in its Washington headquarters in 2009–10.

In November 2008, National Geographic opened a major retail store in London.

History[link]

The official diploma presented to Italian Admiral Ernesto Burzagli when he was awarded membership in the National Geographic Society in 1928.

The National Geographic Society began as a club for an elite group of academics and wealthy patrons interested in travel.^[5] On January 13, 1888, 33 explorers and scientists gathered at the Cosmos Club, a private club then located on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., to organize "a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge." After preparing a constitution and a plan of organization, the National Geographic Society was incorporated two weeks later on January 27. Gardiner Greene Hubbard became its first president and his son-in-law, Alexander Graham Bell, eventually succeeded him in 1897 following his death. In 1899 Bell's son-in-law Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor was named the first full-time editor of National Geographic Magazine and served the organization for fifty-five years (1954), and members of the Grosvenor family have played important roles in the organization since.

Bell and his son-in-law, Grosvenor, devised the successful marketing notion of Society membership and the first major use of photographs to tell stories in magazines. The current Chairman of the Board of Trustees of National Geographic is Gilbert Melville Grosvenor, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 for the Society's leadership for Geography education. In 2004, the National Geographic Headquarters in Washington, D.C. was one of the first buildings to receive a "Green" certification^[6] from Global Green USA.^[7] The National Geographic received the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for Communications and Humanity in October 2006 in Oviedo, Spain.

Publications[link]

[edit] National Geographic

Cover of January 1915 National Geographic

The National Geographic Magazine, later shortened to National Geographic, published its first issue (October 1888) nine months after the Society was founded as the Society's official journal, a benefit for joining the tax exempt National Geographic Society. The magazine has had for many years a trademarked yellow border around the edge of its cover.

There are 12 monthly issues of National Geographic per year, plus at least four additional map supplements. On rare occasions, special issues of the magazine are also created. The magazine contains articles about geography, popular science, world history, culture, current events and photography of places and things all over the world and universe. The National Geographic magazine is currently published in 32 language editions in many countries around the world. Combined English and other language circulation is nearly nine million monthly with more than fifty million readers monthly.

Other publications[link]

In addition to its flagship magazine, the Society publishes six other periodicals in the United States:

• National Geographic Kids: launched in 1975 as National Geographic World, it adopted its current name in 2001. It has a U.S. circulation of over 1.5 million. There are also currently 18 local language editions of NG Kids, with another half million in circulation. An Arabic edition of the children's magazine was launched in Egypt in early 2007, and more than 42,000 copies are distributed to all the public schools in Egypt, in addition to another 15,000 single copy sales. More recently, an Albanian and Polish edition were launched.
• National Geographic Little Kids: for children aged 3–6
• National Geographic Traveler: launched in 1984. There are 15 local-language editions of NG Traveler.
• National Geographic Adventure: launched in 1999
• National Geographic Explorer: classroom magazine launched in 2001 as National Geographic for Kids, which has grown to about 2½ million circulation.
• National Geographic Green Guide: Launched in 2003, tips to consumers of how to live a "greener" life. The print version was discontinued in January 2009.^[8]
• Glimpse Magazine (in association with National Geographic)
• National Geographic Exploring History, which made its debut in Fall, 2011
• Treasures of the Earth a collection about minerals and gemstones

The Society also runs an online news outlet called National Geographic News.

The Society previously published:

• The National Geographic School Bulletin, magazine similar to the National Geographic but aimed at grade school children, was published weekly during the school year from 1919 to 1975, when it was replaced by National Geographic World.
• During the 1980s and 1990s, it published a research journal which later closed.

The Society has published maps, atlases, filmstrips, and numerous books. It also lends its license to other publishers, for example to Thames & Kosmos for a line of science kits.

In October 2007, National Geographic created a new Global Media group composed of its magazine, book publishing, television, film, music, radio, digital media and maps units. Tim Kelly, 51, president and CEO of National Geographic Ventures, has been named president, Global Media.

Television[link]

Programs by the National Geographic Society are also broadcast on television. National Geographic television specials as well as television series have been aired on PBS and other networks in the United States and globally for many years. The Geographic series in the U.S. started on CBS in 1964, moved to ABC in 1973 and shifted to PBS (produced by WQED, Pittsburgh) in 1975. National Geographic Channel, launched in January 2001, is a joint venture of National Geographic Television & Film and Fox Cable Networks. It has featured stories on numerous scientific figures such as Louis Leakey, Jacques Cousteau, or Jane Goodall that not only featured their work but helped make them world-famous and accessible to millions. A majority of the specials were narrated by various actors, including Glenn Close, Stacy Keach, Richard Kiley, Susan Sarandon, Alexander Scourby, Martin Sheen and Peter Strauss. The specials' theme music, by Elmer Bernstein, was also adopted by the National Geographic Channel. The National Geographic Channel has begun to launch a number of subbranded channels in international markets, such as Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Adventure, Nat Geo Junior, and Nat Geo Music.

National Geographic Films, a wholly owned taxable subsidiary of the National Geographic Society, has also produced a feature film based on the diary of a Russian submarine commander starring Harrison Ford in K-19: The Widowmaker, and most recently retooling a French-made documentary for U.S. distribution with a new score and script narrated by Morgan Freeman called March of the Penguins, which received an Academy Award for the Best Documentary in 2006. After a record $77 million theatrical gross in the United States, over four million DVD copies of March of the Penguins have been sold. National Geographic Films launched a new feature film in July 2007 called Arctic Tale, featuring the story of two families of walrus and polar bears. Queen Latifah is the narrator of this film. Inspired by a National Geographic Magazine article, National Geographic opened a 3-D large format and Reality 3-D film called Sea Monsters, with a musical score by Peter Gabriel, in October of that year. National Geographic Films is co-producing with Edward Norton and Brad Pitt the 10-hour mini series of Steven Ambrose's award-winning Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West for HBO.

Other ventures[link]

The Society currently licenses its trademark to The Vitec Group, a British photo and video equipment company best known as owner of the well-known Manfrotto brand. Vitec sells a line of camera bags and camera supports (tripods, monopods, and heads) under the National Geographic name and trademark.

Support for research and projects[link]

National Geographic Society's Administration Building in Washington, D.C.

The Society has helped sponsor many expeditions and research projects over the years, including:

• Codex Tchacos – Conservation and translation of the only known surviving copy of the Gospel of Judas
• Ian Baker – Discovers hidden waterfall of the Tsangpo Gorge, Tibet
• Robert Ballard – RMS Titanic (1985) and John F. Kennedy's PT-109 (2002) discovery
• Robert Bartlett – Arctic Exploration (1925–45)
• George Bass – Underwater archaeology – Bronze Age trade
• Lee Berger – Oldest footprints of modern humans ever found
• Hiram Bingham – Machu Picchu Excavation (1915)
• Richard E. Byrd – First flight over South Pole (1929)
• Jacques-Yves Cousteau – Undersea exploration
• Mike Fay – MegaTransect (1999) and MegaFlyover (2004) in Africa
• Dian Fossey – Mountain gorillas
• Birute Galdikas – Orangutans
• Jane Goodall – Chimpanzees
• Robert F. Griggs – Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (1916)
• Heather Halstead – World Circumnavigations of Reach the World
• Louis and Mary Leakey – Discovery of manlike Zinjanthropus, more than 1.75 million years old
• Gustavus McLeod – First flight to the North Pole in an open-air cockpit aircraft
• Robert Peary and Matthew Henson – North Pole Expedition (1905)
• Paul Sereno – Dinosaurs
• Will Steger – Polar Exploration & First Explorer-in-Residence 1996^[9]
• Spencer Wells – The Genographic Project
• Xu Xing – Discovery of fossil dinosaurs in China that have distinct feathers

The Society supports many socially based projects including AINA, a Kabul-based organization dedicated to developing an independent Afghan media, which was founded by one of the Society's most famous photographers, Reza.

The Society also sponsors the National Geographic Bee, an annual geographic contest for American middle-school students. More than four million students a year begin the geography competition locally, which culminates in a national competition of the winners of each state each May in Washington, D.C. Alex Trebek, host of Jeopardy!, has moderated the final competition since the competition began some seventeen years ago. Every two years, the Society conducts an international geography competition of competing teams from all over the world. The most recent was held in Mexico City on July 15, 2009, and had representatives from 15 national teams. The team from Canada emerged as the winner, with teams from the United States and Poland in second and third place.

Awards[link]

Hubbard Medal[link]

Anne Morrow Lindbergh's customized medal detailing her flight route

The Hubbard Medal is awarded by the National Geographic Society for distinction in exploration, discovery, and research. The medal is named for Gardiner Greene Hubbard, the first National Geographic Society president. The Hubbard Medal has been presented 35 times as of 2010, the most recent award going to Don Walsh.

Alexander Graham Bell Medal[link]

The National Geographic Society also awards, rarely, the Alexander Graham Bell Medal, for exceptional contributions to geographic research. The award is named after Alexander Graham Bell, scientist, inventor and the second president of the NGS. Up to mid-2011, the medal has been twice presented:^[10][11]

• 1980: Bradford Washburn and wife Barbara Washburn
• 2010: Roger Tomlinson and Jack Dangermond

Controversy[link]

Lutz and Collins[link]

In their book Reading National Geographic, Catherine Lutz and Jane Collins argue that the D.C.-based National Geographic Society is intimately tied to the American establishment and "cultivates ties to government officials and corporate interests".^[12] Tamar Rothenberg also wrote that the Society's flagship publication National Geographic, as a part of mainstream popular culture, has historically helped to articulate a particularly American identity in opposition to "both old Europe and primitive non-Western regions... an identity of civic and technological superiority but yet, a distinctly benign and friendly identity".^[13]

Lutz and Collins described how National Geographic photographs were sometimes electronically manipulated.^[14] In one photo of bare-breasted Polynesian women, their skin color was darkened.^[14] The book also documented how NG photographers have encouraged their subjects to change costumes when their clothing was seen as "too drab" for the magazine.^[14] Summarizing an analysis of NG photographs from 1950–1986, the authors argued the following themes: "The people of the third and fourth worlds are portrayed as exotic; they are idealized; they are naturalized and taken out of all but a single historical narrative; and they are sexualized. Several of these themes wax and wane in importance through the postwar period, but none is ever absent."^[15]

See also[link]

• National Geographic Magazine
• Royal Geographical Society
• Royal Canadian Geographical Society
• Maps of the United States
• National Geographic Bee
• Nicholas DeVore III
• Genographic Project

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Poole, Robert M. (2004). Explorers House: National Geographic and the World it Made. New York: Penguin. ISBN 1-59420-032-7. 

External links[link]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: The National Geographic Magazine

Official websites

• Official website
• National Geographic Magazine Online
• National Geographic for Kids
• National Geographic News
• National Geographic Photography
• National Geographic Maps
• National Geographic Maps TOPO! Explorer
• MapMachine
• National Geographic Channel
• National Geographic Traveler
• National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall
• EarthPulse – A Visual Guide to Global Trends
• Everyday Explorers
• National Geographic Expeditions
• National Geographic Education Foundation

Additional resources

• National Geographic Libraries & Information Services
• NGS Collectors Corner – managed by National Geographic Libraries' Archives.
• National Geographic Official YouTube Channel
• [2]

Additional information

• "How They Found National Geographic's 'Afghan Girl'" (March 7, 2003)
• National Geographic Exploration of the California Central Coast

Photos, maps, and other images

• Society's flag

Coordinates: 38°54′18″N 77°02′16″W / 38.9051°N 77.0379°W / 38.9051; -77.0379

v t e National Geographic Society John M. Fahey, Jr., president and chief executive officer (since 1998) People Stephen Alvarez Alexander Graham Bell Barry Bishop Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor Melville Bell Grosvenor Gardiner Greene Hubbard Chris Johns John G. Mitchell Mark Shelley John Verano Magazines National Geographic National Geographic Adventure (1999–2009; defunct) National Geographic Traveler National Geographic Kids Television National Geographic Abu Dhabi National Geographic Adventure National Geographic Farsi National Geographic Channel NGC Asia NGC Australia NGC Canada NGC Korea NGC Scandinavia NGC United Kingdom Nat Geo Music Nat Geo Wild Other Bee (academic competition) Endeavour (ship) Greenberg v. National Geographic Hubbard Medal Image Collection Maps Palomar Observatory Sky Survey World Championship (geography competition)

National Geographic or NatGeo may refer to:

• National Geographic Society, an American non-profit scientific and educational institution
• National Geographic (magazine), the official journal of the National Geographic Society
• National Geographic Channel, a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society

See also[link]

• National Geographic Channel (disambiguation)
• All pages beginning with "National Geographic"
• All pages with titles containing "National Geographic"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

The Edge
Background information
Birth name	David Howell Evans
Born	(1961-08-08) 8 August 1961 (age 50) Barking, Essex, England, United Kingdom
Origin	County Dublin, Ireland
Genres	Rock, post-punk, alternative rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, activist
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, keyboards, piano, bass guitar
Years active	1976–present
Labels	Island, Mercury
Associated acts	U2, Passengers
Website	www.u2.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Explorer Fender Stratocaster Gibson Les Paul Fender Telecaster Gretsch Country Gentleman Gretsch White Falcon Rickenbacker 330/12

David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), more widely known by his stage name The Edge (or just Edge),^[1] is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record. As a guitarist, The Edge has crafted a minimalistic and textural style of playing. His use of a rhythmic delay effect yields a distinctive ambient, chiming sound that has become a signature of U2's music.

The Edge was born in England to a Welsh family, but was raised in Ireland after moving there as an infant. In 1976, at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, he formed U2 with his fellow students and his older brother Dik. Inspired by the ethos of punk rock and its basic arrangements, the group began to write its own material. They eventually became one of the most popular acts in popular music, with successful albums such as 1987's The Joshua Tree and 1991's Achtung Baby. Over the years, The Edge has experimented with various guitar effects and introduced influences from several genres of music into his own style, including American roots music, industrial music, and alternative rock. With U2, The Edge has also played keyboards, co-produced their 1993 record Zooropa, and occasionally contributed lyrics. The Edge met his second and current wife, Morleigh Steinberg, through her collaborations with the band.

As a member of U2 and as an individual, The Edge has campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes. He co-founded Music Rising, a charity to support musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina. He has collaborated with U2 bandmate Bono on several projects, including songs for Roy Orbison and Tina Turner, and the soundtracks to the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and the Royal Shakespeare Company's London stage adaptation of A Clockwork Orange. In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine placed him at number 38 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Personal life[link]

The Edge at a U2 concert in Anaheim (2005)

David Howell Evans was born at the Barking Maternity Hospital,^[2] Essex, England to Welsh parents Garvin and Gwenda Evans.^[1] When he was one, his family moved to County Dublin, Ireland where he attended St Andrew's National School. He received piano and guitar lessons and often performed with his brother Dik Evans before they both answered an advertisement posted by Larry Mullen, Jr. at their school, Mount Temple Comprehensive School, seeking musicians to form a band.^[3] The band accepted both of them. This band went through several incarnations before emerging as U2 in March 1978 (Dik Evans left the band just before the name change).^[3] U2 began performing in various venues in Ireland and eventually began developing a following. Their debut album, Boy, was released in 1980.

In 1981, leading up to the October tour, Evans came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he decided to stay.^[3] During this period, he became involved with a group called Shalom Tigers, in which bandmates Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. were also involved.^[4] Shortly after deciding to remain with the band, he wrote a piece of music that later became "Sunday Bloody Sunday".^[3] The Edge married his high school girlfriend Aislinn O'Sullivan on 12 July 1983.^[5] The couple had three daughters together: Hollie in 1984, Arran in 1985 and Blue Angel in 1989.^[4] The couple separated in 1990, but were unable to get officially divorced because of Irish laws regarding marriage annulment; divorce was legalised in 1995 and the couple were legally divorced in 1996.^[4]

In 1993, The Edge began dating Morleigh Steinberg, a professional dancer and choreographer employed by the band as a belly dancer during the Zoo TV Tour. They had a daughter, Sian (born 1997), and a son, Levi (born 25 October 1999),^[4] before marrying on 22 June 2002.^[4] He appeared in the 2009 music documentary film It Might Get Loud.^[6] The Edge has been criticized for his efforts to build five luxury mansions on a 156 acre plot of land in Malibu, California.^[7] The California Coastal Commission voted 8-4 against the plans, with the project described by the commission's executive director, Peter Douglas, as "In 38 years...one of the three worst projects that I've seen in terms of environmental devastation...It's a contradiction in terms – you can't be serious about being an environmentalist and pick this location."^[7] The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy agreed to remain neutral on the issue following a $1 million donation from The Edge and a commitment from The Edge to designate 100 acres of the land as open space for public footpaths.^[7]

Music style[link]

Guitar playing[link]

As a guitar player, The Edge has a sound typified by a low-key playing style, a chiming, shimmering sound (thanks in part to the sound of VOX AC-30s) that he achieves with extensive use of delay effects and reverb. The feedback delay is often set to a dotted eighth note (3/16 of a measure), and the feedback gain is adjusted until a note played repeats two or three times.^{[citation needed]}

On 1987's The Joshua Tree, The Edge often contributes just a few simple lead lines given depth and richness by an ever-present delay. For example, the introduction to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is simply a repeated six-note arpeggio, broadened by a modulated delay effect. The Edge has said that he views musical notes as "expensive", in that he prefers to play as few notes as possible. He said in 1982 of his style,

"I like a nice ringing sound on guitar, and most of my chords I find two strings and make them ring the same note, so it's almost like a 12-string sound. So for E I might play a B, E, E and B and make it ring. It works very well with the Gibson Explorer. It's funny because the bass end of the Explorer was so awful that I used to stay away from the low strings, and a lot of the chords I played were very trebly, on the first four, or even three strings. I discovered that through using this one area of the fretboard I was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way."^[9]

Many different influences have shaped The Edge's guitar technique.^{[citation needed]} His first guitar was an old acoustic guitar that his mother bought him at a local flea market for only a few pounds; he was nine at the time. He and his brother Dik Evans both experimented with this instrument.^[9] He said in 1982 of this early experimentation, "I suppose the first link in the chain was a visit to the local jumble sale where I purchased a guitar for a pound. That was my first instrument. It was an acoustic guitar and me and my elder brother Dik both played it, plonking away, all very rudimentary stuff, open chords and all that."^[9] The Edge has stated that many of his guitar parts are based around guitar effects. This is especially true from the Achtung Baby era onwards, although much of the band's 1980s material made heavy use of echos.

Vocals[link]

The Edge in June 2005

The Edge also supplies the backing vocals for U2. U2's 1983 live album and video release, Under a Blood Red Sky and Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky are good reference points for his singing (as are the live DVDs from the Elevation Tour, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle and Elevation 2001: Live from Boston). For example, he sings the chorus to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Bono harmonizes on the final 'Sunday'). U2 used this tradeoff technique later in "Bullet the Blue Sky" as well. His backing vocals are sometimes in the form of a repeated cry; examples of songs that use this approach include "Beautiful Day", "New Year's Day" and "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)". Another technique he uses in his backing vocals is the falsetto, in songs such as "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", "A Man and a Woman", "The Wanderer", live versions of "The Fly", and "Window in the Skies".

The Edge sings the lead vocal on "Van Diemen's Land" and "Numb", the first half of the song "Seconds", dual vocals with Bono in "Discotheque", and the bridge in the song "Miracle Drug".^[4] He also sings the occasional lead vocal in live renditions of other songs (such as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the PopMart Tour and "Party Girl" during the Rotterdam Zoo TV show when it was Bono's birthday).^[10] He also plays a solo acoustic version of the song "Love is Blindness" that is featured in the documentary film From the Sky Down.

Other instruments[link]

He has played piano and keyboards on many of the band's songs, including "I Fall Down", "October", "So Cruel", "New Year's Day", "Running to Stand Still", "Miss Sarajevo", "The Hands that Built America", and "Original of the Species" and others. He plays the organ on "Please". In live versions of "New Year's Day", "The Unforgettable Fire", "Your Blue Room", and "Moment of Surrender", he plays both the piano and guitar parts alternately. In most live versions of "Original of the Species," piano is the only instrument played during the song. Although The Edge is the band's lead guitarist, he occasionally plays bass guitar, including the live performances of the song "40" where The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton switch instruments.

Solo recordings[link]

In addition to his regular role within U2, The Edge has also recorded with such artists as Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Tina Turner, Ronnie Wood, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. The Edge connected with Brian Eno and Lanois collaborator Michael Brook (the creator of the infinite guitar, which he regularly uses), working with him on the score to the film Captive (1986). From this soundtrack the song "Heroine", the vocal of which was sung by a young Sinéad O'Connor was released as a single.

He also created the theme song for season one and two of The Batman. He and fellow U2 member, Bono, wrote the lyrics to the theme of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. The Edge, along with bandmate Bono, recently composed a musical adaptation of Spider-Man. On May 25, 2011, a single titled Rise Above 1: Reeve Carney Featuring Bono and The Edge was released digitally.^[11] The music video was released on July 28, 2011.^[12]

Musical equipment[link]

Edge's 1964 Vox AC30 on stage in Foxborough for the U2 360° Tour.

The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar (on "40" and "Race Against Time") and lap steel guitar. Compared to many lead guitarists, The Edge is known for using many more guitars during a show. According to his guitar tech Dallas Schoo, a typical lead guitarist uses four or five different guitars in one night, whereas The Edge takes 45 on the road, and uses 17 to 19 in one 2.5-hour concert. He is estimated to have more than 200 guitars in the studio.^{[citation needed]}

Philanthropy[link]

In 2005, The Edge along with Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz co-founded Music Rising, a charity that helped provide replacement instruments for those that were lost in Hurricane Katrina. The instruments were originally only replaced for professional musicians but they soon realized the community churches and schools needed instruments as well. The charity's slogan is "Rebuilding the Gulf Region note by note" and has so far helped over a hundred musicians who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Edge also serves on the board of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving global health by advancing angiogenesis-based medicine, diets, and lifestyle.^[13]

See also[link]

• Timeline of U2
• List of people on stamps of Ireland

References[link]

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (October 2011)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Edge

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Edge

• U2.com, official U2 site
• Music Rising
• The Edge at the Internet Movie Database
• The Edge – Album Credits
• A Study of The Edge's Guitar Delay
• The Edge: 'It's all about the vision'
• Food Bank For New York City public service announcement
• Comment on the mathematical analysis of The Edge's guitar sound

Salim T S Al-Hassani is Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering and currently an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Manchester. He is Chairman of the Foundation of Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC),^[1] founder of the academic portal www.MuslimHeritage.com;^[2] and Chief Editor of the 1001 Inventions^[3] touring exhibition, built as a global education initiative which includes a book,^[4] award winning film^[5] and teacher’s pack; and the Curriculum Enrichment company, CE4CE.^[6]

Biography[link]

Salim Al-Hassani was raised in Baghdad, but has lived, studied and worked in the UK since the early 1960s. He became Professor of Mechanical Engineering at University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 1991 and was an acknowledged world expert in the decommissioning of offshore installations and in major plant-related accident investigations. He also researched into, and is widely published on, the computational modelling of biomedical processes.^[7]

Since 1968, Professor Al-Hassani, has published over 200 papers in international journals and books. He has supervised 40 PhD students, 50 MSc students and numerous post-doctoral fellows from all parts of the world and holds patents on engineering.^[8]

Over the past 20 years Al-Hassani’s interest has turned to promoting the cultural roots of science as a platform for community cohesion, intercultural appreciation and world peace. In order to do this, he has created a global movement aspiring to fill the 1000 years amnesia in our knowledge during the period commonly known as the Dark Ages, the Golden Age of the Muslim Civilisation, and to show their connectivity to present society.^[9]

Now an Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the School of languages, Linguistics and Cultures, Faculty of Humanities at the University of Manchester,^[10] Al-Hassani’s work on the history of science and technology has earned him worldwide reputation.^[11]

Work on Muslim Heritage[link]

Al-Hassani established, and is Honorary Chairman of, the Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation, (FSTC Ltd). Through FSTC his work promoting the cultural roots of science, and especially that of the Muslim Civilisation, has spread across the globe with initiatives such as www.muslimheritage.com and the 1001 Inventions global education initiative.

He made his mark by utilising applied modern engineering analysis to recreate, in virtual 3D space, ancient machines, especially those invented by Muslims during the Golden Age such as the machines of Al-Jazari and Taqi al-Din which later became the foundation of modern science and industry.^[12][13][14]

Al-Hassani has authored and edited more than 300 publications on Muslim Heritage, including the book 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in our World.^[15] This book is considered to be essential reading for all those interested to learn about the role of Muslim inventions in today’s schools, universities, homes, hospitals, markets, cities, world and universe.^[16]

Al-Hassani is a highly recognised international speaker on the Muslim contribution to building the foundations of modern civilisation delivering more than 150 lectures at reputable national and international venues. These include a keynote speech entitled Learning from the Past to Design the Future^[17] delivered at the Intellectual Capital Conference organized by the World Bank in Paris ; 1000 years Amnesia and the Identity Crisis^[18] at the UK Parliament in London, Muslim Heritage and Education^[19] presented to Education and Culture Committee of the EU Parliament in Brussels on the 5th November 2008 and Strategic Importance of Muslim Heritage in our World and its Impact on Diplomatic, Educational and Socio-Economic Developments given at the exhibition on Multi-Faith Scientists in Islamic Civilization^[20] organized by the FSTC at the United Nations, New York, 12–14 November 2008.^[20]

These initiatives have been successful in promoting greater cohesion, respect and understanding between faiths and cultures. Their major value is not only in closing the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims in the UK and worldwide, but also in promoting the concept of scientific and technological innovation as a positive and constructive channel for the personal expression of belief, as an alternative to religious isolationism and extremism and more particularly in facilitating greater understanding of the past positive role of Muslim women in society with particular emphasis on their participation in science, technology, art and culture. Furthermore, it reveals a past when Muslims, Christians, Jews, Sabians and others worked closely together and in harmony to develop society.^[9][21][22]

Awards[link]

In 2001, Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani received the Fazlur Rahman Khan award for excellence in engineering, science and technology.^[23]

In September 2009, Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani was granted an Honorary Fellowship of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, now the British Science Association for his work to promote the scientific and technological achievements within Muslim cultures. The Honorary Fellowship of the British Science Association is a distinguished honour, conferred to date on about 90 people.^[24]

In February 2009, Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani was presented the Building Bridges Award by the Association of Muslim Social Scientists.^[23]

References[link]