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Stockton, California

Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton is the most populous city in the county, the 11th-most populous city in California and the 60th-most populous city in the United States. Stockton's population in 2020 was 320,804. It was named an All-America City in 1999, 2004, 2015, and again in 2017 and 2018. The city is located on the San Joaquin River in the northern San Joaquin Valley. It lies at the southeastern corner of a large inland river delta that isolates it from other nearby cities such as Sacramento and those of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Stockton was founded by Charles Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquired Rancho Campo de los Franceses. The city is named after Robert F. Stockton, and it was the first community in California to have a name not of Spanish or Native American origin.

Built during the California Gold Rush, Stockton's seaport serves as a gateway to the Central Valley and beyond. It provided easy access for trade and transportation to the southern gold mines. The University of the Pacific (UOP), chartered in 1851, is the oldest university in California, and has been located in Stockton since 1923. In 2012, Stockton filed for what was then the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history – which had multiple causes, including financial mismanagement in the 1990s, generous fringe benefits to unionized city employees, and the 2008 financial crisis. Stockton successfully exited bankruptcy in February 2015.

History
When Europeans first arrived in the Stockton area, it was occupied by the Yatchicumne, a branch of the Northern Valley Yokuts Indians. They built their villages on low mounds to keep their homes above regular floods. A Yokuts village named Pasasimas was located on a mound between Edison and Harrison Streets on what is now the Stockton Channel in downtown Stockton.

The Siskiyou Trail began in the northern San Joaquin Valley. It was a centuries-old Native American footpath that led through the Sacramento Valley over the Cascades and into present-day Oregon.

The extensive network of waterways in and around Stockton was fished and navigated by Miwok Indians for centuries. During the California Gold Rush, the San Joaquin River was navigable by ocean-going vessels, making Stockton a natural inland seaport and point of supply and departure for prospective gold-miners. From the mid-19th century onward, Stockton became the region's transportation hub, dealing mainly with agricultural products.

Mexican era
Carlos Maria Weber was a German émigré in the United States in 1836. He was born as Carl David Weber (February 18, 1814, in Steinwenden – May 4, 1881, in Stockton) and then went by Charles in 1836 in the United States, first spending time in New Orleans and then in Texas. He then came overland from Missouri to California with the Bartleson-Bidwell Party in 1841 and began to go by Carlos, when he began working for John Sutter. In 1842 Weber settled in the Pueblo of San José.

As an alien, Weber could not secure a land grant directly, so he formed a partnership with Guillermo (William) Gulnac. Born in New York, Gulnac had married a Mexican woman and sworn allegiance to Mexico, which then ruled California. He applied in Weber's place for Rancho Campo de los Franceses, a land grant of 11 square leagues on the east side of the San Joaquin River.

Gulnac and Weber dissolved their partnership in 1843. Gulnac's attempts to settle the Rancho Campo de los Franceses failed, and Weber acquired it in 1845. In 1846 Weber had induced a number of settlers to locate on the rancho, when the Mexican–American War broke out. Considered a Californio, Weber was offered the position of captain by Mexican general José Castro, which he declined; he later, however, accepted the position of captain in the Cavalry of the United States. Captain Weber's decision to change sides lost him a great deal of the trust he had built up among his Mexican business partners. As a result, he moved to the grant in 1847 and sold his business in San Jose in 1849.

Gold Rush era
At the start of the California Gold Rush in 1848, Europeans and Americans started to arrive in the area of Weber's rancho on their way to the goldfields. When Weber decided to try his hand at gold mining in late 1848, he soon found selling supplies to gold-seekers was more profitable.

As the head of navigation on the San Joaquin River, the city grew rapidly as a miners' supply point during the Gold Rush. Weber built the first permanent residence in the San Joaquin Valley on a piece of land now known as Weber Point. During the Gold Rush, the location of what is now Stockton developed as a river port, the hub of roads to the gold settlements in the San Joaquin Valley and northern terminus of the Stockton - Los Angeles Road. During its early years, Stockton was known by several names, including "Weberville," "Fat City," "Mudville" and "California's Sunrise Seaport." In 1849 Weber laid out a town, which he named "Tuleburg," but he soon decided on "Stockton" in honor of Commodore Robert F. Stockton. Stockton was the first community in California to have a name that was neither Spanish nor Native American in origin.

Chinese immigration
Thousands of Chinese came to Stockton from the Guangdong province of China during the 1850s due to a combination of political and economic unrest in China and the discovery of gold in California. After the gold rush, many worked for the railroads and land reclamation projects in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and remained in Stockton. By 1880 Stockton was home to the third-largest Chinese community in California. Discriminatory laws, in particular the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, restricted immigration and prevented the Chinese from buying property. The Lincoln Hotel, built in 1920 by the Wong brothers on South El Dorado Street, was considered one of Stockton's finest hotels of the time. Only after the Magnuson Act was repealed in 1962 were American-born Chinese allowed to buy property and own buildings.

Incorporation
The city was officially incorporated on July 23, 1850, by the county court, and the first city election was held on July 31, 1850. In 1851 the City of Stockton received its charter from the State of California. Early settlers included gold seekers from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, the Pacific Islands, Mexico and Canada. The historical population diversity is reflected in Stockton street names, architecture, numerous ethnic festivals and the faces and heritage of a majority of its citizens. In 1870 the Census Bureau reported Stockton's population as 87.6% white and 10.7% Asian. Many Chinese were immigrating to California as workers in these years, especially for the Transcontinental Railroad.

Benjamin Holt settled in Stockton in 1883 and with his three brothers founded the Stockton Wheel Co., and later the Holt Manufacturing Company.

20th century

On Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1904, Holt successfully tested the first workable track-laying machine, plowing soggy San Joaquin Valley Delta farmland. Company photographer Charles Clements was reported to have observed that the tractor crawled like a caterpillar, and Holt seized on the metaphor. "Caterpillar it is. That's the name for it."

On April 22, 1918, British Army Col. Ernest Dunlop Swinton visited Stockton while on a tour of the United States. The British and French armies were using many hundreds of Holt tractors to haul heavy guns and supplies during World War I, and Swinton publicly thanked Holt and his workforce for their contribution to the war effort. During 1914 and 1915, Swinton had advocated basing some sort of armored fighting vehicle on Holt's caterpillar tractors, but without success (although Britain did develop tanks, they came from a separate source and were not directly derived from Holt machines). After the appearance of tanks on the battlefield, Holt built a prototype, the gas-electric tank, but it did not enter production.

On January 10, 1920, a major fire on Main Street threatened an entire city block. At about 2 a.m., a blaze was discovered in the basement of the Yost-Dohrmann store, which was gutted, and adjacent businesses were damaged by flames and water. Damage was estimated at $150,000.

By 1931, the Stockton Electric Railroad Co. operated 40 streetcars over 28 mi of track.

Stockton is the site of the first Sikh temple in the United States; Gurdwara Sahib Stockton opened on October 24, 1912. It was founded by Baba Jawala Singh and Baba Wasakha Singh, successful Punjabi immigrants who farmed and owned 500 acres on the Holt River.

In 1933, the port was modernized, and the Stockton Deepwater Channel, which improved water passage to San Francisco Bay, was deepened and completed. This created commercial opportunities that fueled the city's growth. Ruff and Ready Island Naval Supply Depot was established, placing Stockton in a strategic position during the Cold War. During the Great Depression the town's canning industry became the battleground of a labor dispute resulting in the Spinach Riot of 1937.

During World War II, the Stockton Assembly Center was built on the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, a few blocks from what was then the city center. One of 15 temporary detention sites run by the Wartime Civilian Control Administration, the center held some 4,200 Japanese-Americans removed from their West Coast homes under Executive Order 9066, while they waited for transfer to more permanent and isolated camps in the interior of the country. The center opened on May 10, 1942, and operated until October 17, when the majority of its population was sent to Rohwer, Arkansas. The former incarceration site was named a California Historical Landmark in 1980, and in 1984 a marker was erected at the entrance to the fairgrounds.

In 1979, the development of a residential area in Stockton at a burial ground of the tribe unearthed two hundred Miwok remains. In an attempt to prevent the further desecration of the burial grounds, a descendant of the people initiated a legal case which became Wana the Bear v. Community Construction (1982). The decision ultimately sided with the development company, which was heavily criticized by Native Americans as a display of ethnocentrism.

In September 1996, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission announced the final closure of Stockton's Naval Reserve Center on Rough and Ready Island. Formerly known as Ruff and Ready Island Naval Supply Depot, the island's facilities had served as a major communications outpost for submarine activities in the Pacific during the Cold War. The site is slowly being redeveloped as commercial property.

Geography
Stockton is situated amidst the farmland of California's San Joaquin Valley, a subregion of the Central Valley. In and around Stockton are thousands of miles of waterways that make up the California Delta.

Interstate 5 and State Route 99, inland California's major north–south highways, pass through the city. State Route 4 and the dredged San Joaquin River connect the city with the San Francisco Bay Area to its west, creating the Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel. Stockton and Sacramento are California's only inland sea ports.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city occupies a total area of 64.8 sqmi, of which 61.7 sqmi is land and 3.1 sqmi, comprising 4.76%, is water.

Economy

Historically an agricultural community, Stockton's economy has since diversified into other industries, which include telecommunications and manufacturing.

Stockton's central location, relative to both San Francisco and Sacramento, as well as its proximity to the state and interstate freeway system, together with its comparatively inexpensive land costs, have prompted several companies to base their regional operations in the city.

Shopping
The city of Stockton has two shopping malls, located adjacent to each other: Weberstown Mall and Sherwood Mall. It has the only Dillard's in the Northern California region at the Weberstown Mall, as well as one of the three Sears stores still operating in the Northern California region.

Construction and public spending

Beginning in the late 1990s, Stockton had commenced some revitalization projects.

Real estate bubble

The Stockton real estate market was disproportionately affected by the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis, and the city led the United States in foreclosures for that year, with one of every 30 homes posted for foreclosure. From September 2006 to September 2007, the value of a median-priced house in Stockton declined by 44%.

Stockton's Weston Ranch neighborhood, a subdivision of modest tract homes built in the mid-1990s, had the worst foreclosure rate in the area according to ACORN, a now defunct national advocacy group for low and moderate-income families. Stockton found itself squarely at the center of the 2000s' speculative housing bubble. Real estate in Stockton more than tripled in value between 1998 and 2005, but when the bubble burst in 2007, the ensuing financial crisis made Stockton one of the hardest-hit cities in United States.

Stockton housing prices fell 39% in the 2008 fiscal year, and the city had the country's highest foreclosure rate (9.5%) as well. Stockton also had an unemployment rate of 13.3% in 2008, one of the highest in the United States. Stockton was rated by Forbes in 2009 as America's fifth most dangerous city because of its crime rate. In 2010, mainly due to the aforementioned factors, Forbes named it one of the three worst places to live in the United States.

City bankruptcy
Following the 2008 financial crisis, in June 2012 Stockton became the largest city in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy protection. It was surpassed by Detroit in July 2013. The city approved a plan to exit bankruptcy in October 2013, and voters approved a sales tax on November 5, 2013, to help fund the exit.

The collapse in real estate valuations had a negative effect on the city's revenue base. On June 28, 2012, Stockton filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. On April 1, 2013, the United States Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of California ruled that Stockton was eligible for bankruptcy protection.

The Stockton bankruptcy case lasted longer than two years and received nationwide attention. On October 4, 2013, Stockton City Council approved a bankruptcy exit plan by a 6–0 vote to be filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of California, Sacramento. Voters approved a $3/4$-cent sales tax on November 5, 2013, to help fund the bankruptcy exit.

On October 30, 2014, a federal bankruptcy judge approved the city's bankruptcy recovery plan, thus allowing the city to continue with the planned pension payments to retired workers. The city exited from Chapter 9 bankruptcy on February 25, 2015.

Experiment in Guaranteed Basic Income
As part of a privately funded experiment in Universal Basic Income in 2019, the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (S.E.E.D.) conducted a pilot project that gave a $500 stipend to 125 randomly selected residents for an 24-month period with “no strings attached." It was made possible by the Economic Security Project, an advocacy group chaired by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, which provided the first $1 million for the program, and a dozen other Silicon Valley organizations and private donors who funded the rest of its $3 million budget. The positive benefits of the program during the first year were described in an interim report published in March 2021.

Climate

Stockton's climate lies right on the boundary of, and fluctuates between, hot-summer Mediterranean (Köppen: Csa) and cool semi-arid (BSk). Stockton is characterized by very hot, arid summer and cool, wet winter. In an average year, nearly 95% of the 13.45 in of precipitation falls from October through April. Located in the Central Valley, the temperature range is much greater than in the nearby Bay Area. The degree of diurnal temperature variation is roughly twice as high in the summer as in the winter. Tule fog blankets the area during some winter days. Stockton lies in the fertile heart of the California Mediterranean climate prairie delta, about equidistant from the Pacific Ocean and the Sierra Nevada. The intermediate climate between the coast and the Central Valley gives a similar climate to that of Badajoz, Spain.

At the airport, the highest recorded temperature was 115 °F on July 23, 2006, and September 6, 2022, and the lowest was 16 °F on January 11, 1949. There are an average of 88 afternoons annually with high temperatures of 90 °F or higher, and 19 afternoons of 100 °F or above; 19 mornings see low temperatures at or below freezing. The wettest "rain year" was from July 1982 to June 1983 with 27.89 in and the driest from July 1975 to June 1976 with 5.71 in. Note that regional difference of precipitation has been recorded in Stockton. The more northern part of Stockton receives more precipitation than southern Stockton.

The most rainfall in one month was 8.22 in in February 1998 and the most rainfall in 24 hours was 3.01 in on January 21, 1967. There are an average of 56.5 days with measurable precipitation. Only light amounts of snow have been recorded, and the only instance of measurable snowfall occurred on February 5, 1976, with 0.3 in measured.

A 2018 federal study predicts that flooding of the San Joaquin River could possibly cause much of Stockton to become submerged beneath 10–12 feet of water, causing a humanitarian disaster as costly and deadly as Hurricane Katrina if the levees are not upgraded.

2010 US Census
The 2010 United States Census reported that Stockton had a population of 291,707. The population density was 4,505.0 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Stockton was 108,044 (37.0%) white (22.1% non-Hispanic white ), 35,548 (12.2%) African American, 3,086 (1.1%) Native American, 62,716 (21.5%) Asian (7.2% Filipino, 3.5% Cambodian, 2.1% Vietnamese, 2.0% Hmong, 1.8% Chinese, 1.6% Indian, 1.0% Laotian, 0.6% Pakistani, 0.5% Japanese, 0.2% Korean, 0.1% Thai), 1,822 (0.6%) Pacific Islander (0.2% Samoan, 0.1% Tongan, 0.1% Guamanian), 60,332 (20.7%) from other races, and 20,159 (6.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 117,590 persons (40.3%). 35.7% of Stockton's population was of Mexican descent, and 0.6% Puerto Rican.

The 2010 census reported that 285,973 people (98.0% of the population) lived in households, 3,896 (1.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,838 (0.6%) were institutionalized.

There were 90,605 households, out of which 41,033 (45.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 41,481 (45.8%) were heterosexual married couples living together, 17,140 (18.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 7,157 (7.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 7,123 (7.9%) unmarried heterosexual partnerships, and 720 (0.8%) same-sex married or registered domestic partnerships. 19,484 households (21.5%) were made up of individuals, and 7,185 (7.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.16. There were 65,778 families (72.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.69.

The population was spread out, with 87,338 people (29.9%) under the age of 18, 34,126 people (11.7%) aged 18 to 24, 76,691 people (26.3%) aged 25 to 44, 64,300 people (22.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 29,252 people (10.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.

There were 99,637 housing units at an average density of 1,538.7 /mi2, of which 46,738 (51.6%) were owner-occupied, and 43,867 (48.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.4%. 146,235 people (50.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 139,738 people (47.9%) lived in rental housing units.

Rankings

 * In 2020, U.S. News & World Report named Stockton as America's most diverse city.

Due to a number of socio-economic problems, Stockton has been subject to a series of negative national rankings:

 * In a 2010 Gallup poll, Stockton was tied with Montgomery, Alabama for the most obese metro area in the US with an obesity rate of 34.6 percent.
 * In the February 2012 issue of Forbes, the magazine ranked Stockton the eighth most miserable US city, largely as a result of the steep drop in home values and high unemployment.
 * In 2012 the National Insurance Crime Bureau ranked Stockton seventh in auto theft rate per capita in the US.
 * In 2012, Stockton was ranked as the tenth most dangerous city in America and the second most dangerous in California (behind Oakland).
 * In 2013, Stockton was ranked as the third least literate city in the U.S. in a study by Central Connecticut State University, with less than 17% of adults holding a college degree, and ABC.com ranked the city as the third least literate of all U.S. cities with a population of more than 250,000 behind Bakersfield, California, and Corpus Christi, Texas.

Top employers
According to the city's 2022 comprehensive annual financial report, the top employers in the city were:

Music

 * Stockton Symphony is the third-oldest professional orchestra in California (founded in 1926), after the San Francisco Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
 * University of the Pacific is known for its music conservatory and for being the home of the Brubeck Institute, named after Dave Brubeck, a Pacific alumnus and jazz piano legend. The institute maintains an archive of Brubeck's work and offers a fellowship program for young musicians. The Brubeck Institute Jazz Quartet is composed of Pacific students and tours widely.
 * San Joaquin Delta College has a growing jazz program and is home to several official and unofficial jazz bands composed of Delta and Pacific students and faculty.
 * Christian Life College offers associate and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Christian music.

Stockton hosts several live-music venues, including:

 * Stockton Arena, which is home to several sports teams, and has hosted nationally known entertainers such as Gwen Stefani, Rob Zombie, Ozzy Osbourne, Josh Groban, Carrie Underwood and Bob Dylan.
 * The annual Apollo Night talent show draws about 1,500 people to the Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium (1925) to watch performances by aspiring Northern California musicians.

Theatre
The Bob Hope Theatre in downtown Stockton, formerly known as the Fox California Theatre, built in 1930, is one of several movie palaces in the Central Valley. Bob Hope often came to Stockton to visit close friend and billionaire tycoon Alex Spanos, who donated much of the money to revitalize the theater after Hope's death. The University of the Pacific Faye Spanos Concert Hall often hosts public performances, as does the Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium. The Warren Atherton Auditorium at the Delta Center for the Arts on the campus of the San Joaquin Delta College is a 1,456-seat theater with a 60 ft proscenium and full grid system. The Stockton Empire Theater is an art deco movie theater that has been revitalized as a venue for live music.

Founded in 1951, the Stockton Civic Theatre offers an annual series of musicals, comedies and dramas. It maintains a 300-seat theater in the Venetian Bridges neighborhood. The company also hosts the annual Willie awards for the local performing arts.

Other performing arts organizations and venues include the Stockton Opera and others.

Museums and galleries
Stockton is home to several museums:

 * Haggin Museum — the private, non-profit fine arts and history museum was built in Victory Park in 1931. The museum displays 19th and 20th-century works of art and houses local historical exhibits. The Haggin Museum features collections and exhibits related to local Valley history and California history. The museum also displays fine art of late 19th and early 20th century artists such as Jean Béraud, Albert Bierstadt, Rosa Bonheur, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Paul Gauguin, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Childe Hassam, George Inness, Daniel Ridgway Knight, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jehan-Georges Vibert, and Jules Worms.
 * The San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum operates an 18 acre museum facility at Micke Grove Regional Park, 2 mi north of the city. The museum houses exhibits dedicated to the founding of Stockton, San Joaquin County's legacy of innovation in agriculture and manufacturing, immigrant communities in Stockton and Lodi, and historic industries in San Joaquin County.
 * Reynolds Gallery, and Horton Gallery — the University of the Pacific Reynolds Gallery, and the San Joaquin Delta College Horton Gallery, both feature contemporary work by students and local and nationally known artists.
 * Children's Museum of Stockton — housed in a former warehouse in the Downtown Waterfront District, featuring many interactive displays.
 * Elsie May Goodwin Gallery — operated by the Stockton Art League.
 * Filipino American National Historical Society proposed the construction of the National Pinoy Museum in the Little Manila district, dedicated to the history of Filipino Americans. Stockton historically had one of the largest populations of Filipinos, immigrants and U.S. citizens, in the United States.

The museum opened in 2015 after two decades of planning. Murals depicting the city's history decorate the exteriors of many downtown buildings.
 * Art Expressions of San Joaquin – an artists' cooperative featuring the works of local artists – with a prior gallery on the Miracle Mile and ongoing shows at the Hilton Hotel, the County Administration Building and the Stockton Metropolitan Airport.
 * Stockton Field Aviation Museum – sponsored by the Aeronautical Education Foundation, featuring WWII-era memorabilia.
 * Mexican Heritage Center & Gallery, Inc. — A non-profit located in downtown Stockton whose mission is to educate and promote art and culture for current and future generations. Since the late 1990s, the Mexican Heritage Center & Gallery has been a pioneer in bringing Mexican visual and performing arts to the Stockton community.

With over 77,000 trees, the City of Stockton has been labeled Tree City USA some 30 times.

Stockton has over 275 restaurants, ranging in variety reflective of the population demographics. A mix of American, African American, BBQ, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Greek, Italian, Mexican and Vietnamese restaurants are abundant in the community reflecting the city's diverse culture. Cantonese restaurant On Lock Sam still exists and dates back to 1895.

Festivals
Stockton hosts many annual festivals celebrating the cultural heritage of the city, including:

 * San Joaquin Children's Film Festival
 * San Joaquin International Film Festival (February)
 * Chinese New Year's Parade and Festival (First Sunday in March)
 * St. Patrick's Day and Shamrock Run (March)
 * Great Stockton Asparagus Dine Out (April)
 * Stockton Asparagus Festival — annual Asparagus food festival (April)
 * Brubeck Jazz Festival (April)
 * Earth Day Festival (April)
 * Cambodian New Year (April)
 * Annual Nagar Kirtan, Sikh parade (April)
 * Boat Parade for the Opening of Yachting Season (April)
 * Stockton Flavor Fest (May)
 * Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival (May)
 * Zion Academy's Reclaim (May)
 * Jewish Food Fair (June)
 * Juneteenth Day Celebration (June)
 * Stockton Obon Bazaar (July)
 * Peruvian Independence Day Festival (July)
 * Taste of San Joaquin and West Coast BBQ Championships
 * Filipino Barrio Fiesta (August)
 * Stockton Beer Week (August)
 * Stockton Pride (August)
 * Christian Spirit Festival (September)
 * The Record's Family Day at the Park (Sept)
 * Stockton Restaurant Week (September)
 * Black Family Day (September)
 * San Joaquin County Coastal Cleanup Day (September)
 * Greek Festival (September) First weekend after Labor Day
 * Festa Italiana: Tutti In Piazza (September)
 * Stocktoberfest, Beer and Brats Festival on the Waterfront (October)
 * Dia De Los Muertos Festival (October)
 * Hmong New Year (November)
 * Stockton Festival of Lights and Boat Parade (December)

Sports
Stockton is home to two minor league franchises:

 * Stockton Kings—(NBA G League basketball team; affiliate of the Sacramento Kings)
 * Stockton Ports—(Low-A West baseball team; affiliate of the Oakland Athletics)
 * Team Trouble—(ABA basketball team)

The Stockton Ports Baseball Team play their home games at Banner Island Ballpark, a 5,000 seat facility built for the team in downtown Stockton. The Ports played their home games at Billy Hebert Field from 1953 to 2004. The Ports have been a single A team in Stockton since 1946 in the California Minor Leagues. Stockton has minor league baseball dating back to 1886. The Ports have produced 244 Major League players including Gary Sheffield, Dan Plesac, Doug Jones, Pat Listach, and Stockton's own Dallas Braden among others. The Ports have eleven championships and are currently the A class team for the Oakland Athletics. The Ports had the best win–loss percentage in all Minor League Baseball in the 1980s.

A 10,000-seat arena, Stockton Arena, located in Downtown Stockton, opened in December 2005 and is home to the Stockton Kings (NBAGL)

Stockton is home to the oldest NASCAR certified race track West of the Mississippi. The Stockton 99 Speedway opened in 1947 and is a quarter mile oval paved track with grandstands that can accommodate 5,000 spectators.

Stockton's designation for Little League Baseball is District 8, which has 12 leagues of teams within the city. Stockton also has several softball leagues including Stockton Girls Softball Association, and Port City Softball League, each having several hundred members.

Rowing Regatta featuring Junior, Collegiate and Master Level Rowing & Sculling Competition is organized by the University of the Pacific annually on the Stockton's Deep Water Channel. Teams from throughout Northern California compete in this Olympic sport which is also the oldest collegiate sport in the United States.

Stockton hosts a wide variety of sports events every year: from resident hockey, baseball and soccer games through basketball at the University of the Pacific and at the Stockton Arena; golf championships at two 18-hole courses and a Par 3 Executive Course; rowing, sailing and fishing on the Delta and the Stockton Channel; martial arts and cage fighting. There are four public golf courses open year-round, Van Buskirk, Swenson, and The Reserve at Spanos Park and Elkhorn Golf Course. Private courses include The Stockton Golf & Country Club, Oakmoore, and Brookside Golf & Country Club.

Stockton is one of a handful of cities that lays claim to being the inspiration for the 1888 poem "Casey at the Bat." The University of the Pacific was the summer home of the San Francisco 49ers Summer Training Camp from 1998 through 2002.

Stockton is also the base of UFC fighters Nick and Nate Diaz. Nick is the former WEC and Strikeforce Welterweight champion, while Nate is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5. Both brothers are Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts under Cesar Gracie and operate a school in Stockton which teaches Brazilian jiu-jitsu to children and youth.

Parks and recreation
The City of Stockton has a small children's amusement park, Pixie Woods; the park opened in 1954 and has since welcomed more than one million visitors.

Government
On November 3, 2020, Kevin J. Lincoln II was elected mayor, defeating incumbent mayor Michael Tubbs. He assumed office on January 1, 2021.

 * City council

The City Council consists of the following members as of January 1, 2021:

 * Kevin Lincoln— Mayor
 * Sol Jobrack— District 1
 * Dan Wright— District 2
 * Paul Canepa— District 3
 * Susan Lenz— District 4
 * Christina Fugazi— District 5
 * Kimberly Warmsley— District 6

The current form of government is a city manager council.

Stockton is also seat of San Joaquin County, for which the government of San Joaquin County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution and law as a general law county. The county government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. The county government is primarily composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors and other elected offices including the Sheriff, District Attorney, and Assessor, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the county administrator.

Police department

 * Cleveland Elementary School shooting

On January 17, 1989, the Stockton Police Department received a threat against Cleveland Elementary School from an unknown person. Later that day, Patrick Purdy, who was later found to be mentally ill, opened fire on the school's playground with a semi-automatic rifle, killing five children, all Cambodian or Vietnamese refugees, and wounding 29 others, and a teacher, before taking his own life. The Cleveland Elementary School shooting received national news coverage and is sometimes referred to as the Cleveland School massacre.

 * Budget crisis

The city cut its police force by more than 20% during the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, but voters approved a sales tax on November 5, 2013, that provided funds to hire an additional 120 police officers.

 * Bank robbery

On July 16, 2014, officers responded to an armed bank robbery, which resulted in the four perpetrators taking three hostages and leading them on an hour-long high-speed pursuit. Over the course of the car chase, one suspect fired over 100 rounds from an AK-47s at police, disabling 14 police vehicles, including the department's own Lenco BearCat armored personnel carrier. More than 30 officers shot over 600 rounds into the getaway vehicle. Two perpetrators were killed, two hostages were injured, one hostage was killed by police ammunition, and numerous vehicles and other property were damaged or destroyed by the nearly 1,000 rounds of ammunition fired by the robbers and police. The department faced criticism with its handling of the incident in the aftermath.

 * Crime

In 2012, the City of Stockton was the 10th most dangerous city in America, reporting 1,417 violent crimes per 100,000 persons, well above the national average, and 22 murders per 100,000 (above the average of 4.7). In 2013, violent crime lessened to 1,230.3 crimes per 100,000 population, making it 19th on the list of the most dangerous cities. Stockton has experienced a high rate of violent crime, reaching a record high of 71 homicides in 2012 before dropping to 32 for all of 2013.

Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones credited 2013's drop in the murder rate to Operation Ceasefire, a gun violence intervention strategy pioneered in Boston and implemented in Stockton in 2012, combined with a federal gun and narcotics operation.

Fire department
The Stockton Fire Department was first rated as a Class 1 fire department by the Insurance Services Office in 1971. In 2005, all 13 of the city's stations met the National Fire Protection Association standard of a 5-minute response time. In 2009, it had 13 fire stations and over 275 career personnel. Due in part to staffing levels that placed five staff on ladder companies and four staff on engines, it was one of only 57 departments among 44,000 to receive the Class 1 rating in 2010.

The department maintained this rating until 2011, when during the city's Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceedings and following a Civil Grand Jury investigation, the city reduced staffing levels from 220 full-time staff to 177, and the 2011 budget from $59 million to $40 million. The department was cut by 30%. The bankruptcy was due in part to a 1996 decision made by the city to provide firefighters with free health care after retirement, which they later expanded to all city employees. The benefit gradually grew into a $417 million liability.

, the department consists of 12 firehouses that house 12 Engine Companies and three Truck Companies. In 2015 the Fire Department responded to over 40,000 emergency calls for service, including more than 300 working structure fires. The department is one of the busiest in the United States. The Stockton Fire Department is assisted on medical emergency calls by American Medical Response.

Primary and secondary
Stockton is part of four public school districts: Stockton Unified School District, Lincoln Unified School District, Lodi Unified School District, and Manteca Unified School District. There are more than 40 private elementary and secondary schools, including Saint Mary's High School. Stockton is also home to public charter school systems including Aspire Public Schools, Stockton Collegiate, Stockton Unified Early College Academy, and Venture Academy.

Post-secondary
The University of the Pacific moved to Stockton in 1923 from San Jose. The university is the only private school in the United States with less than 10,000 students enrolled that offers eight different professional schools. It also offers a large number of degree programs relative to its student population. The men's Pacific Tigers basketball team has been in the NCAA Tournament nine times. The Tigers have played their home games at the Alex G. Spanos Center since 1982, prior to that playing at the Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium since 1952. The campus has been used in the filming of a number of Hollywood films (see below), partly due to its likeness to East Coast Ivy League universities.

Also located in Stockton are:

 * San Joaquin Delta College, which serves a district area that includes all of San Joaquin County and parts of Alameda, Calaveras, Sacramento, and Solano counties.
 * California State University, Stanislaus established a Stockton campus on the grounds of the former Stockton State Hospital. The hospital was the first state mental institution in California;
 * Humphreys University, a private non-profit institution offering undergraduate and graduate degrees including a Juris Doctor from the Laurence Drivon School of Law
 * Kaplan College of Stockton
 * Christian Life College, a private four-year Bible college offering associate and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Bible and theology or Christian music
 * MTI Business College
 * UEI College

Transportation
Stockton is centrally located with access to:

 * Port of Stockton — an international deep-water port
 * Amtrak railroad system
 * Intrastate and Interstate freeway systems
 * Stockton Metropolitan Airport

Roads and railways

Due to its location at the "crossroads" of the Central Valley and a relatively extensive highway system, Stockton is easily accessible from virtually anywhere in California. Interstate 5 and State Route 99, California's major north–south thoroughfares, pass through the city limits. The east–west highway State Route 4 also passes through the city, providing access to the San Francisco Bay Area as well as the Sierra Nevada and its foothills. Stockton is the western terminus of State Route 26 and State Route 88, which extends to the Nevada border. In addition, Stockton is within an hour of Interstate 80, Interstate 205 and Interstate 580.

Stockton is served by San Joaquin Regional Transit District.

Stockton is also connected to the rest of the nation through a network of railways. Stockton has two passenger rail stations. Robert J. Cabral Station, which provides service to Sacramento on Amtrak's San Joaquins route, and also serves as the northern terminus of the Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail service to San Jose. San Joaquin Street station provides service to Oakland via the San Joaquins route.

Union Pacific and BNSF Railway, the two largest railroad networks in North America both service Stockton and its port via connections with the Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad and Central California Traction Company, who provide local and interconnecting services between the various rail lines. The Stockton Diamond was the busiest interchange point in the state by 2020; a grade separation project to elevate the Union Pacific over the BNSF line is planned to be completed by 2026.

Air

Stockton is served by Stockton Metropolitan Airport, located on county land just south of city limits. The airport has been designated a Foreign Trade Zone and is mainly used by manufacturing and agricultural companies for shipping purposes. Since airline deregulation, passenger service has come and gone several times. Domestic service resumed on June 16, 2006, with service to Las Vegas by Allegiant Air. The days of service and number of flights were expanded a few months later due to demand. Air service to Phoenix began in September 2007.

On July 1, 2010, Allegiant Air implemented non-stop service to and from Long Beach. In 2006 Aeromexico had plans to provide flights to and from Guadalajara, Mexico, but the airport's plan to build a customs station at the airport was initially rejected by the customs service. However, the possibility of building this station is currently a continuing matter of negotiation between the airport and the customs service, and Aeromexico has indicated a continuing interest in eventually providing service. Ground transportation is available from Hertz, Enterprise, Yellow Cab and Aurora Limousine.

Seaport
The Port of Stockton is a fully operating seaport approximately 75 nmi east of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Set on the San Joaquin River, the port operates a 4200 acre transportation center with berthing space for 17 vessels up to 900 ft in length. As of 2014, the Port of Stockton had 136 tenants and is served by BNSF & UP Railroads. The port also includes 1.1 e6ft2 of dockside transit sheds and shipside rail track and 7.7 e6ft2 of warehousing.

Adjacent to the port is Rough and Ready Island, which served as a World War II–era naval supply base until it was decommissioned during the Base Realignment and Closure process in 1995.

Periodicals

 * Daily periodicals
 * The Record is a daily newspaper
 * Stocktonia News Service is an online news site for Stockton.

 * Weekly periodicals
 * Bilingual Weekly News publishes a weekly newspaper, in both Spanish and English

 * Monthly periodicals
 * Artifact is a San Joaquin Delta College periodical based in Stockton from December 2006 - 2020. Writing in all genres, photography and visual media by students, staff and faculty as well as community members are accepted.
 * Caravan is a local community arts and events monthly tabloid.
 * Poets' Espresso Review is a periodical that has been based in Stockton, mostly distributed by mail, from 2005 to 2010.
 * San Joaquin Magazine is a regional lifestyle magazine covering Stockton, Lodi, Tracy, and Manteca.
 * The Central Valley Business Journal is a monthly business tabloid.
 * The Downtowner was a free monthly guide to downtown Stockton's events, commerce, real estate, and other cultural and community happenings.

AM stations

 * KCVR 1570: Spanish Adult Hits
 * KWG 1230: Catholic, switched formats to News/talk. Established in 1921, one of California's oldest running AM radio stations.
 * KWSX 1280: Rock and Roll simulcast of KMRQ 96.7 Manteca
 * KSTN 1420 Modern Country Simulcast on 105.9FM

In addition, several radio stations from nearby San Francisco, Sacramento and Modesto are receivable in Stockton.

FM stations

 * KQED-FM 88.5: (NPR affiliate) News/Talk
 * KLOVE 89.7: Christian
 * KYCC 90.1: Christian
 * KUOP 91.3: (Capital Public Radio) (NPR affiliate) News/Talk and Jazz
 * KWDC LP 93.5: (NPR) News/Talk and Music Varieties
 * KHOP 95.1: Top 40
 * KWIN 97.7: Urban Contemporary
 * KRXQ 98.5: Alternative Rock
 * KJOY 99.3: Lite Rock
 * KQOD 100.1: Rhythmic Oldies
 * KMIX 100.9: Regional Mexican
 * KATM 103.3: Country
 * KELR-LP 104.7: (3ABN Radio) Christian
 * The Hawk 104.1: Classic Rock
 * KSTN 105.9 Modern Country
 * KLVS 107.3: Christian

Television stations
As part of the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto television market, Stockton is primarily served by stations based in Sacramento, but may carry some San Francisco Bay area television stations' airwaves. These are listed below, with the city of license in bold:

 * KCRA Channel 3 (NBC affiliate) Sacramento
 * KRON Channel 4 (The CW O&O and secondary MyNetworkTV affiliate) San Francisco
 * KVIE Channel 6 (PBS member station) Sacramento
 * KQED Channel 9 (PBS member station) San Francisco
 * KXTV Channel 10 (ABC affiliate) Sacramento
 * KOVR Channel 13 (CBS O&O) Stockton
 * KUVS Channel 19 (Univision O&O) Modesto
 * KSPX-TV Channel 29 (Ion O&O) Sacramento
 * KMAX Channel 31 (Independent station) Sacramento
 * KCSO-LD Channel 33 (Telemundo O&O) Sacramento
 * KTXL Channel 40 (Fox affiliate) Sacramento
 * KTNC Channel 42 (Tri-State Christian Television O&O) Concord
 * KQCA Channel 58 (dual affiliate of The CW and MyNetworkTV) Sacramento
 * KTFK-DT Channel 64 (UniMás O&O) Stockton

Comics

 * Stan Lee named Stockton as the birthplace of the Fantastic Four in 1986, after Joe Field successfully petitioned Marvel Comics to change it from the fictional "Central City".

Films
A number of motion pictures have been filmed in Stockton, including:

 * All the King's Men (1949)
 * The Big Country (1958)
 * ''Bird
 * Big Stan (2007)
 * Blood Alley (1955)
 * Bound for Glory (1976)
 * Coast to Coast (1980)
 * Cool Hand Luke (1967)
 * Day of Independence (2003)
 * Dead Man on Campus (1998)
 * Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974)
 * Dreamscape (1984)
 * Fat City (1972), based on Leonard Gardner's acclaimed 1969 novel Fat City. It is set in Stockton in the late 1950s, and was filmed by director John Huston.
 * Flubber (1997)
 * Friendly Fire (1979)
 * Glory Days (1988)
 * God's Little Acre (1958)
 * High Time (1960)
 * Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
 * Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
 * Inventing the Abbotts (1997)
 * Natzee Zombie Carnage (2019)
 * Oklahoma Crude (1973)
 * Psychopomp (2020)
 * Porgy and Bess (1959)
 * ''Raid on Entebbe (1977)
 * Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
 * Rampage (1988)
 * R. P. M. (1970)
 * Steamboat Round the Bend (1935)
 * The Great Race
 * The Strawberry Statement (1970)
 * The Sure Thing (1985)
 * Valentino's Return (1989)
 * The World's Greatest Athlete (1973)

Television

 * The 1960s Western TV series The Big Valley was set just outside Stockton.
 * The FX TV show Sons of Anarchy (2008–2014), is set in and near Stockton.
 * Road Trip with Huell Howser Episode 142

Music

 * Experimental hip-hop trio Death Grips song "Stockton" refers to the city in title as well as in lyrics : "Feeders suck like stuck in Stockton", on their 2012 album No Love Deep Web.

Awards and recognition
Stockton received the All-America City award from the National Civic League in 1999, 2004, 2015, and 2017, a total of four times. 2004's award was based on a 60-member delegation's presentation titled "The Dream Lives On!", and featured three community-driven projects: Community Partnership for Families, Downtown Alliance, and the Peace Keeper Program. The 1999 award recognized the Apollo Night Talent and Performing Series, the conversion of the Stockton Developmental Center into an off-campus center for the California State University at Stanislaus, and the LEAP (Let Education Attack Pollution) program.

Sunset magazine named Stockton Best Tree City in the western United States in March 2002, and "Best of the West Food Fest" in March 2000. Stockton contains 49 city, state, and national historical landmarks, dating as far back as 1855.

In February 2009, and again in February 2011, Stockton was named "America's Most Miserable City" by Forbes, reflecting the city's issues with commuting times, violent crime rates, income tax levels, and unemployment rates. Stockton had placed second in this listing in 2008.

Notable people
Reagan Maui'a, a former NFL fullback, is from Stockton; he originally played for Tokay High School in nearby Lodi. Jose M. Hernandez, a famous NASA astronaut and engineer, also refers to Stockton as his hometown. Chi Cheng, former bass player for the Deftones, was born and raised in Stockton. Musician Chris Isaak was born in Stockton. The indie rock band Pavement was formed in Stockton in 1989 by two local musicians, Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg, known originally only as "S.M." and "Spiral Stairs". Nick and Nate Diaz, mixed martial arts fighters, are from the Stockton area. Acclaimed American author Maxine Hong Kingston was born in Stockton in 1940, graduating from Edison High in 1958. The Maxine Hong Kingston Elementary School is named after her.

Sister cities
Stockton has seven sister cities:

title: Stockton, California


text:
Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible for promulgating and defending Catholic doctrine.

This institution was founded by Pope Paul III on 21 July 1542, as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition. It was then renamed in 1908 as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. In 1965, it became the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF; Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei). Since 2022, it is named Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is still informally known as the Holy Office (Sanctum Officium) in many Catholic countries. The sole objective of the dicastery is to "spread sound Catholic doctrine and defend those points of Christian tradition which seem in danger because of new and unacceptable doctrines."

Its headquarters are at the Palace of the Holy Office, just outside Vatican City. The congregation employs an advisory board including cardinals, bishops, priests, lay theologians, and canon lawyers. On 1 July 2023, Francis named Argentine archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández as prefect, who took possession of the office in mid-September.

History
On 21 July 1542, Pope Paul III proclaimed the Apostolic Constitution Licet ab initio, establishing the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, staffed by cardinals and other officials whose task it was "to maintain and defend the integrity of the faith and to examine and proscribe errors and false doctrines." It served as the final court of appeal in trials of heresy and served as an important part of the Counter-Reformation.

This body was renamed the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office in 1908 by Pope Pius X. In many Catholic countries, the body is often informally called the Holy Office (e.g., Sant'Uffizio and Santo Oficio).

The congregation's name was changed to Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (SCDF) on 7 December 1965, at the end of the Second Vatican Council. Soon after the 1983 Code of Canon Law came into effect, the adjective "sacred" was dropped from the names of all Curial Congregations, and so it became the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In 2022, the name was changed to Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Role
According to the 1988 Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, Pastor bonus, article 48, promulgated by John Paul II: "The proper duty of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to promote and safeguard the doctrine on faith and morals in the whole Catholic world; so it has competence in things that touch this matter in any way."

This includes investigations into grave delicts (i.e., acts which the Catholic Church considers as being the most serious crimes: crimes against the Eucharist and against the sanctity of the Sacrament of Penance, and crimes against the sixth Commandment ("Thou shalt not commit adultery")) committed by a cleric against a person under the age of eighteen. These crimes, in Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela a motu proprio of 2001, come under the competency of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In effect, it is the "promoter of justice" that deals with, among other things, the question of priests accused of paedophilia.

Within the DDF are the International Theological Commission and the Pontifical Biblical Commission. The Prefect of the DDF is ex officio president of these commissions.

On 7 December 2021, Pope Francis promulgated a new version of the "Norms on the Delicts Reserved to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith"; the original version had been first promulgated in 2001 by John Paul II and amended in 2010 by Benedict XVI. The changes of the new version concern "harmonising the norms with the revised Book VI of the Code of Canon Law, which was promulgated in May 2021" and adding "numerous normative measures of various kinds issued in previous years, especially since 2016."

Organization
Until 1968, the pope held the title of prefect and appointed a cardinal to preside over the meetings, first as Secretary, then as Pro-Prefect.

Since 1968, the Cardinal head of the dicastery has borne the title of Prefect and the title of Secretary refers to the second highest-ranking officer of the Congregation. As of 2012 the Congregation had a membership of 18 cardinals and a smaller number of non-cardinal bishops, a staff of 38 (clerical and lay) and 26 consultors.

The work of the CDF is divided into two sections, the doctrinal and the disciplinary. The CDF holds biennial plenary assemblies, and issues documents on doctrinal, disciplinary, and sacramental questions that occasionally include notifications concerning writings by Catholic theologians.

Recent canonical judgments and publications
The following is a non-exhaustive list of recent documents and judgments issued by the DDF. Lengthy DDF documents usually have Latin titles. A short document that briefly states objections to one or more writings by a Catholic theologian is typically called a "notification".

2021–present

 * On May 18, 2024, the Dicastery Prefect Víctor Manuel Fernández published a 2024 text signed by Pope Francis which replaced the 1978 Normae Congregationis rulings. It sets new norms and guidelines for Catholic bishops in discerning claims of private revelation such as Marian apparitions. Fernández enumerated six possible conclusions for alleged supernatural phenomena discernment.
 * Dignitas Infinita, promulgated April 8, 2024: condemns war, poverty, racism, sex reassignment, abortion, euthanasia, gender theory, surrogacy, discrimination against migrants and discrimination against homosexuals.
 * Fiducia supplicans, promulgated 18 December 2023: establishes a series of clarifications and reforms on the so-called "irregular relationships." Namely, those who establish a monogamous and emotional bond that lasts over time and who have not contracted marriage without making any changes to the marriage institution as being between a man and a woman.
 * Responsum of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith affirming that a transgender person can receive baptism, and that transgender people, as well as "cohabiting homosexuals", can be godparents and witnesses of matrimony even after undergoing hormone treatment and sex-reassignment surgery. Furthermore, the child of a homosexual couple can be baptized provided that there is a "founded hope" that the child will be brought up in the Catholic religion (31 October 2023).
 * "Responsum of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to a dubium regarding the blessing of the unions of persons of the same sex," wherein the Church reaffirmed the view that "Church does not have, and cannot have, the power to bless unions of persons of the same sex" (15 March 2021).

2011–2020

 * Redemptorist Fr. Tony Flannery is required to sign four fidelity oaths or not return to ministry (1 October 2020).
 * "Doctrinal Assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious" (re-affirmed by Pope Francis on 15 April 2013)

2001–2010

 * Dignitas Personae (on bioethical questions, with summary and press conference transcript; 8 September 2008)
 * On 5 April 2008, as a result of "grave reservations" by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith about the Mormon practice of posthumous rebaptism, Catholic dioceses throughout the world were directed not to give information in parish registers to the Mormons' Genealogical Society of Utah for microfilming or digitizing.
 * On 28 September 2007, Gaston Hebert, the then apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Little Rock, stated that (per the 11 July Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) six Arkansas nuns were excommunicated for heresy (the first in the diocese's 165-year history). They refused to recant the doctrines of the Community of the Lady of All Nations (Army of Mary). The nuns are members of the Good Shepherd Monastery of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge in Hot Springs. Sister Mary Theresa Dionne, 82, one of the six, said they will still live at the convent property, which they own. The sect believes that its 86-year-old founder, Marie Paule Giguere, is the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary.
 * In an April 2007 address to chaplains, Archbishop Amato denounced same-sex marriage and abortion and criticized the Italian media's coverage of them, saying that they are evils "that remain almost invisible" due to media presentation of them as "expression of human progress".
 * "Notification on the works of the Reverend Father Jon Sobrino, SJ" (with an explanatory note; 26 November 2006)
 * "Notification regarding the book Jesus Symbol of God of the Reverend Father Roger Haight, SJ"
 * "Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the collaboration of men and women in the Church and in the world" (31 May 2004)
 * "Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in political life" (with two commentaries from Cardinals Joachim Meisner and Giacomo Biffi; 24 November 2002)
 * "Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons" (3 June 2003)
 * "Note on the Force of the Doctrinal Decrees Concerning the Thought and Work of the Reverend Father Antonio Rosmini Serbati" (1 July 2001)
 * "Notification on the book Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism by the Reverend Father Jacques Dupuis, SJ" (with commentary; 24 January 2001)

1991–2000

 * "Notification concerning some writings of Professor Dr. Reinhard Meßner (30 November 2000)
 * Dominus Iesus (Declaration on the unicity and salvific universality of Jesus Christ and the Church; with comments from Congregation officials; 6 August 2000)
 * "Notification regarding Sister Jeannine Gramick, SSND, and the Reverend Father Robert Nugent, SDS"
 * "Considerations on The Primacy of the Successor of Peter in the mystery of the Church" (31 October 1998)
 * "Notification concerning the writings of the Reverend Father Anthony De Mello, SJ" (24 June 1998)
 * "Notification concerning the text Mary and Human Liberation by the Reverend Father Tissa Balasuriya, OMI" (2 January 1997)
 * "Notification on the writings and activities of Mrs. Vassula Ryden" (6 October 1995)
 * "Decree on the doctrine and customs of the Association Opus Angelorum" (6 June 1992)

1981–1990

 * Orationis formas (Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of Christian meditation; 15 October 1989)
 * "Note regarding the moral rule of Humanae vitae (Pope Paul VI's encyclical, On the Regulation and Control of Human Birth) and the pastoral duty" (16 February 1989)
 * "Observation of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) II's Salvation and the Church" (18 November 1988)
 * "Formula to be used for the profession of faith and for the oath of fidelity to assume an office to be exercised in the name of the Church" (1 July 1988)
 * Donum vitae (Instruction on respect for life in its origin and on the dignity of procreation; 22 February 1987)
 * Homosexualitatis problema (Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons; 1 October 1986)
 * "Notification on the book Pleidooi voor mensen in de Kerk (Nelissen, Baarn 1985) by the Reverend Father Professor Edward Schillebeeckx, OP" (15 September 1986)
 * "Letter to György Bulányi on certain writings attributed to him" (1 September 1986)
 * "Notification on the book Church: Charism and Power: Essay on Militant Ecclesiology by Leonardo Boff, OFM" (11 March 1985)

Secretaries until 1965
When the Supreme Sacred Congregation for the Roman and Universal Inquisition was first established in 1542, it was composed of several Cardinal Inquisitors styled as "Inquisitors-General", who were formally equal to each other, even if some of them were clearly dominant (e.g. Cardinal Gian Pietro Carafa from 1542, who was elected Pope Paul IV in 1555). Until 1968 the Pope himself presided over the Congregation. However, from 1564 the daily administration of the affairs of the Congregation was entrusted to the Cardinal Secretary. This model was retained when the Inquisition was formally renamed as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office in 1908.

Unless stated otherwise, the term of office ended with the officeholder's death.

Prefects since 1965
When Pope Paul VI changed the name of the dicastery on 7 December 1965, he changed the title of the cardinal in charge of the daily administration of the Congregation from Secretary to Pro-Prefect. He continued to reserve the title of Prefect to himself until 1968 when he relinquished his role as head of the Congregation and named a Prefect.

Secretaries since 1965
With the December 1965 reorganization of the Holy Office as the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the head of the Congregation was no longer titled Secretary. The dicastery's second-in-command, until then titled assessor, was then given the title of Secretary, as was already the case with the other Roman Congregations. All but the most recent have been made archbishops upon their appointment. The following have held the title of Secretary:

 * Pietro Parente (7 December 1965 – 29 June 1967)
 * Paul-Pierre Philippe, O.P. (29 June 1967 – 6 March 1973)
 * Jean Jérôme Hamer, O.P. (14 June 1973 – 8 April 1984)
 * Alberto Bovone (5 April 1984 – 13 June 1995)
 * Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B. (13 June 1995 – 10 December 2002)
 * Angelo Amato, S.D.B. (19 December 2002 – 9 July 2008)
 * Luis Ladaria Ferrer, S.J. (9 July 2008 – 2 July 2017)
 * Giacomo Morandi (18 July 2017 – 10 January 2022)
 * John Joseph Kennedy (Disciplinary Section) and Armando Matteo (Doctrinal Section) (23 April 2022 – present)

Present composition

 * Cardinal-Prefect: Víctor Manuel Fernández
 * Secretary for Discipline: John Joseph Kennedy
 * Secretary for Doctrine: Armando Matteo
 * Adjunct Secretary: Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O.P.
 * Adjunct Secretary: Archbishop Charles Scicluna
 * Undersecretary: Fr. Matteo Visioli
 * Undersecretary: Fr. Philippe Curbelié
 * Promoter of Justice: Fr. Robert J. Geisinger S.J.
 * 27 members
 * 28 Consultors (religious superiors and canon lawyers)
 * Staff of 33 lay theologians

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith


text:
Pearl Harbor (film)

Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American romantic war drama film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer and written by Randall Wallace. It stars Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, Colm Feore, and Alec Baldwin. The film features a heavily fictionalized version of the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941, focusing on a love story set amidst the lead up to the attack, its aftermath, and the Doolittle Raid.

The film was a box office success, grossing $59 million in its opening weekend and $449.2 million worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2001, but received negative reviews from critics, who criticized the story, long runtime, screenplay and dialogue, pacing, performances and historical inaccuracies, although the visual effects and Hans Zimmer's score were praised. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning in the category of Best Sound Editing. It was also nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture.

Plot
In 1923 Tennessee, best friends Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker, play together in the back of Danny's father's old biplane, pretending to be fighting airmen. Danny's father is a WWI Veteran suffering from PTSD, causing him to be abusive towards his son.

18 years later in January 1941, with WWII raging, Danny and Rafe are both first lieutenants under the command of Major Jimmy Doolittle. Doolittle informs Rafe that he has been accepted into the Eagle Squadron (an RAF outfit for American pilots during the Battle of Britain).

Nurse Evelyn Johnson passes Rafe's medical exam despite his dyslexia, and they start a relationship. Four weeks later, Rafe and Evelyn, now deeply in love, enjoy an evening of dancing at a nightclub and later a jaunt in the New York harbor in a borrowed police boat. Rafe shocks Evelyn by saying that he has joined the Eagle Squadron and is leaving the next day.

During a mission to intercept a Luftwaffe bombing raid, Rafe is shot down over the English Channel and is presumed killed in action. Danny and Evelyn mourn Rafe's death together, which spurs a romance between them. Meanwhile, Japan prepares to attack the US Pacific Fleet, deciding the best way to do so would be a decisive strike on the Pearl Harbor naval base.

On the night of December 6, Evelyn is shocked to discover Rafe standing outside her door, having survived his downing and the ensuing months trapped in Nazi-occupied France. He in turn discovers Danny's romance with Evelyn and leaves for the Hula bar, where he is welcomed back by his overjoyed fellow pilots. Danny finds a drunken Rafe in the bar with the intention of reconciling, but they get into a fight. When military police arrive, they flee the scene to avoid being put in the brig and fall asleep in Danny's car.

Next morning, on December 7, the Imperial Japanese Navy begins its attack on Pearl Harbor. The US Pacific Fleet is severely damaged in the surprise attack, and most of the defending airfields are obliterated before they can launch fighters to defend the harbor. Rafe and Danny take off in P-40 fighter planes, and shoot down seven of the attacking planes. They later assist in the rescue of the crew of the capsized USS Oklahoma (BB-37), but are too late to save them from the obliterated USS Arizona (BB-39).

The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Day of Infamy speech to the nation and requests that the US Congress declare a state of war with the Empire of Japan. The survivors attend a memorial service to honor the numerous dead. Danny and Rafe are both assigned to travel stateside under Doolittle, though they are not told why.

Before they leave, Evelyn reveals to Rafe that she is pregnant with Danny's child. She intends to stay with and devote herself to Danny for their child’s sake, but she vows that it is Rafe who she will always truly love.

Danny and Rafe are both promoted to captain and awarded the Silver Star for their actions at Pearl Harbor, and Doolittle asks them to volunteer for a secret mission. During the next three months, Rafe, Danny and other pilots train for ultra-short takeoffs with specially modified B-25 Mitchell bombers.

In April, the raiders are sent toward Japan on board USS Hornet (CV-8). Their mission is to bomb Tokyo, after which they will land in China. The mission is successful, but Rafe's and Danny's planes run out of fuel and crash in Japanese-occupied territory in China.

A gunfight ensues between the raiders and Japanese ground troops, and Danny is mortally wounded shielding Rafe before the group are rescued by Chinese soldiers. Rafe tearfully reveals to Danny that Evelyn is pregnant with Danny's child; with his dying breaths, Danny tells Rafe that it is his child now.

After the war, Rafe and Evelyn, now married, visit Danny's grave with Evelyn's son Danny. Rafe then asks his stepson if he would like to go flying, so they fly off into the sunset in the old biplane that Danny’s father once owned.

Fictional characters

 * Ben Affleck as the First Lieutenant / Captain Rafe McCawley, a USAAC combat pilot. He is childhood friends with Danny Walker.
 * Jesse James as Young Rafe McCawley.
 * Josh Hartnett as First Lieutenant / Captain Danny Walker, a USAAC combat pilot and Rafe's lifelong best friend.
 * Reiley McClendon as Young Danny Walker.
 * Kate Beckinsale as Lieutenant Evelyn Johnson, a nurse and Rafe and Danny's mutual love interest.
 * Tom Sizemore as Sergeant Earl Sistern, the lead aircraft mechanic at Wheeler Airfield.
 * Jaime King as Betty Bayer, a nurse at Pearl Harbor Naval Hospital and colleague of Evelyn's.
 * Catherine Kellner as Barbara, a nurse at Pearl Harbor Naval Hospital and colleague of Evelyn's.
 * Jennifer Garner as Sandra, a nurse at Pearl Harbor Naval Hospital and colleague of Evelyn's.
 * Sara Rue as Martha, a nurse at Pearl Harbor Naval Hospital and colleague of Evelyn's.
 * William Lee Scott as First Lieutenant Billy Thompson, a USAAC combat pilot stationed at Wheeler Airfield.
 * Ewen Bremner as First Lieutenant "Red" Winkle, a USAAC combat pilot stationed at Wheeler Airfield.
 * Greg Zola as First Lieutenant Anthony Fusco, a USAAC combat pilot stationed at Wheeler Airfield.
 * Michael Shannon as First Lieutenant "Gooz" Wood, a USAAC combat pilot stationed at Wheeler Airfield
 * Matt Davis as Second Lieutenant Joe McKinnon, a USAAC combat pilot stationed at Wheeler Airfield.
 * Dan Aykroyd as Captain Harold Thurman, a US Naval Intelligence officer overseeing the monitoring of Japanese espionage efforts. He is a fictionalized composite of several real-world individuals.
 * Kim Coates as Lieutenant Jack Richards, a United States Naval Aviator who participates in the Doolittle Raid.
 * Tony Curran as Ian, a Royal Air Force combat pilot in Eagle Squadron.
 * Nicholas Farrell as a Royal Air Force squadron leader and combat pilot commanding the Eagle Squadron.
 * William Fichtner as Mr. Walker, Danny's father.
 * Steve Rankin as Mr. McCawley, Rafe's father.
 * John Fujioka as General Nishikura, head of the Japanese Supreme War Council. He is a fictionalized composite of several real-world individuals.
 * Leland Orser as Major Jackson, a USAAC officer injured during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
 * Ted McGinley as Major Newman, a US Army officer.
 * Andrew Bryniarski as Joe, a crew member and amateur boxer aboard the USS West Virginia.
 * Brandon Lozano as Baby Danny McCawley, Danny and Evelyn's son and Rafe’s stepson.
 * Eric Christian Olsen as a B-25 gunner to McCawley.
 * Sean Faris as a B-25 gunner to Walker.

Historical characters
Although not intended to be an entirely accurate depiction of events, the film includes portrayals of several historical figures:

 * Cuba Gooding Jr. as Petty Officer Second Class Doris Miller, a messman aboard the USS West Virginia who operated anti-aircraft guns during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
 * Jon Voight as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States
 * Colm Feore as Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, the commander-in-chief of the United States Fleet and the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
 * Mako as Kaigun Taishō (admiral) Isoroku Yamamoto, Fleet Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy and mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
 * Alec Baldwin as Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Jimmy Doolittle, USAF commander and leader of the Doolittle Raid.
 * Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Kaigun Chūsa (commander) Minoru Genda, lead planner of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
 * Scott Wilson as General George C. Marshall, the US Army's Chief of Staff.
 * Graham Beckel as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, a US Naval commander who later succeeded Kimmel as the Pacific Fleet's Commander-in-Chief.
 * Tom Everett as Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy.
 * Tomas Arana as Rear-Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, Commander Cruiser Division Four.
 * Peter Firth as Captain Mervyn S. Bennion, commanding officer of the USS West Virginia
 * Glenn Morshower as Vice Admiral William Halsey Jr., commander of Carrier Division 2 and the Aircraft Battle Force.
 * Yuji Okumoto as Kaigun-Daii (Lieutenant) Zenji Abe (1916-2007), bomber pilot in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
 * Madison Mason as Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, commander of Cruiser Division Five.
 * Michael Shamus Wiles as Captain Marc Mitscher, captain of the USS Hornet.
 * Seth Sakai as Takeo Yoshikawa, a Japanese spy.

Production

The proposed budget of $208 million that Bay and Bruckheimer wanted was an area of contention with Walt Disney Studios executives, since a great deal of the budget was to be expended on production aspects. The budget was eventually reduced to $140 million. Even at the reduced budget, Disney managed to get many of the crew and others to defer some of their pay until the film grossed in the region of $140 million. This included the director of photography, the editor, production designer and lighting director and their departments deferring around $5 to $10 million as well as Panavision, Technicolor and Industrial Light & Magic also agreeing to deferrals. Bay also deferred his salary but he and Bruckheimer were the only ones to receive profit participation.

Also controversial was the effort to change the film's rating from R to PG-13. Bay initially wanted to graphically portray the horrors of war and was not interested in primarily marketing the final product to a teen and young adult audience. However, even though he wanted to make an R-rated movie, Bay admitted that the problem was that young children would not be able to see it, and he felt that they should. As such, when he was ordered by Disney to make a PG-13 film, he didn't argue. As a compromise, he was allowed to release an R-rated Director's Cut on DVD later on in 2002. Budget fights continued throughout the planning of the film, with Bay "walking" on several occasions. Dick Cook, chairman of Disney at the time, said "I think Pearl Harbor was one of the most difficult shoots of modern history."

In order to recreate the atmosphere of pre-war Pearl Harbor, the producers staged the film in Hawaii and used current naval facilities. Many active duty military members stationed in Hawaii and members of the local population served as extras during the filming. The set at Rosarito Beach in the Mexican state of Baja California was used for scale model work as required. Formerly the set of Titanic (1997), Rosarito was the ideal location to recreate the death throes of the battleships in the Pearl Harbor attack. A large-scale model of the bow section of USS Oklahoma (BB-37) mounted on the world's largest gimbal produced an authentic rolling and submerging of the doomed battleship. Production Engineer Nigel Phelps stated that the sequence of the ship rolling out of the water and slapping down would involve one of the "biggest set elements" to be staged. Matched with computer generated imagery, the action had to reflect precision and accuracy throughout. Production was due to commence April 8, 2000 for 85 days.

Michael Fassbender read for the part of Rafe, Fassbender said that Disney sent him a "really nice note" telling him that he didn't get the part. Charlize Theron turned down a role in the film so that she could star in Sweet November.

The vessel most seen in the movie was USS Lexington, representing both USS Hornet and a Japanese carrier. All aircraft take-offs during the movie were filmed on board the Lexington, a museum ship in Corpus Christi, Texas. The aircraft on display were removed for filming and were replaced with film aircraft as well as World War II anti-aircraft turrets. Other ships used in filler scenes included USS Hornet (CV-12), and USS Constellation (CV-64) during filming for the carrier sequences. Filming was also done on board the museum battleship USS Texas (BB-35) located near Houston, Texas. The Naval Historical Center of the United States army was involved in the production of the film, the Center suggested changing the depiction of Doolittle who they considered to be written as "a boorish, oafish guy", this recommendation was accepted.

Marketing
Disney premiered the film at Pearl Harbor itself, aboard the active nuclear aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, which made a six-day trip from San Diego to serve as "the world's largest and most expensive outdoor theater". More than 2,000 people attended the premiere on the Stennis, which had special grandstand seating and one of the world's largest movie screens assembled on the flight deck. The guests included various Hawaii political leaders, most of the lead actors from the film, and over 500 news media from around the world that Disney flew in to cover the event. The party was estimated to have cost Disney $5 million.

Box office
During its opening weekend, Pearl Harbor generated a total of $59 million, then made $75.1 million during its first four days. At the time, it achieved the second-highest Memorial Day weekend gross, behind The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The film also had the fourth-highest opening weekend, after the latter film, The Mummy Returns and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. For 15 years, it would have the highest opening weekend for a Ben Affleck film until 2016 when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice surpassed it. When the film was released, it topped the box office, knocking out Shrek. It earned $30 million during its second weekend while staying at the number one spot. This was the most recent film to top the box office for multiple weeks until that August when American Pie 2 became the next one to do so. The film would then drop into third place behind Swordfish and Shrek, making $14.9 million.

In Japan, the film opened on 424 screens and grossed $7.2 million in its opening weekend (including $1.6 million in previews), a record for Buena Vista International in Japan, and the sixth highest opening of all-time. Meanwhile, Pearl Harbor generated a three-day gross of $4.5 million in the United Kingdom, becoming the country's fourth-highest June opening weekend, behind Batman & Robin, The Matrix and The Mummy. It had a record opening in China, grossing $3.9 million in 6 days.

Pearl Harbor grossed $198,542,554 at the US and Canadian box office and $250,678,391 overseas for a worldwide total of $449,220,945, making this the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2001. It is also the third-highest-grossing romantic drama film of all time, as of January 2013, behind Titanic and Ghost.

Home media
Pearl Harbor was released on VHS and DVD on December 4, 2001. In its first week, it sold more than 7 million units and made more than $130 million in retail sales. The DVD release is THX certified and consists of two discs, while also featuring Dolby Headphone and DTS audio tracks.

On July 2, 2002, Buena Vista Home Entertainment released the film on an R-rated four-disc Director's Cut DVD, which included about a minute of additional footage.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 24% based on 194 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Pearl Harbor tries to be the Titanic of war movies, but it's just a tedious romance filled with laughably bad dialogue. The 40-minute action sequence is spectacular though." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 44 out of 100 based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.

Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert gave the film one and a half stars, writing: "Pearl Harbor is a two-hour movie squeezed into three hours, about how, on Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese staged a surprise attack on an American love triangle. Its centerpiece is 40 minutes of redundant special effects, surrounded by a love story of stunning banality. The film has been directed without grace, vision, or originality, and although you may walk out quoting lines of dialogue, it will not be because you admire them." Ebert also criticized the liberties the film took with historical facts: "There is no sense of history, strategy or context; according to this movie, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because America cut off its oil supply, and they were down to an 18-month reserve. Would going to war restore the fuel sources? Did they perhaps also have imperialist designs? Movie doesn't say." In his later "Great Movies" essay on Lawrence of Arabia, Ebert likewise wrote, "What you realize watching Lawrence of Arabia is that the word 'epic' refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to the size of the ideas and vision. Werner Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God didn't cost as much as the catering in Pearl Harbor, but it is an epic, and Pearl Harbor is not."

A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote, "Nearly every line of the script drops from the actors' mouths with the leaden clank of exposition, timed with bad sitcom beats." Mike Clark of USA Today gave the film two out of four stars and wrote, "Ships, planes and water combust and collide in Pearl Harbor, but nothing else does in one of the wimpiest wartime romances ever filmed."

In his review for The Washington Post, Desson Howe wrote, "although this Walt Disney movie is based, inspired and even partially informed by a real event referred to as Pearl Harbor, the movie is actually based on the movies Top Gun, Titanic and Saving Private Ryan. Don't get confused." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine wrote, "Affleck, Hartnett and Beckinsale – a British actress without a single worthy line to wrap her credible American accent around – are attractive actors, but they can't animate this moldy romantic triangle." Time magazine's Richard Schickel criticized the love triangle: "It requires a lot of patience for an audience to sit through the dithering. They're nice kids and all that, but they don't exactly claw madly at one another. It's as if they know that someday they're going to be part of "the Greatest Generation" and don't want to offend Tom Brokaw. Besides, megahistory and personal history never integrate here."

Entertainment Weekly was more positive, giving the film a "B−" rating, and Owen Gleiberman praised the Pearl Harbor attack sequence: "Bay's staging is spectacular but also honorable in its scary, hurtling exactitude. ... There are startling point-of-view shots of torpedoes dropping into the water and speeding toward their targets, and though Bay visualizes it all with a minimum of graphic carnage, he invites us to register the terror of the men standing helplessly on deck, the horrifying split-second deliverance as bodies go flying and explosions reduce entire battleships to liquid walls of collapsing metal."

In his review for The New York Observer, Andrew Sarris wrote, "here is the ironic twist in my acceptance of Pearl Harbor – the parts I liked most are the parts before and after the digital destruction of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese carrier planes" and felt that "Pearl Harbor is not so much about World War II as it is about movies about World War II. And what's wrong with that?"

Critics in Japan received the film more positively than in most countries with one likening it to Gone with the Wind set during World War II and another describing it as more realistic than Tora! Tora! Tora!

In 2023, Rolling Stone cited Bay's direction of Pearl Harbor as one of the fifty worst decisions in film history. Andy Greene described it as a less successful attempt to replicate the success of Titanic and Bay's previous film, Armageddon.

Accolades
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning in the category of Best Sound Editing. It was also nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture. This marked the first occurrence of a Worst Picture-nominated film winning an Academy Award; it is also the only film directed by Bay to win an Academy Award.

Historical accuracy

Like many historical dramas, Pearl Harbor provoked debate about the artistic license taken by its producers and director. National Geographic Channel produced a documentary called Beyond the Movie: Pearl Harbor detailing some of the ways that "the film's final cut didn't reflect all the attacks' facts, or represent them all accurately". The film was ranked number three on Careeraftermilitary.com's "10 Most Inaccurate Military Movies Ever Made," which also included The Patriot, The Hurt Locker, U-571, The Green Berets, Windtalkers, Battle of the Bulge, Red Tails, Enemy at the Gates and Flyboys on its list of falsified war movie productions.

Many surviving victims of Pearl Harbor dismissed the film as grossly inaccurate and pure Hollywood. In an interview done by Frank Wetta, producer Jerry Bruckheimer was quoted saying: "We tried to be accurate, but it's certainly not meant to be a history lesson." Historian Lawrence Suid's review is particularly detailed as to the major factual misrepresentations of the film and the negative impact they have even on an entertainment film, as he notes that "the very name of the film implies that audiences will be witnessing a historic event, accurately rendered."

The inclusion of Affleck's character in the Eagle Squadron is another inaccurate aspect of the film, since active-duty U.S. airmen were prohibited from joining the squadron, although some American civilians did join the RAF. The Battle of Britain had already ended in October 1940 whereas the film has it still happening in early 1941 with dogfights over the English Channel. None of the "Eagle Squadrons" of American volunteers saw action in Europe before 1941.

One of the film's scenes shows Japanese aircraft targeting medical staff and the base's hospital. Although it was damaged in the attack, the Japanese did not deliberately target the U.S. naval hospital and only a single member of its medical staff was killed as he crossed the navy yard to report for duty.

Critics decried the use of fictional replacements for real people, declaring that Pearl Harbor was an "abuse of artistic license." The roles the two male leads have in the attack sequence are analogous to the real historical deeds of United States Army Air Forces Second Lieutenants George Welch and Kenneth M. Taylor, who took to the skies in P-40 Warhawk aircraft during the Japanese attack and, together, claimed six Japanese aircraft and a few probables. Taylor, who died in November 2006, called the film adaptation "a piece of trash... over-sensationalized and distorted."

The harshest criticism was aimed at instances in the film where actual historical events were altered for dramatic purposes. For example, Admiral Kimmel did not receive the report that a Japanese midget submarine was being attacked until after the bombs began falling, and did not receive the first official notification of the attack until several hours after the attack ended.

The scene following the attack on Pearl Harbor, where President Roosevelt demands an immediate retaliatory strike on the soil of Japan, did not happen as portrayed in the film. Admiral Chester Nimitz and General George Marshall are seen denying the possibility of an aerial attack on Japan, but in real life they actually advocated such a strike. Another inconsistency in this scene is when President Roosevelt (who was at this time in his life, stricken and confined to a wheelchair due to Polio) is able to stand up to challenge his staff's distrust in a strike on Japan, which never really happened. During the same scene, a military advisor indicates that Japan was close to invading the continental United States, and could potentially expand "as far as Chicago;" in reality, Japan had neither the manpower nor the firepower to invade nearby Australia and Siberia, let alone the mainland United States.

In another scene Admiral Yamamoto says "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant," a quote which was copied from the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!, even though there is no printed evidence to prove Yamamoto made this statement or wrote it down.

The portrayal of the planning of the Doolittle Raid, the air raid itself, and the raid's aftermath, is considered one of the most historically inaccurate portions of the film. In the film, Jimmy Doolittle and the rest of the Doolittle raiders had to launch from USS Hornet 624 miles off the Japanese coast and after being spotted by a few Japanese patrol boats. In actuality, the Doolittle raiders had to launch 650 miles off the Japanese coast and after being spotted by only one Japanese patrol boat. In the film, the only raiders shown in the raid are depicted as dropping their bombs on Tokyo, with some of the bomb blasts obliterating entire buildings. In actuality, the Doolittle raiders did bomb Tokyo but also targeted three other industrial cities, and the damage inflicted was minimal. Prior to the raid a chalkboard containing plans for the raid does accurately reflect other destination cities, but this is mostly obscured from view and never discussed in the dialogue. The same chalkboard does mostly contain the names of the actual Doolittle Raiders in all but the 6th and 9th aircraft where the fictional names of the two main characters are substituted. The film shows the Doolittle raider airmen in China overcoming the Japanese soldiers in a short gun battle with help from a strafing B-25, which never happened in real life.

Other inconsistencies and anachronisms
Numerous other inconsistencies and anachronisms are present in the film, and it appears that "little to no effort was used to try and hide or disguise modern warships to match the early 1940s setting."

Some other historical inaccuracies found in the film include the early childhood scenes depicting a Stearman biplane crop duster in 1923; the aircraft was not accurate for the period, as the first commercial crop-dusting company did not begin operation until 1924, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not purchase its first cotton-dusting aircraft until April 16, 1926. The crop duster in the first scene set in 1923 was not commercially available until the late 1930s.

The later series cannon armed Spitfires used in the film were inaccurate, as the RAF had chiefly machine gun-armed Spitfire Mk I/IIs during the Battle of Britain. Limited number of early cannon-armed Spitfires Mk.IB served for brief time with No. 19 Squadron RAF, but these proved to be too unreliable and were soon withdrawn from active service. They also differed slightly from later cannon-armed Spitfire versions, which possessed both autocannons and machine guns, as their armament consisted of single 20 mm British Hispano cannon in each wing only. Ben Affleck's Spitfire is painted with the insignia "RF" – this is an insignia of No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron.

A sailor has a pack of Marlboro Light cigarettes in his pocket, not introduced until 1972. In the beginning of the movie, a newsreel of 1940 is presented with combat footage in Europe, showing a M-26 Pershing tank fighting in the city of Cologne, which did not happen until March 1945. Earlier, a newsreel of the Battle of Britain in 1940 shows a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, which did not see active service until 1941.

Actor Michael Milhoan is seen as an army major advising Admiral Kimmel about island air defenses on Oahu. On the morning of the attack, he is seen commanding a radar station. While playing chess he is addressed as "lieutenant" but, in a further inconsistency, is seen wearing the insignia of an army captain.

Four Spruance-class destroyer destroyers tied abreast of each other at their pier are seen being bombed by the Japanese planes, although this class of ship only entered service with the US Navy in the 1970s. The retired Iowa-class battleship USS Missouri was used to represent USS West Virginia for Dorie Miller's boxing match. West Virginia did not have the modernized World War II-era bridge and masts found on newer U.S. battleships until her reconstruction was finished in 1943, while the Iowa class did not enter service until 1943 onward. In one shot, the USS Arizona memorial is briefly visible in the background during a scene taking place several months before the attack. Miller is shown as a Petty Officer Second Class; but he was actually a Petty Officer Third Class.

Countless other technical lapses rankled film critics, such as Bay's decision to paint the Japanese Zero fighters green (most of the aircraft in the attack were painted light gray/white), even though he knew that was historically inaccurate, because he liked the way the aircraft looked and because it would help audiences differentiate the "good guys from the bad guys".

One of Doolittle's trophies in a display case depicts a model of an F-86 Sabre, which was not flown until 1947.

Late production models of the B-25J were used instead of the early B-25B.

Several shots of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) depicted it as having an angled flight deck, a technology that was not implemented until after the war, although no U.S. straight flight deck carriers exist anymore. While Hornet was portrayed by a World War II-era vessel (USS Lexington (CV-16)), Hornet was a Yorktown-class aircraft carrier whereas Lexington was a modernized Essex-class aircraft carrier. The takeoff sequences for the Doolittle Raid were filmed on USS Constellation (CV-64), a Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier which did not enter service until 1961. As a supercarrier, Constellation has a much longer flight deck than the Yorktown or Essex-class carriers, giving the B-25s a substantially longer (and safer) takeoff run. The Japanese carriers are portrayed more correctly by comparison: JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Akagi and JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Hiryū did have their bridge/conning tower superstructure on the port side rather than the more common starboard configuration. In the movie it was done by maneuvering an Essex-class aircraft carrier backward to act as Akagi.

An establishing shot of the US Department of War building is clearly a shot of the exterior of the US Capitol Building. In 1941, the War Department was housed in the War Department Building in Washington's Foggy Bottom neighborhood (renamed the Harry S Truman Building in 2000) and in the Munitions Building on the National Mall. Neither structure bears any architectural resemblance to the building shown in the film.

In popular culture
The soundtrack for the 2004 film Team America: World Police contains a song entitled "End of an Act". The song's chorus recounts, "Pearl Harbor sucked, and I miss you" equating the singer's longing for his girlfriend to how much "Michael Bay missed the mark when he made Pearl Harbor" which is "an awful lot, girl". The ballad contains other common criticisms of the film, concluding with the rhetorical question "Why does Michael Bay get to keep on making movies?"

The 2004 film Churchill: The Hollywood Years, a satire on the Hollywood take on history, references the portrayal of the American contribution to the Battle of Britain early in Pearl Harbor.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack to Pearl Harbor on Hollywood Records was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (Moulin Rouge! won). The original score was composed by Hans Zimmer. The song "There You'll Be" was nominated for the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

title: Pearl Harbor (film)