Alexander Island

Alexander Island shown within Antarctica
Geography
Location	Antarctica
Coordinates	71°00′S 70°00′W / 71°S 70°W / -71; -70
Area	49,070 km2 (18,946 sq mi)
Area rank	28th
Length	240 mi (390 km)
Width	50 mi (80 km)
Highest elevation	2,987 m (9,800 ft)
Highest point	Mount Stephenson
Country
Antarctica
Demographics
Population	0
Additional information
Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System

Alexander Island, which is also known as Alexander I Island, Alexander I Land, Alexander Land, Alexander I Archipelago, and Zemlja Alexandra I, is the largest island of Antarctica. It lies in the Bellingshausen Sea west of Palmer Land, Antarctic Peninsula from which it is separated by Marguerite Bay and George VI Sound. George VI Ice Shelf entirely fills George VI Sound and connects Alexander island to Palmer Land. The island partly surrounds Wilkins Sound, which lies to its west.^[1] Alexander Island is about 240 miles (390 km) long in a north-south direction, 50 miles (80 km) wide in the north, and 150 miles (240 km) wide in the south.^[2] Alexander Island is the second largest uninhabited island in the world while Devon Island remains the largest uninhabited island in the world, covering 55,247 square kilometers.

History[link]

Alexander Island was discovered on January 28, 1821 by a Russian expedition under Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, who named it Alexander I Land for the reigning Tsar Alexander I of Russia, but it was believed to be part of the Antarctic mainland until 1940. Its insular nature was proven in December 1940, by a sledge party under Finn Ronne of the United States Antarctic Service.^[2] In the 1950s, a British base administered as part of the British Antarctic Territory was constructed as Fossil Bluff (Base KG).^[3]

The island is now used as a meteorological centre and refuelling base. It is claimed by the United Kingdom, for which it represents their largest remaining overseas island, part of the British Antarctic Territory, while for Chile and Argentina it is part of the Antártica Chilena Province and Tierra del Fuego Province respectively.^{[citation needed]}

Geography[link]

The surface of Alexander Island is predominantly ice covered. There exist some exposed nunataks and a few ice free areas, i.e. Ablation Point Massif, of significant size. The nunataks are the peaks of north-south trending mountain ranges and hills. They include the Colbert, Havre, Lassus, Rouen, Sofia University, and Walton mountains; Staccato Peaks; Lully Foothills; Elgar Uplands; and Douglas Range. These mountains, peaks, hills, and uplands are surrounded by a permanent ice sheet, which consists of glaciers that flow off of Alexander Island. These glaciers flow west into the Bach and Wilkins Ice Shelves and Bellingshausen Sea, and east into the George VI Ice Shelf. The George VI Ice Shelf is fed by both by outlet glaciers from the ice cap on Palmer Land and Alexander Island.^[1][2][4]

Another notable feature of Alexander Island is Hodgson Lake. It is a former subglacial lake that has emerged from under an ice sheet that covered it. It is 2 km (1.2 mi) long by 1.5 km (0.93 mi), and has a 93.4 m (306 ft) deep water column that lies sealed beneath a 3.6 to 4.0 m (12 to 13 ft) thick perennial lake ice. The northern side of this lake is bounded by the Saturn Glacier, which flows east into George VI Sound. During the Last Glacial Maximum, Hodgson Lake was covered by the ice sheet at least 470 m (1,542 ft) thick. This ice sheet started thinning about 13,500 years ago. It retreated and left Hodgson Lake covered by perennial ice sometime before 11,000 years ago. This lake has been covered by perennial ice since that time.^[5][6]

Geology[link]

Except for a 10 to 30 km (6 to 19 mi) strip along its eastern edge, the bedrock beneath the ice sheet, which covers Alexander Island, consists of a complex assemblage of metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks. These rocks, which are locally overlain and intruded by igneous rocks, are known as the "Lemay Group." It consists of turbiditic sandstone (subgraywacke and arkose) interbedded with secondary siltstone, mudstone, tuff, volcaniclastic sedimentary rock, agglomerate, and conglomerate, which have all been metamorphosed to prehnite–pumpellyite to blueschist facies. These metasedimentary rocks contain poorly preserved ammonites, pelecypods, [gastropod]]s, radiolarians, and fragmentary plant fossils. The LeMay Group also contains north-south, fault-bound slices of accreted ocean floor, ocean islands and seamounts, which includes pillow basalts, volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks, and chert. The rocks, which comprise the LeMay Group are asymmetrically folded and thrust faulted to the west, contain chaotic zones, and exhibit abundant coeval soft-sediment deformation. Based upon biostratigraphy, the oldest known rocks found within the LeMay Group are Lower Jurassic and range up to late Lower Cretaceous. The oldest rocks within this group may date back to Permo-Carboniferous times (350–260 million years ago). The LeMay Group is interpreted to be an accretionary prism that was built out from the west (fore-arc) side of a long-lived magmatic arc, the roots of which are now exposed on the Antarctic Peninsula, between Early Jurassic and Paleocene times, when subduction ceased.^[7][8][9]

The easternmost 10 to 30 km (6 to 19 mi) wide strip of Alexander Island is underlain by a 7 km (4 mi) thick sequence of highly fossiliferous, shallow marine to subaerial fluvial sandstone, mudstone, and conglomerate of the Fossil Bluff Group. The marine strata within the Fossil Bluff Group contain numerous ammonites, belemnites, gastropods, pelecypods, and other marine fossils. The upper fluvial sedimentary rocks of the Fossil Bluff Group contain fossil forests with standing trunks as tall as 5.5 m (18 ft), other plant fossils, and associated paleosols as found at Citadel Bastion. These sedimentary rocks are essentially unmetamorphosed and gently folded. They have been affected by strike-slip, normal, and thrust faulting at different times. As determined form the fossils found in it, the Fossil Bluff Group accumulated over a period of time ranging form Early Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous. The sedimentary rocks of the Fossil Bluff Group unconformably overlie and are faulted against the LeMay Group. Earth scientists argue that the Fossil Bluff Group accumulated within a fore-arc basin on the western side of a long-lived magmatic arc, the roots of which are now exposed along the Antarctic Peninsula.^[7][8][9]

Two different groups of igneous rock have been found within Alexander Island. One group of igneous rocks consist of volcanic and plutonic rocks of Late Cretaceous to Paleocene age. They unconformably overlie and intrude metasedimentary and other rocks of the LeMay Group and the sedimentary rocks of the Fossil Bluff Group. Some of these volcanic rocks consist of distinctive magnesium-rich andesites, which were created by the subduction of a segmented ancient mid-ocean ridge about 80 million years ago. Finally, there are several small outcrops of Neogene alkaline volcanic rocks, which formed after the cessation of subduction.^[8][9][10]

See also[link]

• Argentine Antarctica
• British Antarctic Territory
• Chilean Antarctic Territory
• Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
• List of Antarctic islands south of 60° S
• List of Bulgarian toponyms in Antarctica
• SCAR
• Territorial claims in Antarctica
• Geology of the Antarctic Peninsula

Gallery[link]

• 

  Satellite photo of Alexander Island (NASA imagery)

• 

  Alexander Island Mountain ranges (NASA imagery)

• 

  Fossil Bluff in Alexander Island. Giza Peak lies in the background of this image, Eros Glacier lies immediately east from this view, however, it is not visible in this image.

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alexander Island

Coordinates: 71°00′S 70°00′W / 71°S 70°W / -71; -70

The Alexander Brothers are an easy-listening folk-music duo from Scotland, who have been performing since the 1950s.

Career[link]

Tom Alexander (born 1934) and Jack Alexander (born 1935) were born in Cambusnethan, near Wishaw. On leaving school in the early 1950s, the brothers pursued a trade as painters and decorators by day, and entertainers by night, and spent most of their spare time performing for elderly people in hospitals and for various charitable institutions in and around their hometown. In the spring of 1958, they entered a talent contest which was held in their local cinema. They easily won the contest and one of the judges (who was a well known Scottish theatrical agent) was so impressed, he placed the boys under contract that summer. They made their professional debut at the Webster Hall, Arbroath. It was during this season that they received their first long term contract for five winter seasons at Glasgow's Metropole Theatre. Following Arbroath they were engaged to appear at the Metropolitan Theatre, Edgware Road, London, and it was during this season they were spotted and signed to Pye Records. They cut their first LP six weeks later.

Their biggest hit single was "Nobody's Child" in 1964. It sold more copies in Scotland that year than did recordings by The Beatles.^[1] Their other hits include "These Are My Mountains", "The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen", "Bonnie Wee Jeannie McColl", and "Two Highland Lads". Their 1966 album, These Are My Mountains, peaked at #29 in the UK Albums Chart.^[2] They have toured Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. They appeared at the Sydney Opera House with Jimmy Shand as a guest, and have also played in Carnegie Hall in New York.

They still give shows and their hits are still in print, but the brothers' fame and popularity had probably peaked by the 1980s. However, the Alexander Brothers experienced something of a revival in the mid 1990s when they began to release music videos, and later DVDs, to supplement their live performances. These new recordings contained many religious or devotional songs.

In recognition of their contributions to the world of music, they received MBEs from the Queen in the 2005 New Year Honours List.^[3] The ceremony took place in Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.

"Nobody's Child" is sometimes described as traditional but was actually written by Coben and Foree. The song was first recorded by Hank Snow in 1949, then by Lonnie Donegan in 1956. The Beatles recorded it in 1961 while they were a backing band for Tony Sheridan. Billy Connolly did a humorous version of it in his live shows. Billy Fury also did a recording of it. George Harrison and Ringo Starr recorded it again, in 1990, as part of the Traveling Wilburys; proceeds from the single were devoted to a Romanian children's charity.

Their most recent CDs and DVDs are produced by the Kilsyth based company Scotdisc.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Alexander Brothers Home Page

Armin van Buuren
Van Buuren performing on Queensday in Amsterdam, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Armin van Buuren
Also known as	Gaia, AVB
Born	(1976-12-25) 25 December 1976 (age 35) Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands[1]
Origin	Koudekerk aan den Rijn, South Holland, Netherlands
Genres	Trance Progressive Trance Uplifting Trance Neo-trance
Occupations	Remixer, Producer, DJ, Composer, Musician, Pianist, Songwriter
Instruments	Synthesizer, drum machine, equalizer, personal computer
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Armada Music (2003–present), Vandit (Co-Joined), Ministry of Sound Australia
Associated acts	Alibi, Dark Matter, Electrix, Lilmotion, Major League, Monsieur Basculant, Red & White, Technology, Triple A, Wodka Wasters, Nadia Ali,[2] Christian Burns,[2] Ferry Corsten,[2] Adam Young,[2] BT,[2] Sophie Ellis-Bextor,[2] Guy Chambers[2]
Website	arminvanbuuren.com

Armin van Buuren (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑr.mɪn vɑn ˈby.rə(n)]), OON (born 25 December 1976 in Leiden, Netherlands)^[1] is a Dutch trance producer and DJ. Between 2007 and 2010, he was voted number one in DJ Magazine's annual top 100 list of the most popular DJs.^[1] In the 2011 list, he ranked in second place. Since 2001, Van Buuren has hosted a weekly radio show called A State of Trance, which claims to have around 15 million weekly listeners in 26 countries,^[3] which would make it one of the most listened-to radio shows in the world. His 2008 studio album, Imagine, entered the Dutch album chart at #1, a first for a dance music artist in Dutch music history.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Armin van Buuren was born in Leiden, Netherlands on 25 December 1976,^[1] but grew up in Koudekerk aan den Rijn. Van Buuren started making music when he was 14.^{[citation needed]} He was inspired by French electronic music composer, Jean Michel Jarre, and wished to become a great electronic music composer like Jarre.^{[citation needed]}

He finished high school at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden in 1995, and left for college to study law at Leiden University. While studying law, Van Buuren's interest for making music blossomed, and he began working as a DJ in a local club called Nexus. As his musical career began to take off, he put his law degree on hold, although he did return to finish law school in 2003.

On 18 September 2009, Van Buuren married Erika van Thiel in Wassenaar, Netherlands. They met during a vacation on Crete, and had been together for nine years prior to the marriage.^[5][6]

On 12 January 2011, Van Buuren announced the pregnancy of his wife Erika on Twitter.^[7] He hoped the baby, due that summer, would be his "best production ever."^[7] Their daughter, Fenna, was born on 24 July 2011.^[8]

Career[link]

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

1995–1999: Early career and success[link]

In 1995, Van Buuren had his first major success with a track called "Blue Fear", which was released under the Cyber Records label; he was 19 years old at the time. This track, which was produced in the "Euro Trance" mold, made it onto the UK Chart. Another successful track, "Communication" was released under the same label, and became popular in Ibiza, Spain in the summer of 1999. After being signed to AM PM Records, this track entered the UK Chart at No. 18 in 2000.

Armin van Buuren at Lizard Lounge, Dallas, Texas, 9 August 2008

Van Buuren began his DJ career at club Nexus in Leiden, where he learned to play long DJ sets, which were regularly six to seven hours per set.^[9] During school holidays he played more than four times a week. In 1999, he met Dave Lewis who introduced him as a DJ in England and the United States.^[9] His career accelerated, entering the DJ magazine Top-100 in November 2001 at Number 27.^[9] He has played in more than 25 different countries and can often be found on the main stage at big summer festivals. Van Buuren played a record-breaking twelve and a half hour set for Dancetheater in The Hague (the Netherlands).^[10][11] In the United Kingdom he performs regularly at Passion (resident 2002), Godskitchen, Gatecrasher, Slinky, Ministry of Sound, Peach and Golden.

In the beginning of 1999, Van Buuren started his label Armind together with United Recordings. The first release, Gig – "One," was well received. The second release "Touch Me," under the name Rising Star was signed to Ministry of Sound in the UK, before the record was released.

By the time of his third release, Gimmick – "Free" was signed to R&S Records, Van Buuren had managed to make his label popular very quickly. Under the surname Gaia he released "4 Elements" on Captivating Sounds, a sub-label of Warner Brothers. Teaming up with Tiësto, two new projects were born: Major League – "Wonder Where You Are?" was released on Black Hole Recordings and Alibi – "Eternity" was released on Armind. "Eternity" received club and chart success and was signed to Paul van Dyk's imprint Vandit Records. Another major collaboration followed this. Together with Ferry Corsten, Van Buuren recorded a riff-classic titled "Exhale" for the System F. album. Released as a single, this track reached gold status in less than a month.

[edit] 2000–2004: A State of Trance and 76

In 2000, Van Buuren started his own Armin van Buuren compilation series. He managed to find a balance between progressive house,and vocal trance music styles. His first compilation album, A State of Trance (not to be confused with his weekly A State of Trance radio shows), sold more than 10,000 copies and contains Van Buuren's well known remix of Moogwai, "Viola." His second album, Basic Instinct featured a new track: "Perpetuous Dreamer" – "The Sound of Goodbye." This track entered the Dutch charts in June 2001 at number 26. Later in the year, the track hit No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The third album, In Motion was released 6 August 2001. This album contained the real trance sound and was very popular in the United States. A fourth album, Transparence, followed in 2002. In 2003, he worked with such artists such as DJ Seth Alan Fannin throughout a global tour on Dance Revolution in Europe, selling out to crowds of 20,000 people in Armin's home country of the Netherlands.

In March 2001, Van Buuren started his own radio show on ID&T Radio (traditionally broadcast in Dutch and later English since ASOT 183). In this weekly two-hour show, entitled A State of Trance, he plays the latest popular trance music tracks. His show and the artists he features are popularized by publishing the artists and track titles on his website. This radio-show/website combination has proven popular internationally. When ID&T Radio changed genres in 2004, Van Buuren left and took A State of Trance with him. The show then moved to Fresh FM, a Dutch radio station. It is now a weekly feature on SLAM!FM, another Dutch radio station, DI.FM, an online radio station, and on XM Satellite Radio, channel 80 in the United States and Canada. A complete list of stations that broadcast A State of Trance can be found at the ASOT section of Armin's website. Also in 2004, Van Buuren remixed the 24 theme song into a trance hit. In June 2005, the 200th episode was celebrated in Amsterdam and subsequently aired on radio. The 250th (eight hour) anniversary episode was celebrated in Club Asta in The Hague, Netherlands, featuring Van Buuren, Jonas Steur, M.I.K.E., John Askew, Rank 1 and Menno de Jong.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, he had a residency at Glow in Washington D.C.,^[9] and he has played all across North America in San Francisco, Vancouver, Houston, Toronto, Boston, Calgary, Charlotte, Chicago, Montreal, Detroit, Edmonton, Atlanta, Austin, Denver, New York City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Seattle and at The Necto (nightclub). He has also regularly appeared at Amnesia on the island of Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain. In October that year, Van Buuren was voted Number 5 in the DJ Magazine 100 top DJ's. The following year, he jumped up to the No. 3 spot, and held 3rd place for the next three years. His work left him at the No. 2 spot, just below Paul van Dyk in the 2006 polls, and, in 2007, Armin reached #1, heading the 2007 DJ Mag Top 100. He was voted No. 1 again in 2008, 2009 and again in 2010.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2003, Van Buuren released his debut studio album, 76, a 76-minute album divided into 13 tracks.^[12]

Armin Van Buuren performing at Avalon, Boston, Massachusetts 2007

[edit] 2005–present: Shivers, Imagine and Mirage

On 8 August 2005, Van Buuren released his second studio album, Shivers. On the album Van Buuren worked with artists such as Pakistani-American singer Nadia Ali, English singer Justine Suissa and American trance duo Gabriel & Dresden.

On 11 November 2006, he had a live performance called Armin Only in Ahoy Rotterdam for the second time (after 12 November 2005) with a nine hour solo set, where he performed to over 11,000 fans.

In the summer of 2007, Van Buuren recorded and released a live set at Amnesia, Ibiza. Universal Religion Chapter 3, Live from Amnesia at Ibiza was released on 28 September 2007 as a mix compilation on Armada Records and in the US as "Universal Religion 2008" on Ultra Records on 4 December 2007.

On 17 April 2008, Van Buuren released his third studio album, Imagine. It features collaboration with singers such as Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation and Jacqueline Govaert of Krezip. The album debuted at number one on the Dutch Albums Chart. Since the release of Imagine, Van Buuren has been working with Benno de Goeij and DJ-RA of Rank 1 on solo productions and remixes.^{[citation needed]}

19 April 2008 saw the 3rd edition of Armin Only, this time in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Netherlands. The event was attended by 16,000 fans and (partly) broadcast live on Dutch National TV. During the second half of 2008, Van Buuren took this show abroad, with visits to Australia, Romania, Poland, Belgium, and a special New Years Eve 2008 show at Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S.

On 29 September 2008, Armin won the DJ Award for "Best Trance DJ" at Ibiza along with other nominees, that of Tiësto, Ferry Corsten and Paul van Dyk.

On 12 January 2008, Van Buuren was given the "Buma Cultuur Pop Award," the most prestigious Dutch music award.

In 2009, Foreign Media Games announced the production of In The Mix: Featuring Armin van Buuren, a music game being produced in collaboration with Cloud 9 Music and Van Buuren's Armada Music label. The title is scheduled to be released sometime in 2010 exclusively for the Wii console.^[13]

He has collaborated with his brother, guitarist Eller van Buuren, in such venues as Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S., on New Year's Eve 2009, as well as on Armin's 2008 album Imagine.

On 3 March 2010, Van Buuren was awarded with the prestigious Golden Harp, for his musical work and contribution to Dutch music, by the music collecting society BUMA/STEMRA at the 2010 Buma Harpen Gala in Hilversum, the Netherlands.^[14][15]

On 23 June 2010, it was announced that Van Buuren's fourth studio album, Mirage was due to be released on 10 September.^[16] The first single "Full Focus", was released through iTunes Store on 24 June at midnight.^[17] The song peaked at number sixty in the Netherlands. One of the confirmed tracks from the album is a collaboration with English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor called Not Giving Up On Love, which was released as a single from Bextor's fourth studio album, Make a Scene.^[18][19] Armin also wrote a song for English singer Seal, but due to the release of his greatest hits album, Hits, the collaboration never came together.^[20]

On 12 September 2010, Van Buuren launched "A State of Sundays", a new weekly 24-hour radio show aired on Sirius XM Radio ^[21]

On 20 October 2010, Van Buuren won the award for Most Popular International DJ presented by The Golden Gnomes.^[22]

On 27 October 2010, Van Buuren was announced, for the 4th year running, as the number 1 DJ, and thus prolonging his title as 'Most Popular DJ in the World'.^[23]

The 2010 edition of Armin Only: Mirage kicked off on 13 November 2010, in Utrecht, Netherlands, with more shows coming in Saint-Petersburg, Kiev, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Beirut, Poznań, Moscow and Bratislava .^[24]

On 27 November 2010, Van Buuren made his third appearance in Shanghai, China.

On 2 February 2012, Van Buuren mentioned a new studio album in the works on episode #546 of his radio show, "A State Of Trance".

A State of Trance 500 (ASOT 500)[link]

To mark the 10 year anniversary and 500th episode of his weekly radio show A State of Trance, Van Buuren performed at five shows across five continents over five consecutive weeks along with various artists.

The first show was held on 19 March 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa at the MTN Expo Center. In addition to Armin, Blake Jarrell, Protoculture, Lange, Leon Bolier, and Jorn van Deynhoven were performers. Super8 & Tab were to be part of the South African show, however a flight cancellation caused them to be absent for the event. The event was attended by over 20,000 people.

Miami's show was performed at the Ultra Music Festival on 27 March, and part of the show were Marcus Schossow, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Cosmic Gate, Gareth Emery, Ferry Corsten, ATB, and Sander van Doorn.

Argentina held the third celebration of ASOT 500 in club G.E.B.A Buenos Aires, with Heatbeat, Jochen Miller, Dash Berlin, Markus Schulz, John O'Callaghan and W & W. It was the only of the five ASOT 500 celebrations that was held outdoors. Van Buuren recorded a live video with his cell phone and uploaded it to Twitter while playing his live set.

ASOT 500 was celebrated in the Netherlands in Den Bosch. Accompanied by more than 30 DJs from countries all over the world, the event was attended by over 30,000 people. DJs present included Markus Schulz, Gareth Emery, Above & Beyond, Paul Oakenfold and Sean Tyas. The event was radio broadcast live to over 30 countries.^{[25][dated info]}

The final show was held in Sydney, Australia on 16 April at Acer Arena in Olympic Park. It was a sold out event weeks before the night. Artists present included Shogun, tyDi, Menno de Jong, Aly & Fila, and Alex M.O.R.P.H. Van Buuren played for three hours.

A State of Trance 550 (ASOT 550)[link]

In March 2012, Van Buuren performed in six shows across three continents as part of ASOT 550. He began his tour on March 1 in London, continued on to Moscow on March 7, and to Kiev, Ukraine on March 10. Then, he traveled to the United States to host his show at the Beyond Wonderland festival in Southern California. A week later on March 25, he closed out Ultra Music Festival 2012 for the 5th edition. This was followed by the final show in the Brabanthallen of Den Bosch, the Netherlands.

A State of Trance sponsored a tent at the Electric Daisy Carnival at Met Life stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 19, 2012, which by all accounts could be considered an unofficial extension of ASOT 550. ^[26]

Discography[link]

• 76 (2003)
• Shivers (2005)
• Imagine (2008)
• Mirage (2010)

Year Mixes[link]

Van Buuren is well known for his annual "Year Mix" which incorporates clips and custom mashups from the year's most popular trance tracks. Each year-mix consists of about 85 individual releases, edited into a two hour mix which is released on double CD as well as aired on his weekly radio show at the end of each year. According to Van Buuren, each year-mix takes several months to make, including thousands of digital audio edits and hundreds of audio plugins.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Armin van Buuren

• Official website
• Artist Page on ArmadaMusic.com
• Armin van Buuren on Myspace
• Armin van Buuren at Allmusic
• Armin van Buuren discography at Discogs
• Armin van Buuren discography at MusicBrainz
• Armin van Buuren at the Internet Movie Database
• Armin van Buuren's profile on Trancepedia
• Armada Music – the record label of Armin van Buuren
• Armin van Buuren – A State of Trance episodes
• *Flowd - artist channel on *Flowd network.

Willem-Alexander
Prince of Orange (more)
The Prince of Orange in New York City in 2009
Spouse	Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti (m. 2002)
Detail Issue
Princess Catharina-Amalia Princess Alexia Princess Ariane
Full name
Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand
House	Maternal: House of Orange-Nassau Paternal: House of Amsberg
Father	Claus von Amsberg
Mother	Beatrix of the Netherlands
Born	(1967-04-27) 27 April 1967 (age 45) Utrecht, Netherlands
Religion	Christian (Dutch Reformed Church)

Dutch Royal Family

HM The Queen * HRH The Prince of Orange * HRH Princess Máxima * HRH Princess Catharina-Amalia * HRH Princess Alexia * HRH Princess Ariane * HRH Prince Friso HRH Princess Mabel Countess Luana Countess Zaria HRH Prince Constantijn * HRH Princess Laurentien * Countess Eloise * Count Claus-Casimir * Countess Leonore * Extended royal family HRH Princess Irene HRH the Duke of Parma HRH The Duchess of Parma HRH the Countess of Colorno Tjalling ten Cate HRH the Count of Bardi HRH the Marchioness of Sala HRH Princess Margriet * Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven * HH Prince Maurits * HH Princess Marilène * HH Prince Bernhard * HH Princess Annette * HH Prince Pieter-Christiaan HH Princess Anita HH Prince Floris HH Princess Aimée HRH Princess Christina Bernardo Guillermo Eva Prinz-Valdes Nicolás Guillermo Juliana Guillermo * Member of the Dutch Royal House

v t e

Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange (Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand, Prince of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer of Amsberg; born 27 April 1967) is the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 1980. He is the eldest child of Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus, and he is the head of the House of Amsberg since the death of his father in 2002. He was in military service and he studied history at Leiden University. Prince Willem-Alexander is currently interested in international water management issues and sports. He married Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti in 2002. They have three daughters Princess Catharina-Amalia (born 2003), Princess Alexia (born 2005), and Princess Ariane (born 2007). He will become the first King of the Netherlands since the death of his great-great grandfather William III in 1890.

Early life[link]

Prince Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand was born on 27 April 1967 in the University Medical Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands. He is the first child of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Prince Claus of the Netherlands,^[1] and the first grandchild of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. From birth Willem-Alexander has the titles Prince of the Netherlands (Dutch: Prins der Nederlanden), Prince of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: Prins van Oranje-Nassau), and Jonkheer of Amsberg (Dutch: Jonkheer van Amsberg).^[1] He was baptised as a member of the Dutch Reformed Church^[2] on 2 September 1967^[3] in Saint Jacob's Church in The Hague.^[4] His godparents are Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, Prince Ferdinand von Bismarck, Prime Minister Jelle Zijlstra, and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.^[3]

He has two younger brothers: Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, born in 1968, and Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, born in 1969. He lived with his family at the castle Drakesteijn in the hamlet Lage Vuursche near Baarn from his birth until 1981, when they moved to the larger palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. His mother Beatrix became Queen of the Netherlands in 1980, after his grandmother Juliana abdicated. He then received the hereditary title Prince of Orange, as heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands,^[1] consisting of the autonomous countries the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

Education and military training[link]

Prince Willem-Alexander attended Nieuwe Baarnse Elementary School in Baarn from 1973 to 1979. He went to three different high schools: the Baarns Lyceum in Baarn from 1979 to 1981, the Eerste Vrijzinnig Christelijk Lyceum in The Hague from 1981 to 1983, and the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales near Llantwit Major (1983 to 1985), where the prince had friends, and from where he received his International Baccalaureate.^[1][5]

After high school he performed military service in the Royal Netherlands Navy from August 1985 to January 1987. He received his training at the Royal Netherlands Naval College and the frigates HNLMS Tromp and HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen, where he was an ensign. In 1988, he received additional training at the ship HNLMS Van Kinsbergen and became a lieutenant (junior grade).^[6]

From 1987, Prince Willem-Alexander studied history at Leiden University and received his academic degree in 1993. His final dissertation was on the Dutch response to France's decision under President Charles de Gaulle to leave NATO's integrated command structure.^[1] During this period he received the nickname prins pils (English: prince pilsner).^[7]

Work and royal duties[link]

Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife during 'Prinsjesdag'

Prince Willem-Alexander is interested in water management issues. He is an honorary member of the World Commission on Water for the 21st Century and patron of the Global Water Partnership, a body established by the World Bank, the UN, and the Swedish Ministry of Development. He was appointed as the Chairperson of the United Nations Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation on 12 December 2006.^[8]

The prince is a member of the Raad van State, the highest council to the Dutch government that is chaired by his mother, Queen Beatrix. As part of his royal duties, he holds commissions in the Dutch Army (as brigadier), Navy (as commandeur) and Air Force (as commodore).^[9]

He was a patron of the Dutch Olympic Games Committee until 1998 when he was made a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam, he has expressed support to bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics.^[10]

Leisure activities[link]

PH-KBX, the Dutch government airplane the Prince of Orange regularly pilots

He is an aircraft pilot and sportsman. In 1989, the Prince flew as a volunteer for the African Medical Research and Education Foundation (AMREF) in Kenya, and in 1991 he spent a month flying for the Kenya Wildlife Service. To make sure he flies enough hours a year to retain his license, he also regularly flies the Dutch royal airplane when he and his family travel abroad.^[11]

Using the name "W.A. van Buren", one of the less well-known titles of the House of Orange-Nassau, he has participated in the New York City Marathon, where his aunt, Princess Christina, and several cousins live. In the Netherlands, he was a participant in the Frisian Eleven Cities ice skating marathon, aka the Elfstedentocht.^[12]

The Prince was seen cheering on the Netherlands' national football team during their hosting year, at Euro 2000, always wearing an orange vest. He memorably gave a nervous laugh of disbelief as the Netherlands missed their second penalty of normal time against the Italians in the semi-final.^{[citation needed]}

Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife travelled to South Africa to support the national team during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and were shown on worldwide television wearing orange-themed clothing.^[13]

Marriage[link]

Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima kiss at the balcony of the Royal Palace of Amsterdam on their wedding day in 2002

Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima meet Michelle Obama, Susan Sher, Barack Obama, and Fay Hartog-Levin at the White House in 2009

On 2 February 2002, he married Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti (born 17 May 1971) at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. Máxima is an Argentine woman of Spanish and Italian ancestry who prior to their marriage worked as an investment banker in New York City. The marriage triggered significant controversy due to the bride's father's prior role in the Argentinian military dictatorship.

The prince is a direct descendant of Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, eldest daughter of British King George II. However, under the British Act of Settlement, Prince Willem-Alexander forfeited his (distant) succession rights to the throne of the United Kingdom, because he married a Roman Catholic.

Family privacy and the press[link]

In an attempt to strike a balance between privacy for the royal family and availability to the press, the Netherlands Government Information Service (RVD) instituted a media code on June 21, 2005 which essentially states that^[14]:

• Photographs of the members of the royal house while performing their duties are always permitted.
• For other occasions (like holidays), the RVD will arrange a photo-op on condition that the press leave the family alone for the rest of the holiday.

During a ski vacation in Argentina, several photographs were taken of the prince and his family during the private part of their holiday (including one by Associated Press staff photographer Natacha Pisarenko) in spite of the media code, and after a photo op had earlier been provided.^[15] The Associated Press decided to publish some of the photos. The pictures were also republished by several Dutch media.

Prince Willem-Alexander and the RVD jointly filed suit against the Associated Press on August 5, 2009. The trial started on August 14 at the district court in Amsterdam and concluded with a verdict on August 28. The court found in favor of the Prince and the RVD, citing that the royal couple has a right to privacy and the pictures in question add nothing to any public debate, nor are they of any particular value to society (since they are not photographs of the royals "at work"). Associated Press was sentenced to stop further publication of the photographs, on pain of a €1000 fine per violation with a €50000 maximum.^[16]

Machangulo affair[link]

Royal Monogram

On 10 July 2008, the Prince and Princess of Orange announced that they had invested in a development project on the Mozambican peninsula of Machangulo.^[17] The development project was aimed at building an ecologically responsible vacation resort, including a hotel and several luxury vacation houses for investors. The project was to invest heavily in the local economy of the peninsula (building schools and a local clinic) with an eye both towards responsible sustainability and maintaining a local staff.^[18] After contacting Mozambican president Armando Guebuza to verify that the Mozambican government had no objections, the couple decided to invest in two villas.^[19]

In 2009 there was controversy and a swirl of rumors about the project and the prince's position in relation to it.^[19] Politician Alexander Pechtold questioned the morality of building such a resort in a poor country like Mozambique.^[20] There were allegations of corruption involving a contractor on the project and project delays in constructing the schools and clinic.^[20]

In November 2009, there were a number of parliamentary debates on the issue and Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende was called to answer questions. He explained that the project was a private affair of the prince, but that extra distance had been created between the prince and the business of the project to avoid entanglements by creating a foundation to manage the prince's interests. The press called the independence of that foundation into question, because it was run by a personal friend of the prince's and a co-investor in the project.^[20][21]

On November 20, 2009, the prime minister returned to parliament to announce that the prince and princess had decided, due to the public and parliamentary controversy, to sell the property in Machangulo once their house was completed. To this end he read a letter in parliament written by the prince personally. The house was due to be sold on completion in 2010. Its sale was confirmed in January 2012.

Issue[link]

• Her Royal Highness Princess Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria born 7 December 2003
• Her Royal Highness Princess Alexia Juliana Marcela Laurentien born 26 June 2005
• Her Royal Highness Princess Ariane Wilhelmina Máxima Inés born 10 April 2007

Titles, styles, honours and arms[link]

Titles and styles[link]

Royal styles of The Prince of Orange
Reference style	His Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness
Alternative style	None

• His Royal Highness Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg (1967–1980)
• His Royal Highness Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, Prince of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg (since 1980)

When his mother Queen Beatrix became the queen regnant of the Netherlands, prince Willem-Alexander obtained the title "Prince of Orange" as new heir to the Dutch throne. He is formally styled as His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange.^[22]

He is the first male heir apparent to the Dutch throne since Prince Alexander, son of King William III, who died in 1884. Prince Willem-Alexander has indicated that upon succeeding his mother, he would assume the throne under the regnal name William IV.^[23] If he ascends the throne, he will be the Netherlands' first male monarch since 1890.

Military ranks[link]

The Prince of Orange in the uniform of Commodore (navy) at the Wedding of Crown Princess of Sweden and Daniel Westling in June 2010.

The Prince of Orange in the uniform of Brigadier General (army) in 2010

Conscription – Royal Netherlands Navy

• Ensign (August 1985 – January 1987)
• Lieutenant (junior grade) (wachtofficier, 1988)

Royal Netherlands Navy – Reserve

• Lieutenant (1988–1995)
• Lieutenant Commander (1995–1997)
• Commander (1997–2001)
• Captain at Sea (2001–2005)
• Commodore (since 27 April 2005)

Royal Netherlands Air Force – Reserve

• Squadron Leader (1995–2005)
• Air Commodore (since 27 April 2005)

Royal Netherlands Army – Reserve

• Major, Grenadiers' and Huntsmen's Guard Regiment (1995–1997)
• Lieutenant Colonel (1997–2001)
• Colonel (2001–2005)
• Brigadier General (since 27 April 2005)

Royal Marechaussee – Reserve

• Brigadier General (since 27 April 2005)

Honours[link]

Dutch orders and decorations

• Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (27 April 1985)
• Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (30 April 1980)
• Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange (27 April 1967)
• Queen Beatrix Investiture Medal (30 April 1980)
• Royal Wedding Medal 2002 (2 February 2002)
• Officer's cross for long service, with numberal XX (6 December 2006)
• Knight of the Order of Saint John in the Netherlands (8 June 1996)

Foreign orders

•  Belgium : Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (before 1993)^[24][25]
•  Brazil : Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross
•  Chile : Grand Cross of the Order of the Merit of Chile
•  Denmark : Knight of the Order of the Elephant
•  France : Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit
•  Germany : Grand Cross of the Federal Cross of Merit
•  Indonesia : Grand Cross of the Order of Mahaputera
•  Japan : Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum
•  Luxembourg : Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown
•  Luxembourg : Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau
•  Mexico : Band of the Order of the Aztec Eagle^[26]
•  Norway : Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav (1996)
•  Oman: Supreme Class of the Order of the Renaissance (10 January 2012)^[27]
•  Spain : Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic^[28]
•  Sweden : Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim (2006)
•  Thailand : Grand Cross of the Order of Chula Chom Klao (2004)
•  UAE: Member of the Union Order (9 January 2012)^[29]
•  Venezuela : Grand Cordon of the Order of the Liberator

Honorary appointment[link]

• Aide-de-camp to Her Majesty The Queen

Arms[link]

Arms of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange Notes Coat of arms of the sons of the Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands: The Prince of Orange, and Prince Constantijn. These arms are thus also used by his brother, Prince Constantijn, and his other brother Prince Friso until his marriage, when he was granted a new coat of arms. On his succession to the throne, the Prince of Orange will adopt the arms of dominion of the Netherlands. Helm The left helm and crest is the "Otto-crest" of the House of Nassau that can be used in the Royal arms by the male successors to the throne: On a (ceremonial) helmet Argent, with bars and decoration Or and mantling Azure and Or, issuing from a coronet Or, a pair of wings joined Sable each with an arched bend Argent charged with three leaves of the lime-tree stems upward Vert. The right helm and crest is the crest of the House of Amsberg that can be used in the arms by all male Amsberg descendants: On a (ceremonial) helmet Argent, with bars and decoration Or and mantling Vert and Argent, issuing from a coronet Or, and as crest a Or lion rampant. Escutcheon Quarterly, 1 and 3, Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or (royal arms of the Netherlands, i.e. that of his mother, Queen Beatrix), 2 and 4, Or, and a bugle-horn azure, langued gules (arms of the former Principality of Orange), on an inescutcheon vert, a castle proper, on a mount of the last (arms of the House of Amsberg, i.e. that of his late father, Prince Claus). Supporters Two lions rampant Or armed and langued Gules. Other elements The coat of arms is placed on a mantle gules lined with Ermine, this as a Prince of the Netherlands. The mantle is topped with the royal crown. Banner Personal Royal Standard of the sons of Queen Beatrix: The Prince of Orange, Prince Friso, Prince Constantijn. A rectangular Orange flag is used, divided by a nassau Blue Cross into four quadrants. Quarterly 1 and 3: white and blue bugle-horn, taken from the coat of arms of the Principality of Orange. Quarterly 1 and 3: white Watchtower, which is based on that of the coat of arms of the House of Amsberg. In the middle of the cross the national coat of arms with the Royal Crown Royal is shown in an orange circle. On his succession to the throne, the Prince of Orange will adopt the Royal Standard of the Netherlands.

Ancestry[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange

• Willem-Alexander van Oranje-Nassau (1967) on Familypedia
• The Prince of Orange, biography on the official website of the Dutch Royal House

Alexander Skarsgård
Skarsgård in March 2012.
Born	Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (1976-08-25) August 25, 1976 (age 35) Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation	Actor, director
Years active	1984–present

Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈskɑːʂɡoːɖ]; born August 25, 1976) is a Swedish actor. He is best known for his roles as vampire Eric Northman on the HBO series True Blood, Meekus in Zoolander and Brad Colbert in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.

Early life[link]

Skarsgård was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the son of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård and his first wife, My, a physician. He has six younger siblings: Gustaf, Sam, Bill, Eija and Valter Skarsgård, and a half-brother, Ossian.^[1][2] Gustaf, Bill, and Valter are also actors.^[1]

A director friend of his father gave Skarsgård his first film role when he was seven years old. He played Kalle Nubb in Åke och hans värld (Åke and His World). In 1989, the lead role in the Swedish television production Hunden som log (The Dog That Smiled) made him famous in Sweden at the age of thirteen. Uncomfortable with being recognized, he quit acting for the next seven years.^[3][4][5]

At age 19, he applied to do his national service. He served in the Swedish military for 18 months, in a unit that dealt with anti-sabotage and anti-terrorism in the Stockholm archipelago.^[6] After completing his service in 1996 he left Sweden and attended Leeds Metropolitan University in England for six months. He enrolled to study English but admits he did not study much and "had a blast" instead.^[4][1]

After seven years away from acting, he started to consider it again. In 1997 he enrolled in a theater course at Marymount Manhattan College and moved to New York City. He returned to Stockholm after six months, but the time he spent studying theater showed him that he wanted to act.^[1][7]

Career[link]

Upon his return to Sweden, Skarsgård began picking up acting jobs, working in film, television and theatrical productions.^[1] While on vacation in the United States, he auditioned for and landed the role of Meekus in the 2001 film Zoolander.^[8] In 2003 his work in Hundtricket-the Movie (The Dog Trick) earned him a Guldbagge nomination for Best Supporting Actor.^[9] He was named the Sexiest Man in Sweden five times.^[3]

He moved to Los Angeles in 2004 but continued to work in Sweden.^[10] His break came when he was cast as Sergeant Brad "Iceman" Colbert in the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries Generation Kill. An adaptation of journalist Evan Wright's book of the same name, Generation Kill follows the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps during the early part of the Iraq War. The part of Brad Colbert was the closest to a "lead" in Generation Kill, and director Susanna White and executive producer David Simon at first disagreed about casting Skarsgård. White wanted to cast him but Simon was not convinced he could pull off the American accent. After four auditions in three cities, Skarsgård learned the part was his just 36 hours before he had to board a plane for Namibia where the project was filming. The cast and crew filmed for seven months in the desert, shooting six days a week. Skarsgård worked with a dialect coach to master the American accent.^{[3][1] [11]}

Skarsgård at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival

Just before leaving to shoot Generation Kill, Skarsgård heard about True Blood, a new series HBO was developing based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris. At first he was unsure about playing a vampire, but when he learned that Alan Ball, creator of the HBO series Six Feet Under and Academy Award winning screenwriter of American Beauty, was behind the project, he sent in an audition tape. The audition was for the role of Bill Compton, which eventually went to Stephen Moyer. Skarsgård was later cast as Eric Northman, a 1000-year-old, Viking vampire sheriff, local bar owner and potential love interest of heroine Sookie Stackhouse.^[3][12] True Blood is in its fifth season.

In 2009, Skarsgård appeared in the music video for pop singer Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi".^[12] He was the voice of Stefan in the 2009 animated film Metropia, directed by Tarik Saleh.^[4] In 2010, Skarsgård portrayed Terje, a gay Norwegian trekking to the North Pole, in the British mockumentary Beyond the Pole.^[13]

Suit maker Hickey Freeman chose Skarsgård to model a new look it debuted in 2010. Annie Leibowitz photographed the ad campaign which appeared in The Wall Street Journal Magazine, GQ and Details.^[14][15] He covered the September 2010 issue of Rolling Stone with his True Blood co-stars, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer.^[16]

Skarsgård appeared in two 2011 films. Melancholia, an apocalyptic movie directed by Lars von Trier and starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland, premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.^[17][18] Skarsgård appeared in Straw Dogs, a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, as Charlie Venner. The remake's director, Rod Lurie, transferred the small town setting from Cornwall to Mississippi, and described Venner as "an ex-football star gone to seed". The film co-starred James Marsden and Kate Bosworth^[6] and was released September 16, 2011.

Skarsgård appeared alongside Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna in Peter Berg's Battleship, an adaptation of the Hasbro game. It was released in May 2012.^[19] He will appear in Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s film, What Maisie Knew, an adaptation of the Henry James novel of the same name, which will also star Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan.^[20]

Personal life[link]

Skarsgård is a fan of Swedish football and supports Hammarby IF, a club based in his birth city.^[21] In October 2010, he participated in "Bajen Aid" by donating several items he had autographed and auctioning them off to raise money for the Hammarby football club.^[22]

In July 2011, Skarsgård received an honorary degree from Leeds Metropolitan University where he was formerly a student.^[23] Around the same time, he and his girlfriend of two years, actress Kate Bosworth, ended their relationship.^[24][25]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alexander Skarsgård

• Alexander Skarsgård at the Internet Movie Database
• Alexander Skarsgård at the Swedish Film Database
• Alexander Skarsgård interview on True Blood
• Alexander Skarsgård interviewed about Lady Gaga and True Blood
• Alexander Skarsgård: Millennium Man interview at Los Angeles Times Magazine
• Alexander Skarsgård: Millennium Man video interview at Los Angeles Times Magazine