Class conflict, frequently referred to as class warfare or class struggle, is the tension or antagonism which exists in society due to competing socioeconomic interests between people of different classes.

Class conflict can take many different forms: direct violence, such as wars fought for resources and cheap labor; indirect violence, such as deaths from poverty, starvation, illness or unsafe working conditions; coercion, such as the threat of losing a job or pulling an important investment; or ideology, either intentionally (as with books and articles promoting capitalism or anti-capitalism) or unintentionally (as with the promotion of consumerism through advertising). Additionally, political forms of class conflict exist. legally or illegally lobbying or bribing government leaders for passage of partisan desirable legislation including labor laws, tax codes, consumer laws, acts of congress or other sanction, injunction or tariff. The conflict can be open, as with a lockout aimed at destroying a labor union, or hidden, as with an informal slowdown in production protesting low wages or unfair labor practices.

Usage[link]

Teamsters wild-cat strike in Minneapolis, 1934

In the past the term Class conflict was a term used mostly by socialists, who define a class by its relationship to the means of production — such as factories, land and machinery. From this point of view, the social control of production and labor is a contest between classes, and the division of these resources necessarily involves conflict and inflicts harm. (Marx, 1848) However, in more contemporary times this term is striking chords and finding new definition amongst capitalistic societies in the United States and other Westernized countries.

Marxists argue that class conflict plays a pivotal role in the history of class-based hierarchical systems such as capitalism and feudalism.^[1] Marxists refer to its overt manifestations as class war, a struggle whose resolution in favor of the working class is viewed by them as inevitable under plutocratic capitalism. Societies wherein, more often than not, the rich rule.

Pre-capitalist societies[link]

Where societies are socially divided based on status, wealth, or control of social production and distribution, conflict arises. This conflict is both everyday, such as the common medieval insistence on the right of lords to control access to grain mills and baking ovens, or it can be exceptional such as the Roman Conflict of the Orders, the uprising of Spartacus, or the various popular uprisings in late medieval Europe. One of the earliest analysis of these conflicts is Friedrich Engels' German Peasants War.^[2] One of the earliest analyses of the development of class as the development of conflicts between emergent classes is available in Peter Kropotkin's Mutual Aid. In this work, Kropotkin analyzes the disposal of goods after death in pre-class societies, and how inheritance produces early class divisions and conflict.^[3]

21st Century USA[link]

Predicated on the proposed tax legislation aimed at the wealthy in the USA, conservative news hosts and talk-show commentators are bringing pejorative application to the term "class warfare". Perhaps an ad hominem attack on the man who reintroduced the term to main-stream America, Warren Buffett, the term in its classic sense, is now being used to describe President Obama's efforts to create the Buffett Rule. The rule would set a minimum effective tax rate of 30% for those individuals making over $1 million USD annually. FOX News Business Network anchor and investor Eric Bolling, Fox News commentator Steve Moore, political and legal analyst for Fox News Channel Andrew Napolitano, and former speech writer for President George W. Bush, Marc Thiessen have all used the words "class warfare" to describe the tax initiative.^[4]

In response fellow billionaire and friend to Warren Buffett, George Soros addresses the pejorative use of the term by the conservative-right by stating, "Speaking as a person who would be most hurt by this, I think my fellow hedge fund managers call this class warfare because they don't like to pay more taxes."^[5]

The USA and similar societies[link]

The typical example of class conflict described is class conflict within capitalism. This class conflict is seen to occur primarily between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and takes the form of conflict over hours of work, value of wages, cost of consumer goods, the culture at work, control over parliament or bureaucracy, and economic inequality. The particular implementation of government programs which may seem purely humanitarian, such as disaster relief, can actually be a form of class conflict.^[6]

Philanthropist and billionaire Warren Buffett acknowledging war on the middle-class in the USA

Apart from these day-to-day forms of class conflict, during periods of crisis or revolution class conflict takes on a violent nature and involves repression, assault, restriction of civil liberties, and murderous violence such as assassinations or death squads. (Zinn, People's History)

Thomas Jefferson, USA[link]

Although Thomas Jefferson (1744-1826) lead the United States as president from 1801–1809 and is considered one of the founding fathers, he died with immense amounts of debt. About class warfare, Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying, "Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor." ^[7]

Warren Buffett, USA[link]

In 2012, and the years leading up to it, legendary investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett has often found himself on the list of the top 10 wealthiest men in the world. In November of 2006 Buffett commented in an interview with The New York Times, "There’s class warfare all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.^[8]" Shortly after issuing the quote Warren gave away more than half of his fortune to charitable causes through a program developed by himself and computer software tycoon Bill Gates.^[9] Later in 2011 Buffett called on government legislators to, "...stop coddling the super rich."^[10]

Alfred Herrhausen, Germany[link]

In an example of a violent escalation of class conflict, in November 1989 capitalist and CEO of Deutsche Bank, Alfred Herrhausen, was killed when a LASER activated road-side bomb, fired a copper plate at over 2 miles a second at his car. It was second in a convoy of three armored Mercedes Benz limousines chauffeuring Herrhausen to work. The force of the impact spun his heavy vehicle over 3 full rotations before coming to rest. No one was ever charged, but it is suspected that the militant group Red Army Faction, was involved in the killing.^[11]

Max Weber, Germany[link]

Max Weber (1864 – 1920) agrees with the fundamental ideas of Karl Marx about the economy causing class conflict, but claims that class conflict can also stem from prestige and power.^[12] Weber argues that classes come from the different property locations. Different locations can largely affect one's class by their education and the people they associate with.^[12] He also states that prestige results in different status groupings. This prestige is based upon the social status of one's parents. Prestige is an attributed value and many times cannot be changed. Weber states that power differences led to the formation of political parties.^[12] Weber disagrees with Marx about the formation of classes. While Marx believes that groups are similar due to their economic status, Weber argues that classes are largely formed by social status.^[12] Weber does not believe that communities are formed by economic standing, but by similar social prestige.^[12] Weber does recognize that there is a relationship between social status, social prestige and classes.^[12]

Muslim societies (Arab Spring)[link]

Numerous factors have culminated in what's known as the Arab Spring. Agenda behind the civil unrest, and the ultimate overthrow of totalitarian governments throughout the Middle-East included issues such as dictatorship or absolute monarchy, human rights violations, government corruption (demonstrated by Wikileaks diplomatic cables),^[13] economic decline, unemployment, extreme poverty, and a number of demographic structural factors,^[14] such as a large percentage of educated but dissatisfied youth within the population.^[15] Also, some, like Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek attribute the 2009 Iranian protests as one of the reasons behind the Arab Spring.^[16] The catalysts for the revolts in all Northern African and Persian Gulf countries have been the concentration of wealth in the hands of autocrats in power for decades, insufficient transparency of its redistribution, corruption, and especially the refusal of the youth to accept the status quo.^{[17] [18]} as they involve threats to food security worldwide and prices that approach levels of the 2007–2008 world food price crisis.^[19] Amnesty International singled out Wikileaks' release of US diplomatic cables as a catalyst for the revolts.^[20]

The Soviet Union and similar societies[link]

A variety of predominantly Marxist and anarchist thinkers argue that class conflict exists in Soviet-style societies. These arguments describe as a class the bureaucratic stratum formed by the ruling political party (known as the Nomenklatura in the Soviet Union) — sometimes termed a "new class".^[21] --that controls the means of production. This ruling class is viewed to be in opposition to the remainder of society, generally considered the proletariat. This type of system is referred to by its detractors as state capitalism, state socialism, bureaucratic collectivism or new class societies. (Cliff; Ðilas 1957) Marxism was such a predominate ideological power in what became the Soviet Union since a Marxist group known as the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was formed in the country, prior to 1917. This party soon divided into two main factions; the Bolsheviks, who were led by Vladimir Lenin, and the Mensheviks, who were led by Julius Martov.

Karl Marx[link]

Karl Marx, 1875

Karl Marx (1818–1883) was a German born philosopher who lived the majority of his adult life in England. In The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx argued that a class is formed when its members achieve class consciousness and solidarity.^[12] This largely happens when the members of a class become aware of their exploitation and the conflict with another class. A class will then realize their shared interests and a common identity. According to Marx, a class will then take action against those that are exploiting the lower classes.

What Marx points out is that members of each of the two main classes have interests in common. These class or collective interests are in conflict with those of the other class as a whole. This in turn leads to conflict between individual members of different classes.

Marxist analysis of society identifies two main social groups:

• Labour (the proletariat or workers) includes anyone who earns their livelihood by selling their labor power and being paid a wage or salary for their labor time. They have little choice but to work for capital, since they typically have no independent way to survive.
• Capital (the bourgeoisie or capitalists) includes anyone who gets their income not from labor as much as from the surplus value they appropriate from the workers who create wealth. The income of the capitalists, therefore, is based on their exploitation of the workers (proletariat).

Not all class struggle is violent or necessarily radical (as with strikes and lockouts). Class antagonism may instead be expressed as low worker morale, minor sabotage and pilferage, and individual workers' abuse of petty authority and hoarding of information. It may also be expressed on a larger scale by support for socialist or populist parties. On the employers' side, the use of union busting legal firms and the lobbying for anti-union laws are forms of class struggle.

Not all class struggle is a threat to capitalism, or even to the authority of an individual capitalist. A narrow struggle for higher wages by a small sector of the working-class (what is often called "economism") hardly threatens the status quo. In fact, by applying "craft union" tactics of excluding other workers from skilled trades, an economistic struggle may even weaken the working class as a whole by dividing it. Class struggle becomes more important in the historical process as it becomes more general, as industries are organized rather than crafts, as workers' class consciousness rises, and as they self-organize away from political parties. Marx referred to this as the progress of the proletariat from being a class "in itself" (a position in the social structure) to being one "for itself" (an active and conscious force that could change the world).

Marx largely focuses on the capital industrialist society as the source of social stratification, which ultimately results in class conflict.^[12] He states that capitalism creates a division between classes which can largely be seen in manufacturing factories. The proletariat, is separated from the bourgeoisie because production becomes a social enterprise. Contributing to their separation is the technology that is in factories. Technology deskills and alienates workers as they are no longer viewed as having a specialized skill.^[12] Another effect of technology is a homogenous workforce that can be easily replaceable. Marx believed that this class conflict would result in the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and that the private property would be communally owned.^[12] The mode of production would remain, but communal ownership would eliminate class conflict.^[12]

Even after a revolution, the two classes would struggle, but eventually the struggle would recede and the classes dissolve. As class boundaries broke down, the state apparatus would wither away. According to Marx, the main task of any state apparatus is to uphold the power of the ruling class; but without any classes there would be no need for a state. That would lead to the classless, stateless communist society.

Non-Marxist perspectives[link]

This section requires expansion.

Social commentators, historians and socialist theorists had commented on class struggle for some time before Marx, as well as the connection between class struggle, property, and law: Augustin Thierry,^[22] François Guizot, François-Auguste Mignet and Adolphe Thiers. The Physiocrats, David Ricardo, and after Marx, Henry George noted the inelastic supply of land and argued that this created certain privileges (economic rent) for landowners.

Proudhon, in What is Property? (1840) states that "certain classes do not relish investigation into the pretended titles to property, and its fabulous and perhaps scandalous history."^[23]

Fascists have often opposed class struggle and instead have attempted to appeal to the working class while promising to preserve the existing social classes and have proposed an alternative concept known as class collaboration.

Class vs. race struggle[link]

According to Michel Foucault, in the 19th century the essentialist notion of the "race" was incorporated by racists, biologists, and eugenicists, who gave it the modern sense of "biological race" which was then integrated to "state racism". On the other hand, Marxists transformed the notions of the "race" and

Jobless Black workers in the heat of the Philadelphia summer, 1973

the "race struggle" into the concept of "class struggle". In a letter to Friedrich Engels in 1882 Karl Marx wrote: You know very well where we found our idea of class struggle; we found it in the work of the French historians who talked about the race struggle.^[24] For Foucault, the theme of social war provides overriding principle that connects class and race struggle.^[25]

Moses Hess, an important theoretician of the early socialist movement, in his "Epilogue" to "Rome and Jerusalem" argued that "the race struggle is primary, the class struggle secondary... With the cessation of race antagonism, the class struggle will also come to a standstill. The equalization of all classes of society will necessarily follow the emancipation of all the races, for it will ultimately become a scientific question of social economics."^[26]

In modern times, emerging schools of thought in the U.S. and other countries hold the opposite to be true.^[27] That the race struggle is less important, since the primary struggle is that of class since labor of all races face the same problems and injustices. The main example given is the United States, which has the most politically weak working class of any developed nation, where race is held as a distraction that has kept labor divided and unorganized.^[28] Though these schools of thought do not explain why the national Black unemployment rate in the US is consistently double the white unemployment rate.

Chronology[link]

Riots with a basically nationalist background are not included.

Classical antiquity[link]

• Roman Servile Wars

Middle Ages[link]

• Ciompi in Florence 1378
• Jacquerie - France 14th century

Modern era[link]

• German Peasants' War since 1524
• English Civil War (1642–1651) (Diggers)
• French Revolution since 1789^[29]
• Canut revolts in Lyon since 1831 - often considered as the beginning of the modern labor movement
• Revolutions of 1848 France (et al)
• Paris Commune 1871
• Donghak Peasant Revolution in Korea 1893/94
• 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt
• Mexican Revolution since 1910
• October Revolution in 1917
• Spartacist uprising in Germany 1919
• Seattle General Strike of 1919 in Seattle
• General Strike of 1919 in Spain
• Winnipeg General Strike 1919
• Ruhr Uprising in Germany 1920
• Kronstadt rebellion 1921
• Hamburg Uprising 1923
• 1926 United Kingdom general strike
• 1934 West Coast waterfront strike
• Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
• Uprising of 1953 in East Germany
• Cuban Revolution 1953-1959
• Hungarian Revolution of 1956 - foundation of worker's councils
• Poznań 1956 protests
• Mai 68 in France
• Battle of Valle Giulia 1968 Italy
• Wild cats in Western Germany in 1969
• Winter of Discontent 1978/79
• UK miners' strike (1984–1985)
• 1993 Russian constitutional crisis
• 2006 Oaxaca protests in Mexico
• 2008 Greek riots
• 2010 Kyrgyzstani uprising
• Egyptian Revolution of 2011
• 2011 England riots

See also[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Class conflict

• Class consciousness
• Classism
• Classless society
• Conflict of the Orders
• Deformed workers state
• Degenerated workers state
• Economic inequality
• Economic stratification
• Exploitation

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)

Further reading[link]

• Class & Class Conflict in Industrial Society,Ralf Dahrendorf, Stanford University Press, 1959, trade paperback, 336 pages, ISBN 0-8047-0561-5 (also available in hardback as ISBN 0-8047-0560-7 and ISBN 1-131-15573-4).
• The Global Class War: How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future and What It Will Take to Win It Back Jeff Faux, John Wiley and Sons. 2006. ISBN 978-0-471-69761-9
• Li Yi. 2005. The Structure and Evolution of Chinese Social Stratification. University Press of America. ISBN 0-7618-3331-5
• The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest: 1500 to the Present, ed. by Immanuel Ness, Malden, MA [etc.]: Wiley & Sons, 2009.
• Louis Adamic, Dynamite: The story of class violence in America, Revised Edition (1934)
• Leo Zeilig (Editor), Class Struggle and Resistance in Africa, New Clarion Press, 2002.
• Gerson Antell/Walter Harris, "Economics For Everybody", Amsco School Publications, 2007

External links[link]

• 2008-2010 Study: CEOs Who Fired Most Workers Earned Highest Pay - video report by Democracy Now!

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There are many people in history who are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as e Bozorg and e azam in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.^[1]

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus)^[2] assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "the Great".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers[link]

• Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran
• Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India
• Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat
• Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia
• Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia
• Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias
• Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex
• Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire
• Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty
• Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),
• Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire
• Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand
• Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)
• Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)
• Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden
• Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland
• Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia
• Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India
• Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans
• Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)
• Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks
• Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen
• Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor
• Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media
• Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire
• Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire
• Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse^[3]
• Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile
• Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia
• Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
• Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe
• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader
• Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea^[4][5]
• Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC
• Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)
• Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre
• Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea
• Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris
• Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France
• Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)
• Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat
• Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia
• John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve
• John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre
• Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor
• Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i
• Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India
• Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia
• Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty
• Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales
• Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland
• Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand
• Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan
• Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)
• Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)
• Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom
• Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus
• Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya
• Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)
• Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine
• Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)
• K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque
• Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka
• Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia
• Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia
• Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily
• Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar
• Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar
• Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.^[6][7][8]
• Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India
• Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt
• Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)
• Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties
• Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)
• Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders
• Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre
• Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire
• Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king^[9]
• Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia
• Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire
• Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)
• Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
• Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)
• Tamar (1160-1123), Queen of the Georgian Empire
• Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty
• Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie
• Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire
• Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor
• Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia
• Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia
• Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire
• Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark
• Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor
• Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus
• Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy
• William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon
• William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou
• Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)
• Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures[link]

• Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East
• Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia
• Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian
• Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt
• Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader
• Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)
• Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint
• Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint
• Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)
• Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine
• Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)
• Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)
• Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit
• Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)
• Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople
• William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other[link]

• Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies
• Emmy the Great, folk singer
• Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III
• Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also[link]

• Epithet
• List of monarchs by nickname
• List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I
• James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus
• Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose common honorific "Mahatma" means "Great Soul"

Notes[link]

Michael McIntyre
McIntyre at the British Academy Television Awards 2009
Birth name	Michael Hazen James McIntyre
Born	(1976-02-21) 21 February 1976 (age 36) Merton, London, England
Medium	Stand-up, Television
Nationality	British
Years active	1999–present
Genres	Social satire Observational comedy
Influences	Woody Allen, Billy Connolly[1]
Spouse	Kitty McIntyre (m. 2003) «start: (2003)»"Marriage: Kitty McIntyre to Michael McIntyre" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Michael_McIntyre)
Notable works and roles	Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow Live at the Apollo
Website	http://www.michaelmcintyre.co.uk/

Michael Hazen James McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is a British stand-up comedian. As well as his stand-up, he has performed on programmes such as Live at the Apollo and has his own programme, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow.

McIntyre has released two stand-up DVDs; Live and Laughing in 2008 featured material from his first nationwide tour, while Michael McIntyre: Hello Wembley was released in November 2009 following a set at Wembley Arena. The former was the fastest selling debut stand-up DVD ever, and Hello Wembley is the fastest selling stand-up DVD in UK chart history, selling over a million copies.^[2] In 2009 McIntyre performed live to half a million people and won Best Live Stand-up at the British Comedy Awards.

In 2010, McIntyre released his autobiography, Life and Laughing: My Story, and also became the youngest-ever host of the Royal Variety Performance.^[3] He started as a judge on the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent in April 2011.^[4] He is to embark on his second nationwide tour in 2012.^[5]

Early life[link]

McIntyre was born in Merton, southwest London, and raised in Hampstead.^[6] McIntyre's parents were both in show business: his Canadian father, Ray Cameron (19 April 1938 – 27 December 1993), né Thomas Cameron McIntyre, was a writer on The Kenny Everett Television Show, and his Hungarian mother, Kati, was a dancer. McIntyre has some Eastern European Jewish heritage on his mother's side.^[7][8] His parents divorced when he was seven; both his parents remarried and went on to have other children with their new spouses. Ray Cameron relocated to Los Angeles, where he died of a heart attack in 1993, aged 55.

Education[link]

McIntyre went to Arnold House Prep School and then attended Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood for three years before transferring to local state school Woodhouse College for financial reasons.^[9] McIntyre later attended Edinburgh University for one year before dropping out to pursue a career in script writing.^[10] He has said that he cannot remember whether it was biology or chemistry that he studied while there.^[6][10]

Career[link]

Television and stage[link]

McIntyre has appeared three times on BBC One's Live at the Apollo and also on the Royal Variety Performance, in 2006, 2008 and 2010. While performing on stage in Wolverhampton in 2008, as he was running back onto stage for his encore, McIntyre tripped, fell over and dislocated his shoulder. Many of the audience believed this to be part of his act and started to laugh; only after his manager came on stage to assist did they realise it was real.^[11]

McIntyre's routine on We Are Most Amused, staged at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 12 November 2008 in aid of The Prince's Trust was televised. This comedy gala celebrated the 60th birthday of Prince Charles, and was performed in the presence of the Prince of Wales and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall.^{[citation needed]}

Among McIntyre's many comedy panel show appearances are Chris Moyles' Quiz Night, Mock the Week, 8 out of 10 Cats, Have I Got News for You, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, Would I Lie To You?, and The Apprentice: You're Fired!. On 13 February 2009, he was a guest on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. On 21 February 2009, McIntyre appeared live as a guest judge alongside head judge Anton du Beke and fellow guest Emma Bunton in the first round of Let's Dance for Comic Relief. He appeared on the show again in the final on 14 March.

In 2009, McIntyre performed for an estimated total of 500,000 people on his first tour of the United Kingdom that included a record-breaking six nights at Wembley Arena and four at The O2 Arena. His second DVD, Hello Wembley, was another hit. 58 dates have been announced for his second tour in the autumn of 2012, at arenas in ten UK cities as well as Dublin.^[5]

From 6 June 2009, McIntyre began hosting Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, aired on Saturday nights on BBC One. On 5 July 2009, McIntyre appeared on the BBC show Top Gear as the "star in a reasonably priced car", driving around the Top Gear test track in one minute and 48.7 seconds. During his lap of the track he almost rolled the car while going around the final corner.

In December 2009, McIntyre cancelled a stand-up show at short notice after discovering that he would be performing to debt collectors. He had revealed only weeks earlier how he had struggled with substantial debt only a few years before breaking through in to the mainstream. McIntyre stated that he would have gone against his principles by performing the show.^[12]

On 31 March 2010, McIntyre took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, filmed live at London's O2 Arena. Also in 2010 he appeared on the year's edition of The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, partnered with Alan Carr. The other participants were Richard Ayoade, Noel Fielding, Jonathan Ross and Ruth Jones.

On 14 December 2010, it was announced that McIntyre would join the Britain's Got Talent judges' panel in 2011, alongside David Hasselhoff and Amanda Holden.^[13]

On 18 March 2011 McIntyre was among the hosts of the BBC's Red Nose Day.

In Sept 2011 McIntyre quit his role as judge on Britain's Got Talent to focus on his 2012 Stand-up tour^[14]

On Christmas Day 2011 McIntyre hosted a Christmas Special of his show, ‘’Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow’’, that featured Jack Dee, Sean Lock, Rhod Gilbert, David Mitchell, James Corden, Miranda Hart, Rob Brydon and had music from Pixie Lott and Kylie Minogue. The show was watched by 8.1 million viewers.^[15]

Radio[link]

McIntyre's radio appearances have included:

• Does the Team Think? (BBC Radio 2)
• Heresy, 4 Stands Up, Happy Mondays, The Unbelievable Truth (all on BBC Radio 4)
• The Jon Richardson Show (BBC 6 Music)
• The Jonathan Ross Show (BBC Radio 2)
• The Chris Moyles Show (BBC Radio 1)
• Desert Island Discs 2011-07-22 (BBC radio 4)^[16]

Personal life[link]

McIntyre lives in Hampstead, London^[17] with his aromatherapist wife Kitty, a daughter of actor Simon Ward. The couple married in 2003 and have two sons, Oscar and Lucas.

He is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur.^[18]

Awards[link]

Stand-up DVDs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Michael McIntyre

• Official website
• Official fansite
• Chortle page
• Tour dates
• Fan Club
• Michael McIntyre at the Internet Movie Database

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