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Mighty Mouse

Mighty Mouse is an American animated character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. The character is a anthropomorphic superhero mouse, originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short The Mouse of Tomorrow. The name was changed to Mighty Mouse in his eighth film, 1944's The Wreck of the Hesperus, and the character went on to star in 80 theatrical shorts, concluding in 1961 with Cat Alarm.

In 1955, Mighty Mouse Playhouse debuted as a Saturday morning cartoon show on the CBS television network, which popularized the character far more than the original theatrical run. The show lasted until 1967. Filmation revived the character in The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle, which ran from 1979 to 1980, and animation director Ralph Bakshi revived the concept again in Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, from 1987 to 1988.

Mighty Mouse also appeared in comic books by several publishers, including his own series, Mighty Mouse and The Adventures of Mighty Mouse, which ran from 1946 to 1968.

Mighty Mouse is known for his theme song, "Mighty Mouse Theme (Here I Come to Save the Day)", written by composer Marshall Barer.

Super Mouse
The character originated in 1942 from an idea by animator Isadore Klein at the Terrytoons studio, who suggested a parody/homage to the popular Superman character, making some sketches of a superhero fly. Paul Terry, the head of the studio, liked the idea but suggested a mouse rather than an insect.

The character was dubbed "Super Mouse", and his first theatrical short, The Mouse of Tomorrow, debuted on October 16, 1942.

In his book Of Mice and Magic, critic Leonard Maltin describes the character's origin story:

"Cats of the city have imposed a reign of terror on the rodent community. The mice have barely a chance to live in peace, with endless traps and clever feline footwork sealing their doom. One mouse manages to escape from a particularly hungry cat and runs for shelter into an enormous supermarket. He examines the goods on the long lines of shelves and sets to work on a total transformation: He bathes in Super Soap, swallows Super Soup, munches Super Celery and plunges head first into an enormous piece of Super Cheese -- from which he emerges in a flash as Super Mouse! He's no longer a tiny rodent, but a two-footed, humanized mouse with a massive chest and powerful biceps. His costume is like Superman's, with a flowing red cape, and his powers are similar, too: He can fly through the air and repel bullets with his chest. Super Mouse soars to the rescue of his fellow mice and dispatches the neighborhood cats to the moon. Returning to earth, he is hoisted on the shoulders of his happy comrades, as the narrator declares, 'Thus ends the adventure of Super Mouse... he seen his job and he done it!'"

The trade journal Variety said The Mouse of Tomorrow "just misses being outstanding, mainly because of faulty narration and too much kidding of Superman. Idea of super-rat conquering prowling beasts of feline world is good, but too closely follows pattern of that super hero."

Super Mouse (and his later alias, Mighty Mouse) was originally voiced by Roy Halee Sr., a tenor who often sang on radio and first started doing cartoon voices for J. R. Bray's studio. In the operatic melodramas to follow, Halee and his quartet provided all of the vocals.

In Super Mouse's next film, he spoofed the popular Universal Monsters films (Frankenstein's Cat, 1942). In Pandora's Box (1943), he battled bat-winged cat demons, and his origin story was changed: now he becomes Super Mouse by eating vitamins A through Z. The hero made seven films in 1942–1943 before his name was changed.

Mighty Mouse: rename and redesign
In 1944, Paul Terry learned that another character named "Super Mouse" was to be published in Standard Comics' Coo-Coo Comics, so his character's name was changed to Mighty Mouse. The first short under the character's new name was The Wreck of the Hesperus, released February 11, 1944, adapting the celebrated poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow with the addition of a superhero mouse. A couple months later, the studio spoofed another classic, Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, under the title Mighty Mouse Meets Jeckyll and Hyde Cat.

By summer, Mighty Mouse's costume got an overhaul as well. Until this point, he'd been wearing Superman's colors—a blue costume with a red cape—but in the June 16, 1944, cartoon Eliza on the Ice, Mighty Mouse appears for the first time in a red costume, with a yellow cape. This is also the first time that the character was portrayed as living among the stars, hurtling down from the heavens to save the day.

The final design of the character debuted in the 15th cartoon, The Sultan's Birthday, released on October 13, 1944. In this cartoon, redesigned by animator Connie Rasinski, Mighty Mouse has a fuller figure with an exaggerated upper body, and is clad in a yellow outfit, with a red cape and trunks.

Like his inspiration, Superman, Mighty Mouse's superpowers are vast and sometimes appear limitless. His main powers include flight, super-strength and invulnerability. The early cartoons often portray him as a ruthless fighter; one of his most frequent tactics is to fly under an enemy's chin and let loose a volley of blows, subduing the opponent through sheer physical punishment.

However, his powers can vary, depending on the demands of the story; he is sometimes knocked unconscious or rendered temporarily immobile by the villain, only to rise again by the end of the cartoon and save the day. In some films, he uses X-ray vision and psychokinesis. He was also able to turn back time in 1946's The Johnstown Flood. Other cartoons, like 1945's Krakatoa, show him leaving a red contrail during flight that he can manipulate like a band of solid, flexible matter. In several of the cartoons, when Mighty Mouse achieves the impossible feats, the narrator exclaims, first in a normal voice: " What A Mouse!!!!!", followed by his louder triumphant voice: "WHAT A MOUSE!!!!!"

In a 1969 interview, Terry said that Mighty Mouse's power had a religious aspect: "When a man is sick, or down, or hurt, you say, 'There's nothing more we can do. It's in God's hand.' And he either survives or he doesn't according to God's plan. Right? So, 'Man's extremity is God's opportunity.' So, taking that as a basis, I'd only have to get the mice in a tough spot and then say, 'Isn't there someone who can help?' 'Yes, there is someone; it's Mighty Mouse!' So, down from the heavens he'd come sailing down and lick the evil spirit, or whatever it was. And everything would be serene again." Biographer W. Gerald Harmonic notes that as of the mid 40s, Mighty Mouse would be pictured living on a star or a cloud, up in the heavens, and that he became "a Christ-like figure, a savior of all 'mouse-kind'."

While his typical opponents are nondescript cats, Mighty Mouse occasionally battles specific villains, though most appear in only one or two films. Several of the earliest "Super Mouse" films (having been made during World War II), feature the cats as thinly veiled caricatures of the Nazis, hunting down mice and marching them into concentration camp–like traps to what would otherwise be their doom. The Bat-cats, alien cats with bat wings and wheels for feet, appeared in two cartoons; in two others between 1949 and 1950 he faces a huge, dim-witted, but super-strong cat named Julius "Pinhead" Schlabotka (voiced by Dayton Allen) whose strength rivals Mighty Mouse's. In rare moments, he confronts non-feline adversaries such as human villain Bad Bill Bunion and his horse, or the Automatic Mouse Trap, a brontosaur-shaped robotic monster. In The Green Line (1944), the cats and the mice live on either side of a green dividing line down the middle of their town's main street. They agree to keep the peace as long as no one crosses it. An evil entity, a Satan cat, starts the cats and mice fighting. At the end, Mighty Mouse is cheered by mice and cats alike.

Melodrama spoofs
In 1945, Mighty Mouse and the Pirates was the first Mighty Mouse cartoon to feature sung dialogue, in the operetta style. Gypsy Life (1945) and The Crackpot King (1946) followed in the same style. Gypsy Life was particularly successful, earning Terry his third nomination for an Academy Award for Short Subjects (Cartoon).

There was a romantic, damsel in distress element in these cartoons—in each one, Mighty Mouse saves a dark-haired beauty from terrible trouble, and in the latter two, the camera fades out on the hero and the girl in a romantic clinch. While these were very similar to the musical melodrama spoofs that were soon to emerge, they didn't have an overwrought narrator, or the suggestion that the cartoon is an episode of a continuing story.

In November 1947, A Fight to the Finish was the first in a series of musical melodrama spoofs, with Mighty Mouse saving damsel in distress Pearl Pureheart (sometimes "Little Nell") from the villainous, mustache-twirling cat Oil Can Harry. Terrytoons revived the concept from their earlier Fanny Zilch series, a melodrama spoof that ran for seven cartoons from 1933 to 1937. Fanny was constantly tormented by a human version of Oil Can Harry, and protected by her lover, J. Leffingwell Strongheart.

A Fight to the Finish begins with a snatch of Cole Porter's song "And The Villain Still Pursued Her", which had also been used as the theme for the Fanny Zilch cartoons. The narrator opens with an urgent recap of the (nonexistent) previous episode: "In our last episode, we left Mighty Mouse at the old Beaver River station. As you remember, folks, he was locked in a desperate struggle with a villain. But on with the story..." Mighty Mouse is engaging in "a fight to the finish" with Oil Can Harry, now a villainous cat with a mustache, a top hat and a big black cloak, voiced by Tom Morrison. The blonde heroine, Pearl Pureheart, is tied up in the other room, but refuses to give up hope. Harry manages to knock out Mighty Mouse, and leaves him tied to the railroad track with a bomb on his head, and the 5:15 train due to pass by. Harry drives Pearl away to his home, where he woos her in song, to no avail. Mighty Mouse manages to blow out the fuse, stop the train and escape from his bonds, and rushes to Pearl's rescue. At Harry's house, they fight with fists, guns and swords, as Pearl slips out the window and onto a passing log which is floating down the river into a mill. Mighty Mouse throws Harry into the river and rushes to rescue Pearl, who's heading for the buzzsaw. The narrator asks, "Is our little heroine doomed to destruction in the sawmill? Will Mighty Mouse arrive in time? See the following episode, next week!" The camera starts to iris out, but then stops, as the narrator relents, "Stop! Gosh, we can't wait until next week. Please, show us what happens, won't you?" Mighty Mouse grabs Pearl in time, and the pair have a brief romantic chorus together as the cartoon delivers a happy ending.

The melodrama spoofs continued as an occasional series over the next six years, with Oil Can Harry and Pearl Pureheart returning in thirteen more cartoons. Another memorable short was 1949's The Perils of Pearl Pureheart, in which Oil Can Harry hypnotizes Pearl into singing "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" on stage at an old saloon, where he vacuums up the tips thrown by the audience. Hypnotized for three and a half minutes of the six-minute cartoon, Pearl continues to sing as the battle between Harry and Mighty Mouse rages around her, even underwater.

To vary the formula, the melodramas started traveling to exotic locales, including Italy (Sunny Italy, 1951), Switzerland (Swiss Miss, 1951), Holland (Happy Holland, 1952) and even prehistoric times (Prehistoric Perils, 1952) and medieval times (When Mousehood Was in Flower, 1953).

The fourteen Oil Can Harry melodrama theatricals were:

 * A Fight to the Finish (1947)
 * Loves Labor Won (1948)
 * The Mysterious Stranger (1948)
 * Triple Trouble (1948)
 * A Cold Romance (1949)
 * The Perils of Pearl Pureheart (1949)
 * Stop, Look and Listen (1949)
 * Beauty on the Beach (1950)
 * Sunny Italy (1951)
 * Swiss Miss (1951)
 * Prehistoric Perils (1952)
 * Happy Holland (1952)
 * A Soapy Opera (1953)
 * When Mousehood Was in Flower (1953)

Mighty Mouse Playhouse
Mighty Mouse had little theatrical impact, but became Terrytoons' most popular character and a cultural icon on television. In 1955, Paul Terry sold the Terrytoons studio to CBS, which repackaged the theatrical cartoons as a popular Saturday morning show, Mighty Mouse Playhouse. The show aired from December 1955 through September 1967, using the existing film library. Only three new cartoons were produced after the sale. The final season also included a new feature, entitled The Mighty Heroes.

Tom Morrison of Terrytoons provided the speaking voice of Mighty Mouse in the show's new framing sequences.

The show's theme song was credited on some early records to "The Terrytooners, Mitch Miller and Orchestra". However, writer Mark Evanier credits a group called The Sandpipers (not the 1960s easy listening group of the same name).

The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle
In 1979–1980, Filmation made television cartoons starring Mighty Mouse and fellow Terrytoon characters Heckle and Jeckle in a show called The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle. The show introduced two new characters: a vampire duck named Quacula (not to be confused with Count Duckula), and Oil Can Harry's bumbling, large, but swift-running, henchman Swifty. The show premiered in 1979 and lasted two seasons. In the Filmation series and movie, Mighty Mouse and Oil Can Harry were performed by veteran voice artist Alan Oppenheimer, and Pearl Pureheart was voiced by Diane Pershing. Frank Welker played Heckle, Jeckle and Quacula, and Norm Prescott played Theodore H. Bear.

Each episode included two traditional Mighty Mouse cartoons, as well as an episode of a Mighty Mouse science-fiction serial, "The Great Space Chase". The hour was rounded out with two Heckle & Jeckle cartoons and one Quacula cartoon, plus short bumpers with tips about safety and the environment. The total cartoons produced for the series were 32 Mighty Mouse cartoons, 32 Heckle & Jeckle cartoons, 16 episodes of "The Great Space Chase" and 16 Quacula cartoons.

The "Space Chase" episodes were edited together into a theatrical matinee movie, Mighty Mouse in the Great Space Chase, which was released on December 10, 1982.

Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
In 1987 and 1988, animation producer Ralph Bakshi (who began his career at Terrytoons in the late 1950s and worked on the last Mighty Mouse shorts filmed by that company) created a new series of Mighty Mouse cartoons entitled Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures for the CBS Saturday morning children's lineup. In this series, Mighty Mouse has a real identity, Mike Mouse (both identities voiced by Patrick Pinney), and a sidekick, Scrappy Mouse (voiced by actress Dana Hill), the little orphan. Though a children's cartoon, its heavy satirical tone, risqué humor and adult jokes made the Bakshi Mighty Mouse series a collector's item for collectors of older television series.

The best-remembered episode of this series featured a crossover with Mighty Mouse and another Bakshi creation, the Mighty Heroes (Strong Man, Tornado Man, Rope Man, Cuckoo Man and Diaper Man). In the 1988 episode "Heroes and Zeroes", the Mighty Heroes were middle-aged men (except for Diaper Man, who was 36) and were all accountants with the firm of Man, Man, Man, Man, and Man.

Later years
Marvel Comics produced a 10-issue comic book series (set in the New Adventures continuity) in 1990 and 1991. Since then, little else new has been produced using the Mighty Mouse character except for a 2001 "The power of cheese" television commercial. That commercial shows Mighty Mouse dining calmly on cheese in a restaurant, utterly unconcerned with a scene of chaos and terror visibly unfolding in the street outside.

The character appeared in the 1999 pilot Curbside.

Until 2019, the rights to Mighty Mouse were divided as a result of the 2006 corporate split of Viacom (the former owner of the Terrytoons franchise) into two separate companies. CBS Operations (a unit of the CBS Corporation) owns the ancillary rights and trademarks to the character, while Paramount Home Entertainment/CBS Home Entertainment holds home video rights. The first official release of Mighty Mouse material has been announced and what is now CBS Media Ventures has television syndication rights (the shorts are currently out of circulation). On December 4, 2019, CBS Corporation and Viacom re-merged into a single entity, ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global), officially reuniting the rights to Mighty Mouse under the same company.

Feature film adaptation
As early as 2004, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies announced their intention to bring Mighty Mouse back to the motion picture screen with a CGI Mighty Mouse feature film that was tentatively scheduled to be released some time in 2013.

In April 2019, Jon and Erich Hoeber signed on to script the film for Paramount Animation while Karen Rosenfelt (Wonder Park) and Robert Cort (Terminator Genisys) are set to produce. The film will be a live action/animated production.

Terrytoons theatrical shorts
The first seven films starred the character named Super Mouse. In these early films the character's costume is much closer in design to that of Superman (blue tunic and tights with red trunks and cape).

In the eighth cartoon, the character's name was changed to Mighty Mouse.

Comics
Mighty Mouse's first comic book appearance was in Terry-Toons Comics #38 (November 1945), published by Timely Comics. Mighty Mouse was featured in:

 * Terry-Toons Comics #38–85 (1945–1951)
 * Paul Terry's Comics #86–125 (1951–1955)

Mighty Mouse was also featured in two main titles by several different publishers: Mighty Mouse and The Adventures of Mighty Mouse.

 * Mighty Mouse, Timely Comics #1–4 (1946)
 * Mighty Mouse Comics, St. John Publications #5–21 (1947–1949)
 * Paul Terry's Mighty Mouse Comics, St. John Publications #22–67 (1949–1955)
 * Paul Terry's Mighty Mouse, Pines Comics #68–83 (1956–1959)
 * Paul Terry's Mighty Mouse Adventures, St. John Publications #1 (1951)
 * Adventures of Mighty Mouse, St. John Publications #2–18 (1952–1955)
 * The Adventures of Mighty Mouse (renaming of Paul Terry's Comics, where Mighty Mouse appeared)
 * St. John Publications #126–128 (1955); as Paul Terry's Adventures of Mighty Mouse
 * Pines Comics #129–144 (1956–1959)
 * Dell Comics #144–155 (1959–1961) NOTE: Dell's series also started with an issue numbered 144
 * Gold Key Comics #156–160 (1962–1963)
 * Dell Comics #161–172 (1964–1968)
 * Mighty Mouse, Spotlight Comics, #1–2 (1987)
 * Mighty Mouse, Marvel Comics, #1–10 (1990), based on the Ralph Bakshi version (Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures)
 * Mighty Mouse, Dynamite Entertainment, #1–5 (2017–2018, collected as Volume 1: Saving the Day, ISBN 978-1-5241-0386-6)

In 1953, Mighty Mouse was featured in Three Dimension Comics #1, the first three-dimensional comics publication, produced by St. John Publications. According to co-creator Joe Kubert, the 3-D issue sold an extraordinary 1.2 million copies at 25 cents each, more than twice the standard comic price of 10 cents.

DVD releases

 * Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, the first official release of Mighty Mouse material, was released on January 5, 2010.

At least one episode, ''Wolf! Wolf!'', has fallen into the public domain and is available at the Internet Archive.

Controversy

In 1988, Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures was the subject of media controversy when one scene was interpreted as a depiction of cocaine use. In the episode "The Littlest Tramp" a poor mouse girl attempts to sell flowers, and is repeatedly harassed by a rich man who crushes her flowers. She runs out of flowers and makes new ones from sundry items she finds, such as tomato slices, but the man crushes these too. Mighty Mouse attempts to purchase the flowers with his chunk of cheese, and to avenge the girl, but she gives Mighty Mouse the crushed flowers and insists that others need help more than she does. After successfully saving several different characters, he is reminded of the girl, and attempts to smell the flowers she gave him (now a pink powder), inhaling them in the process. He then finds the man that has been harassing the girl, and spanks him. The girl is sympathetic to the man, and he is so moved that the two are married.

A family in Kentucky saw the episode and reportedly interpreted the scene as Mighty Mouse snorting cocaine. The family called the American Family Association in Tupelo, Mississippi. The group demanded Bakshi be removed from production of the series. Bakshi and CBS denied the allegations, Bakshi stating the whole incident "smacks of McCarthyism. I'm not going to get into who sniffs what. This is lunacy." To defuse the controversy, Bakshi agreed to cut the 3.5 seconds from the episode. Rev. Donald Wildmon claimed that the editing was a "de facto admission" of cocaine use, though Bakshi maintained that the episode was "totally innocent".

"It's because of Fritz that they're going after Mighty Mouse. I grew up in Brownsville in Brooklyn and attended High School for Industrial Arts. I remember teachers who quit. Because of McCarthyism they weren't able to teach what they wanted. This is the same thing. Mighty Mouse was happy after smelling the flowers because it helped him remember the little girl who sold it to him fondly. But even if you're right, their accusations become part of the air we breathe. That's why I cut the scene. I can't have children wondering if Mighty Mouse is using cocaine."

Cultural influences
In the book Astro Boy Essays, author Frederik L. Schodt quotes Japanese animator Osamu Tezuka as saying that Mighty Mouse was the influence that inspired him to name his well-known character Mighty Atom (also known as Astro Boy). He also chose to imitate Mighty Mouse's signature flying pose with one arm stretched ahead with a clenched fist.

Mighty Mouse was planned to make a cameo in the deleted scene "Acme's Funeral" from the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Mighty Mouse was featured on famed guitarist Tom Scholz's Les Paul guitar.

As part of Andy Kaufman's act, he would play the Mighty Mouse theme while standing perfectly still and lip-sync only the line "Here I come to save the day" with great enthusiasm; a 1975 performance of this act on Saturday Night Live is recreated in the 1999 biopic Man on the Moon.

Apple trademark dispute
On August 2, 2005, Apple released the company's first multi-control USB computer mouse. The product was designed by Mitsumi Electric and premiered under the name Apple Mighty Mouse. Apple continued to use the name when the product was redesigned as a Bluetooth device in 2006. Prior to its release, CBS licensed the right to use the Mighty Mouse name to Apple. In 2008, Man and Machine, Inc., a company that produces medical grade, chemical-resistant, mice and keyboards, sued both Apple and CBS for trademark infringement. Man and Machine claimed that it had used the name since 2004 and that CBS did not have the right to license the name for computer peripherals. In 2009, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled in favor of Man and Machine and Apple changed the name of its product to the "Apple Mouse".

title: Mighty Mouse


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College Park, Maryland

College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located approximately four miles (6.4 km) from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. Its population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the home of the University of Maryland, College Park.

College Park is also home to federal agencies such as the National Archives at College Park (Archives II), NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, and the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, as well as tech companies such as IonQ (quantum computing) or Cybrary (cyber security).

College Park Airport, established in 1909, is the world's oldest continuously operated airport. The College Park Aviation Museum, attached to the airport and an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, houses antique and reproduction aircraft as well as materials relating to early aviation history.

In 2014 the University of Maryland launched the Greater College Park initiative, a $2 billion public-private investment to revitalize the community around the university, develop a robust Discovery District and create one of the nation’s best college towns. As a result, the city is experiencing significant development that has led to new housing, office space, schools, grocery stores, restaurants, and other amenities.

History
The earliest evidence of human activity in the College Park area was found at an archeological site just south of Archives II. Projectile points of Clagett and Vernon styles dating from 3000 to 2600 B.C. were recovered, a notable find given their location away from a river. This finding together with other similar ones indicate that the native American population became more sedentary in the Late Archaic period as the availability of local food supply increased, and social complexity grew. By the time Europeans first arrived and colonized the region in the early 17th century, the various native American groups had aligned themselves into a chiefdom under the Piscataway people.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the European settlers lived on large plantations, some holding the original grants under Lord Baltimore. In College Park, there are records for Toaping Castle, a land grant to Col. Isaac Walker from about 1745 in the area between Branchville, Greenbelt, and Berwyn Heights, and for the Calvert family's Riversdale, which included parts of South College Park. One of the oldest buildings in the city, the Old Parish House dating from 1817 was initially a farm building in the latter estate.

19th century

The oldest standing building in College Park is the Rossborough Inn, whose construction was completed in 1803. The forerunner of today's University of Maryland was chartered in 1856 as the Maryland Agricultural College, and would become a land grant college in February 1864.

The original College Park subdivision was first platted in 1872 by Eugene Campbell. Early maps called the local post office "College Lawn". The area remained undeveloped and was re-platted in 1889 by John O. Johnson and Samuel Curriden, Washington real estate developers. The original 125 acre tract was divided into a grid-street pattern with long, narrow building lots, with a standard lot size of 50 ft by 200 ft. College Park originally included single-family residences constructed in the Shingle, Queen Anne, and Stick styles, as well as modest vernacular dwellings.

By the turn of the century, College Park was being developed rapidly by catering to those who were seeking to escape the crowded Washington, D.C., as well as to a rapidly expanding staff of college faculty and employees.

20th century
In 1909 the College Park Airport was established by the United States Army Signal Corps to serve as a training location for Wilbur Wright to instruct military officers to fly in the US government's first airplane. Civilian aircraft began flying from College Park Airport as early as December 1911, making it the world's oldest continuously operated airport.

Commercial development in the city increased in the 1920s, aided by the increased automobile traffic and the growing campus along Baltimore Avenue/Route 1. By the late 1930s, most of the original subdivision had been partially developed. Several fraternities and sororities from the University of Maryland built houses in the neighborhood. After World War II, construction consisted mostly of infill of ranch and split-level houses. After incorporation in 1945, the city continued to grow, and a municipal center was built in 1959.

The Lakeland neighborhood was developed beginning in 1890 around the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, whose Branchville and Calvert Road depots were located approximately one mile to the north and south, respectively. Lakeland was created by Edwin Newman, who improved the original 238 acre located to the west of the railroad. He also built a number of the original homes, a small town hall, and a general store. The area was originally envisioned as a resort-type community. However, due to the flood-prone, low-lying topography, the neighborhood became an area of African-American settlement. Around 1900, the Baltimore Gold Fish Company built five artificial lakes in the area to spawn goldfish and rarer species of fish. By 1903 Lakeland was an established African-American community with a school and two churches. Lakeland was central in a group of African American communities located along Route One through Prince Georges County. Lakeland High School opened in 1928 with funding from the Rosenwald Fund, the African American community and the county. Lakeland High served all African American students in the northern half of the county until 1950 when it was converted to a facility for lower grades. The community's first Rosenwald school was a new elementary which opened in 1925.

The Berwyn neighborhood was developed beginning about 1885 adjacent to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It was created by Francis Shannabrook, a Pennsylvanian who purchased a tract of land between Baltimore Avenue and the railroad tracks. Shannabrook established a small depot, built a general store, and erected approximately 15 homes in the area to attract moderate-income families looking to move out of Washington. The neighborhood began to grow after 1900 when the City and Suburban Electric Railway entered the area. By 1925, approximately 100 single-family homes existed, mostly two-story, wood-frame buildings. The community housing continued to develop in the 1930s and 1940s with one story bungalows, Cape Cods, and Victorians and, later, raised ranches and split-level homes.

The Daniels Park neighborhood was developed, beginning in 1905 on the east and west sides of the City and Suburban Electric Railway in north College Park. Daniels Park was created by Edward Daniels on 47 acre of land. This small residential subdivision was improved with single-family houses arranged along a grid pattern of streets. The houses—built between 1905 and the 1930s—range in style from American Foursquares to bungalows.

The Hollywood neighborhood was developed in the early 20th century along the City and Suburban Electric Railway. Edward Daniels, the developer of Daniels Park, planned the Hollywood subdivision as a northern extension of that earlier community. Development in Hollywood was slow until after World War II, when Albert Turner acquired large tracts of the northern part of the neighborhood in the late 1940s. Turner was able to develop and market brick and frame three-bedroom bungalows beginning in 1950. By 1952, an elementary school had been built. Hollywood Neighborhood Park, a 21 acre facility along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line, is operated by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

In 1943, due to World War II efforts to conserve rail transport, the Washington Senators relocated their spring training camp to College Park. The locations of 1943 Major League Baseball spring training camps were limited to an area east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River.

During the 1960s through the 1980s an Urban Renewal Project took place within the historic African American community of Lakeland. This project was carried out in the face of the opposition of the community's residents and resulted in the redevelopment of approximately two thirds of the community. It displaced 104 of Lakeland's 150 households.

The College Park–University of Maryland station opened in 1993, connecting College Park to Washington D.C. by means of Metro. During its construction in the late 1980s, sand and gravel were excavated from the site of an adjacent small lake. In return, Metro built Lake Artemesia on the site, a large recreational area that includes aquatic gardens, fishing piers, and hiker-biker trails.

21st century
By the turn of the 21st century, College Park began experiencing significant development pressure. Both students and city residents acknowledged the city's lack of amenities and poor sense of place. In 2002, the city and county passed the Route 1 Sector Plan, which allowed and encouraged mixed use development along College Park's main roadway. In July 2006, a group of students created Rethink College Park—a community group providing a website to share information about development and to encourage public dialogue. Early mixed-used projects along Baltimore Avenue included the View I (2006) and II (2010), Mazza Grandmarc (2010), and the Varsity (2011). In 2013 the College Park City-University Partnership—a nonprofit funded by the University of Maryland and the city of College Park—launched the College Park Academy aiming to improve the perception of local public schools. Development accelerated after Wallace Loh became the president of the University of Maryland in 2010 and relations between the university and the city improved. It was recognized that the university could not compete if the students, faculty, and staff could not live in College Park so the Greater College Park initiative, a $2 billion public-private investment to revitalize the community around the university aiming to create one of the nation’s best college towns, was launched in 2014. Some of the developments that occurred as a result of this initiative included the 4-star Hotel at UMD in 2017 and the Cambria in 2018, the first hotels built in the city in over half a century, and the construction of the College Park City Hall in 2021, a joint venture between the city and the university that provides offices for both as well as retail space and a public plaza. This plaza holds music performances, markets, and city events throughout the year that  contributed towards the revitalization of College Park's downtown. The university also launched the Discovery District, its business and research park, and promoted several mixed-used apartment high-rises such as the Aster (2022) or the Union (2024) that brought along new restaurants, shops, and grocery stores.

This development has been complemented by two major infrastructure projects: the Purple Line, which will provide direct light-rail connections form College Park to Bethesda, Silver Spring, and New Carrolton, and the reconstruction of a portion of Baltimore Avenue into a boulevard with a planted median, new bicycle lanes, and continuous sidewalks. Additionally, the University of Maryland has added several state-of-the-art facilities on their campus, including the Iribe Center for computer science and engineering, the Thurgood Marshall Hall for the public policy school, and the IDEA factory for engineering and entrepreneurship.

On June 9, 2020, the city government passed a "Resolution of the Mayor and Council of the City of College Park Renouncing Systemic Racism and Declaring Support of Black Lives" which recognized harm done to the historic African American community of Lakeland. In it, "the Mayor and Council acknowledge and apologize for our city's past history of oppression, particularly with regards to the Lakeland community, and actively seek opportunities for accountability and truth-telling about past injustice, and aggressively seek opportunities for restorative justice".

On March 2, 2023, Patrick Wojahn, who had served as College Park's mayor since 2015, resigned after being arrested on child pornography charges. Wojahn pleaded guilty to over 100 counts and was sentenced to 150 years with 120 years suspended.

On November 8, 2023 the parking lot on the Greenbelt Metro station, adjacent to North College Park, was selected to host the future FBI headquarters. The construction of this facility is expected to further accelerate and consolidate the development of College Park.

Geography

College Park is located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The city is also part of the Washington metropolitan area, with all of its neighborhoods except for Camden and Sunnyside lying inside the Capital Beltway. It is bordered to the North by Beltsville, to the East by Greenbelt and Berwyn Heights, to the South by Riverdale Park and University Park, and to the West by Hyattsville and Adelphi.

The city straddles two small streams, Paint Branch and Indian Creek. The confluence of these two streams is located on the South-East corner of the city, next to the College Park Airport, and results in the Northeast branch Anacostia river. This river is a tributary of the Anacostia river, which itself is a tributary of the Potomac river that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. College Park has a total area of 5.68 sqmi, of which 5.64 sqmi is land and 0.04 sqmi is water.

Neighborhoods
The neighborhoods that were part of the initial incorporation of the city in 1945 (Calvert Hills, Old Town, Lakeland, Berwyn, Branchville, Oak Springs, Daniel's Park, and Hollywood) plus Sunnyside lie in between the Washington-Baltimore CSX railway tracks and Route 1/Baltimore Avenue. West of Baltimore Avenue lie Lord Calvert Manor, College Park Woods, Crystal Springs, Acerdale (University View), Autoville, Cherry Hill, and Camden. East of the CSX tracks lie College Park Estates and Yarrow.

These neighborhoods are primarily residential. They exhibit a variety of architectural styles including Queen Anne and Colonial Revival, and, in later constructions, American Foursquare, Cape Cod, and bungalow. Commercial activity is concentrated along Baltimore Avenue, Greenbelt Road, and Berwyn Road. Starting in 2017 commercial development also started expanding along Knox Road, Hartwick Road, and Calvert Road.

Additionally, the campus of the University of Maryland occupies 41% of the city's surface. The main campus, located west of Baltimore Avenue, is noted for its red-brick Georgian buildings and McKeldin Mall, which is the largest academic mall in the United States. Various film and TV pieces have been filmed on this campus, including St. Elmo’s Fire, Veep, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, or Young Sheldon. Graduate as well as fraternity and sorority housing is located between Baltimore Avenue and the CSX tracks, while the Discovery District, the university's business and research park, lies east of the tracks.

Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, College Park has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Tornadoes are rare (the whole state of Maryland averages 4 tornadoes per year ), but on September 24, 2001, a multiple-vortex F3 tornado hit the area, causing two deaths and 55 injuries and $101 million in property damage. This tornado was part of the Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., tornado outbreak of 2001, one of the most dramatic recent tornado events to directly affect the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.

Demographics
The median income for a household in the city was $50,168, and the median income for a family was $62,759 (these figures had risen to $66,953 and $82,295 respectively as of a 2007 estimate ). Males had a median income of $40,445 versus $31,631 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,026. About 4.2% of families and 19.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 30,413 people, 6,757 households, and 2,852 families residing in the city. The population density was 5392.4 PD/sqmi. There were 8,212 housing units at an average density of 1456.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 63.0% White, 14.3% African American, 0.3% Native American, 12.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 6.0% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 11.9% of the population.

There were 6,757 households, of which 18.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.6% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 57.8% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.18.

The median age in the city was 21.3 years. 7.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 60.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 15.7% were from 25 to 44; 11% were from 45 to 64; and 5.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 53.1% male and 46.9% female.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 24,657 people, 6,030 households, and 3,039 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,537.5 PD/sqmi. There were 6,245 housing units at an average density of 1,149.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 68.82% White, 15.93% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 10.03% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.57% from other races, and 2.31% from two or more races. 5.54% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,030 households, out of which 19.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.6% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.6% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the city, 10.5% of the population was under the age of 18, 51.3% was between from 18 to 24, 19.8% from 25 to 44, 11.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.2 males.

Economy

The University of Maryland shapes College Park's economy significantly, contributing to over half of the city's total employment and a significant fraction of its population. In 2017 the university rebranded its 150-acre business and research park as the Discovery district aiming to bring together research firms, start-ups and shops and restaurants. This area is divided between College Park and Riverdale Park.

This Discovery district is home to federal agencies such as the NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), and the navy's software factory (the Forge), as well as university centers such as the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) sponsored by the Department of Defense.

The Discovery district also includes technology companies generally related to the university. An area that has seen rapid growth in the Discovery district since 2010 is quantum technology. Efforts in this field include IonQ, a quantum computing company with a market capitalization of $2.8 billion as of December 2023, Quantum Startup Foundry, Quantum Catalyzer, and the National Quantum Lab at Maryland (Q-Lab), the nation’s first facility providing hands-on access to a commercial-grade quantum computer to the scientific community. These efforts are part of the university's campaign to further establish the area as the capital of quantum.

Other sectors with a strong presence in the Discovery district are cyber security (Cybrary, Immuta, BlueVoyand, and Inky) and medical devices (Medcura). On December 18, 2023, the Washington Commanders announced that they would be moving their headquarters to the Discovery district in 2024. The Discovery district area is considered one of the most important economic drivers in the county.

Top employers
According to the College Park's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Culture
The city organizes several annual events. The College Park Day, held in October at the College Park Aviation Museum & Airport, is the city's signature event. It features various activities, entertainment, and food vendors celebrating the community. Other events include the College Park Parade, featuring local groups, organizations, entertainers, and performers, Friday Night Live!, held several Fridays over the summer and featuring a variety of musical genres, food, beer, and other entertainment, and Winter Wonderland, which hosts the annual Winter Wonderland holiday market and the lighting of the city's tree.

During the late spring and throughout the summer, farmer markets in the Hollywood neighborhood, the university campus, and Paint Branch Parkway sell local produce, meats, bakery products, and crafts.

Performing arts
Several performing arts groups and facilities are on the University of Maryland's campus. The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is a 318,000-square-foot complex that opened in 2001 housing six performance venues as well as the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library. The Adele H. Stamp Student Union houses the Hoff Theater, the Art and Learning Center, and the Grand Ballroom where various events are held. Additionally, the Nyumburu Amphitheater, adjacent to the Stamp Student Union, features outdoor performances. The Jones-Hill House (former Cole Field), the Ritchie Coliseum, and the XFINITY Center are athletic facilities that also host performances. Some notable concerts held in these venues include Bruce Springsteen in 1973, Elvis Presley in 1974, Queen in 1977, and U2 in 1983.

Other venues in College Park that host cultural events include the Old Parish House, owned by the city, and the Hall CP, a restaurant with an outdoor performing area.

Museums
The College Park Aviation Museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution that since 1987 has housed antique and reproduction aircraft associated with the history of College Park Airport. It also includes an extensive library and archives which hold materials relating to the airport's history, early aviation history, especially relating to Maryland.

Other museums in College Park include the Art Gallery at the University of Maryland, the flagship art museum on the campus of the University of Maryland, and the National Museum of Language, a cultural institution established in 1997 to examine the history, impact, and art of language.

Historic sites
The following sites and districts in College Park are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

Additionally there are 14 historic sites in College Park as identified by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The following is a list of the historic sites that predate the 20th century:

Cuisine
College Park has a diverse range of restaurants offering a wide variety of domestic and international cuisines. Several Chinese and Mexican restaurants are rated among the best in the Washington metropolitan area. The development of the food scene in College Park accelerated in the 21st century following efforts from university officials, Prince George's County leaders, and developers aiming to make the Route 1 corridor a place that would attract more professionals. These efforts led to a significant increase in fine dining and Asian offerings in the city.

Sports and recreation
The sport culture in College Park centers around the 20 men's and women's sports teams fielded by the University of Maryland. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Big Ten Conference and have won over 44 national championships. In 2008 and 2010, The Princeton Review named the University of Maryland's athletic facilities the best in the nation. The largest of these facilities are the SECU Stadium for football and lacrosse (capacity 51,802), the XFINITY Center for basketball (capacity 17,950), and the Ludwig Field for soccer (capacity 7,000).

College Park offers 11 parks maintained by the city and the Maryland-national capital park & planning commission. The most popular is Lake Artemesia, a 38-acre lake that includes aquatic gardens, fishing piers, and a 1.35 mile hiker-biker trail around the lake. The lake is considered to provide one of the best inland aquatic habitats in the DC suburban area for birds, hosting over 220 species. The trail around the lake connects to other heavily-used trails within the city that are part of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System and the East Coast Greenway, making College Park a regional activity hub. Other parks in the city include the Hollywood Gateway Park, a pocket park in North College Park that opened in 2020, and the Paint Branch Community Park which offers an 18-hole disc golf course.

Runners and walkers from College Park and nearby communities gather most Saturdays for the College Park parkrun, a timed 5 km event. With over 39,000 finishes, the College Park parkrun is estimated to be the largest event of its kind in the US.

College Park has a strong culture of board gaming and game development. Wingspan was inspired by bird watching at Lake Artemesia and partially developed at Board and Brew, one of the oldest board game cafés in the United States. The city is the birthplace of Break My Game, a nonprofit organization that helps game developers improve their games by having experienced players play-test them.

Other city attractions include the Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC), a tennis training center and preparatory school where top-10 player Frances Tiafoe was raised, the War Veterans Memorial, the Ellen E. Linson Splash Park, featuring slides, diving boards, and lap lanes, and the Herbert Wells Ice Rink, a semi-enclosed seasonal ice rink in the same facility.

City government
College Park has operated under the council-manager form of government since 1960. The City Council is the legislative body of the City and makes all city policy. The council has eight members, representing four districts in the city. The Council is elected by district every 2 years in non-partisan elections. The Mayor is elected at large on the same election schedule as the City Council. City Council meetings are held weekly at the College Park City Hall. The mayors of College Park have been:

• William A. Duvall (1945–1951)

• Charles R. Davis (1951–1963)

• William W. Gullett (1963–1969)

• William R. Reading (1969–1973)

• Dervey A. Lomax (1973–1975)

• St. Clair Reeves (1975–1981)

• Alvin J. Kushner (1981–1987)

• Anna Latta Owens (1987–1993)

• Joseph E. Page (1993–1997)

• Michael J. Jacobs (1997–2001)

• Stephen A. Brayman (2001–2009)

• Andrew M. Fellows (2009–2015)

• Patrick L. Wojahn (2015–2023)

• Denise C. Mitchell, Acting (2023)

• S.M. Fazlul Kabir (2023–present)

The Council appoints the City Manager, who manages all city services, implements the policy established by the City Council, and appoints and supervises the heads of the various city department. The City Manager also serves as an adviser to the City Council. The manager’s office manages the day-to-day activities and financial affairs of the City, and oversees communications and IT for the City.

The government of College Park has five operating functions: General Government and Administration; Public Services, Planning and Community Development; Youth, Family and Senior Services; and Public Works. In addition to the Finance Department, the General Government and Administration function includes the offices/departments of the City Manager, Economic Development, City Clerk, Human Resources, City Attorney, Communications and Information Technology.

The Prince George's County Police Department District 1 Station in Hyattsville serves College Park. The U.S. Postal Service operates the College Park Post Office and the North College Park Post Office. The College Park Volunteer Fire Department responds to emergencies in the University of Maryland, City of College Park and northern Prince George’s County areas.

, College Park belongs to Maryland's 4th congressional district.

City-student politics
University of Maryland students make up about 55% of the population of College Park, but their involvement in the city government is limited. Their turnout in city elections varies between 2% and 15%, compared to the 40% average of the rest of the College Park residents. There are efforts to increase this participation both from the university’s student liaison to the council and council members themselves.

Students living within the city are eligible to run for city elections and in 2009 Marcus Afzali, a 24-year-old doctoral student in the Department of Government and Politics, was elected to the city council.

Colleges and universities
The University of Maryland, College Park, the flagship institution of the University System of Maryland, is located within the College Park city limits. With over 40,000 enrolled students, it is also the largest campus-based university in both the state and the Washington metropolitan area.

The headquarters for the University of Maryland Global Campus, the largest online public university in the U.S., are located in Adelphi, MD, right next to the University of Maryland College Park campus. UMGC is the second largest employer in College Park.

Public schools
College Park is served by Prince George's County Public Schools. Elementary school students are zoned to Hollywood ES and Paint Branch ES in College Park, Berwyn Heights ES, University Park ES, and Cherokee Lane ES in Adelphi. Middle school students are zoned to Greenbelt MS, Hyattsville MS, and Buck Lodge MS in Adelphi. High school students are zoned to High Point HS in Belstville, Northwestern HS in Hyattsville, and Parkdale HS in Riverdale Park. Another notable public high school in the area is Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt. Additionally, the College Park Academy is a grade 6-12 charter school currently located in Riverdale Park. This school was launched in 2013 by the College Park City-University Partnership aiming to improve the perception of local public schools.

Private schools
Private schools include:
 * Dar-us-Salaam/Al Huda School, K–12 (College Park)
 * Berwyn Baptist School, PreK–8
 * Friends Community School, K–8
 * Holy Redeemer School, PreK–8
 * Laurel Springs School at Junior Tennis Champions Center, K–12
 * Saint Francis International School St. Mark Campus, K–8, Hyattsville (affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington) – formerly St. Mark the Evangelist School, closed and merged into Saint Francis International, which opened in 2010.

Media
The city is part of the Washington, D.C. television market (DMA #9). Local media sources include:
 * The Diamondback, a student publication, formerly distributed once a week on a limited basis downtown, including in city hall, and widely on the campus of the University of Maryland. Print editions were discontinued in March 2020, and the newspaper was moved entirely online.
 * College Park: Here & Now: a free monthly nonprofit newspaper available throughout the city which began publishing in 2020.
 * UMTV: the cable television station operated by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.
 * WMUC broadcasts from the University of Maryland campus, with a range of two miles (3 km) – roughly from the campus to the Beltway. It is also broadcast over the internet at www.wmucradio.com.
 * The oldest operational Persian podcast is called Radio College Park as it is produced by a group of Iranian graduate students at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Roads and highways

U.S. Route 1 is the main artery traversing College Park in the North-South direction. This road is called  Baltimore Avenue in this area and it connects College Park to neighboring communities to the South such as Riverdale Park, Hyattsville, and Washington D.C. In North College Park, Baltimore Avenue provides direct access to Interstate 95/Interstate 495, the Capital Beltway. I-495 encircles Washington, D.C. via the Capital Beltway, providing access to the city and its many suburbs. I-95 only follows the eastern portion of the beltway, diverging away from the beltway near its northeasternmost and southwesternmost points. To the north, I-95 passes through Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston on its way to Canada, while to the south, it traverses Richmond on its way to Florida.

Maryland State Route 193 also passes through the city, following University Boulevard and Greenbelt Road from west to east. MD 431 also serves College Park, linking it with Riverdale Park.

Bicycle trails
College Park has several miles of interconnected dedicated hiker/biker trails. The most popular one is the Trolley Trail, a 3.8-mile trail that runs along Rhode Island Avenue. This trail runs from Greenbelt Road in North College Park to its intersection with the Northwest branch trail in South Hyattsville, and takes advantage of the right-of-way that had been used by streetcars connecting College Park to Washington D.C. between 1903 and 1962.

Other dedicated bicycle trails in the city include the 1.35-mile Lake Artemesia trail encircling Lake Artemesia, the 3.5-mile Paint Branch trail connecting Lake Artemesia with North College Park following the Pain Branch stream, and the Indian Creek trail. These three trails converge in southeast College Park with the Northeast Branch trail, which is part of the extensive Anacostia Tributary Trail System and the East Coast Greenway, enabling commutes to areas such as Washington DC or Silver Spring along dedicated bicycle pathways. College Park is ranked as the second most bikeable city in the state by Redfin, and the University of Maryland has a Gold-Level Bike-Friendly Campus designation by the League of American Bicyclists.

Airport
College Park Airport is the oldest continuously operating airport in the United States and is one of the oldest airports in the world, having been in continuous operation since 1909. It originated as the site where the U.S. government began to train pilots, under the tutelage of Wilbur Wright, for military purposes. Its future status is uncertain, as it lies just a few miles outside the restricted airspace of Washington, D.C. In 1977, the airport was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Area commercial airports include Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Reagan National Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport.

Public transportation
College Park–University of Maryland Station on the Washington Metro's Green Line is in College Park; a large commuter parking garage was completed in 2004 adjacent to the Metro station. MARC trains run on CSX tracks adjacent to the Green Line and stop at a small station next to the College Park Metro station. The Metro station lies at what had been the historic junction of Calvert Road and the CSX tracks.

Five Purple Line light rail stations will serve College Park when the system opens in 2027: Adelphi Road, Campus Drive, Baltimore Avenue, College Park Metro and Riverdale Park North. University of Maryland students, faculty and staff will be able to ride fare-free among those stops. The Purple Line will link the Metro's Red, Green, and Orange lines. As well as the MARC commuter rail's Penn and Camden lines. The Purple Line station on the University of Maryland campus will eliminate the need for a bus route to the university's main Metro station, the Green line's College Park – U of Md station.

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

title: College Park, Maryland


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English Heritage

English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts, and country houses.

The charity states that it uses these properties to "bring the story of England to life for over 10 million people each year". Within its portfolio are Stonehenge, Dover Castle, Tintagel Castle, and the best-preserved parts of Hadrian's Wall. English Heritage also manages the London blue plaque scheme, which links influential historical figures to particular buildings.

When originally formed in 1983, English Heritage was the operating name of an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government, officially titled the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, that ran the national system of heritage protection and managed a range of historic properties. It was created to combine the roles of existing bodies that had emerged from a long period of state involvement in heritage protection. In 1999, the organisation merged with the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England and the National Monuments Record, bringing together resources for the identification and survey of England's historic environment.

On 1 April 2015, English Heritage was divided into two parts: Historic England, which inherited the statutory and protection functions of the old organisation, and the new English Heritage Trust, a charity that would operate the historic properties, and which took on the English Heritage operating name and logo. The British government gave the new charity an £80 million grant to help establish it as an independent trust, although the historic properties remain in the ownership of the state.

Non-departmental public body
Over the centuries, what is now called "heritage" has been the responsibility of a series of state departments. There was the "Kings Works" after the Norman Conquest, the Office of Works (1378–1832), the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues and Works (1832–1851), and the Ministry of Works (1851–1962). Responsibility subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Public Building and Works (1962–1970), then to the Department of the Environment (1970–1997), and it is now with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The state's legal responsibility for the historic environment goes back to the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882. The central government subsequently developed several systems of heritage protection for different types of assets, introducing listing for buildings after the Second World War, and for conservation areas in the 1960s.

In 1983, Secretary of State for the Environment Michael Heseltine gave national responsibility for the historic environment to a semi‑autonomous agency (or "quango") to operate under ministerial guidelines and to government policy. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission was formed under the terms of the National Heritage Act 1983 on 1 April 1984. The 1983 Act also dissolved the bodies that had previously provided independent advice – the Ancient Monuments Board for England and the Historic Buildings Council for England – and incorporated those functions into the new body. Soon after, the commission was given the operating name of English Heritage by its first chairman, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu.

A national register of historic parks and gardens, (e.g. Rangers House, Greenwich) was set up in 1984, and a register for historic battlefields (e.g. the Battle of Tewkesbury) was created in March 1995. 'Registration' is a material consideration in the planning process. In April 1999 English Heritage merged with the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) and the National Monuments Record (NMR), bringing together resources for the identification and survey of England's historic environment. By adoption, that included responsibility for the national record of archaeological sites from the Ordnance Survey, the National Library of Aerial Photographs, and two million RAF and Ordnance Survey aerial photographs. Those, together with other nationally important external acquisitions, meant that English Heritage was one of the largest publicly accessible archives in the UK: 2.53 million records are available online, including more than 426,000 images. In 2010–11, it recorded 4.3 million unique online user sessions and over 110,000 people visited NMR exhibitions held around the country in 2009–10. In 2012, the section responsible for archive collections was renamed the English Heritage Archive.

As a result of the National Heritage Act 2002, English Heritage acquired administrative responsibility for historic wrecks and submerged landscapes within 12 mi of the English coast. The administration of the listed building system was transferred from DCMS to English Heritage in 2006. However, actual listing decisions still remained the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who was required by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 to approve a list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest.

Following the Public Bodies Reform in 2010, English Heritage was confirmed as the government's statutory adviser on the historic environment, and the largest source of non-lottery grant funding for heritage assets. It was retained on grounds of "performing a technical function which should remain independent from Government". However, the department also suffered from budget cuts during the recession of the 2010s, resulting in a repairs deficit of £100 million.

Charitable trust
In June 2013 the British Government announced plans to provide an £80 million grant to enable English Heritage to become a self-financing charity (roughly following the precedent set by the transformation of the nationally owned British Waterways into the Canal & River Trust). The national portfolio of historic properties remain in public ownership, but the new English Heritage will be licensed to manage them.

The change occurred on 1 April 2015 with the statutory planning and heritage protection functions remaining an independent, non-departmental public body, rebranded as Historic England. The care of the properties in the National Collection and the visitor experience attached to them were transferred to the new English Heritage Trust, although the English Heritage name and logo remains. The new trust has a licence to operate the properties until 2025.

National Collection

English Heritage is the guardian of over 400 sites and monuments, the most famous of which include Stonehenge, Osborne, Iron Bridge and Dover Castle. Whilst many have an entry charge, more than 250 properties are free to enter including Maiden Castle, Dorset and St Catherine's Oratory.

The sites are part of the portfolio of over 880 historical places across the UK amassed by the British Government between the 1880s and the 1970s to form the National Collection of built and archaeological heritage. (The balance is in the care of Historic Scotland and Cadw.) These sites represent a deliberate attempt by the state in the 19th and early 20th century to take the nation's most significant prehistoric sites and medieval sites, which were no longer in active use, into public ownership. This national property collection performs the same function as pictures in the National Gallery and the archaeological material in the British Museum.

Unlike the National Trust, English Heritage holds few furnished properties, although Charles Darwin's home at Down, Kent (where he wrote On the Origin of Species) and Brodsworth Hall, South Yorkshire are major exceptions to this. New sites are rarely added to the collection as other charities and institutions are now encouraged to care for them and open them to the public. Recent acquisitions include Harmondsworth Barn in west London, close to Heathrow airport, in late 2011 and Carrawburgh Roman Fort in January 2020.

The properties are held by English Heritage under various arrangements. The majority are in the guardianship of the Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, with the freehold being retained by the owner. The remaining properties are owned either by English Heritage, other government departments or the Crown Estate.

In 2013–14 there were 5.73 million visits to staffed sites, with 713,000 free educational visits to sites, collections and tailored learning activities and resources.

In February 2024, English Heritage reported that the previous year had seen record numbers of families visiting their sites, with numbers up 50% over the past decade. 2023 also proved to be a record-breaking year for a number of sites, such as Tintagel Castle.

Funding
As a charitable trust, English Heritage relies on the income generated from admission fees to its properties, membership fees and trading income from (e.g.) catering, holiday cottages and shops. It also has income from fundraising and grants. To ease the transition, the government has supplied a total of £80 million in yearly subsidies until 2023 to cover the backlog of maintenance to the sites in English Heritage's care.

Previously, when English Heritage was a non-departmental public body and included the functions of planning, listing, awarding grants, heritage research and advice, most of its funding came from government. In 2013–2014, English Heritage had a total income of £186.55 million, of which £99.85 million came from grant-in-aid, with the remaining £86.7 million from earned sources. This included £17.47 million from property admissions, £14.96 million from catering and retail, £22.91 million from membership and £26.39 million from donations and grants.

The trust's financial plan saw the annual requirement for subsidy being cut from £15.6 million in 2015/16 to £10.1 million in 2020/21 and zero in 2022/23.

Membership
Members of the public are encouraged to join English Heritage as "members". Membership provides benefits such as free admission to its properties and member-only events as well as reduced-cost admission to associated properties. Members also get access for free or reduced cost to properties managed by Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland, the Office of Public Works in the Republic of Ireland, Manx National Heritage on the Isle of Man and Heritage New Zealand. In 2014/15 there were 1.34 million members. However, membership does not convey voting rights or influence over the way English Heritage is run.

Participation in consultations and web-based surveys by English Heritage is not restricted to its membership. It invites various groups and members of the public to give views on specific issues, most notably in recent years about the Stonehenge road tunnel project proposals.

Volunteering
The organisation welcomes volunteers. Roles range from room stewarding, running education workshops and gardening, to curatorial cleaning and research.

In 2014/15 the number of regular volunteers reached 1,872, up from 1,473 in 2013/14.

1066 March
In 2016, to mark the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest of 1066, English Heritage organised the 1066 March from Clifford's Tower in York to Battle Abbey in East Sussex. A team of volunteers led by Nigel Amos and composed of Dominic Sewell, Brian Mahoney, Joshua Powell, William Ballance, Lucy Amos, Karlos Moir, Clive Hart and Matthew Clarke, completed the journey over 3 weeks, arriving at Battle Abbey on 14 October 2016.

Management and governance
English Heritage is governed by a trustee board who set the strategic direction of the organisation and ensure that the organisation delivers its goals and objectives. It is led by the chairman, currently Gerard Lemos. Other trustees are Sarah Staniforth, Vicky Barnsley, Kay Boycott, Liz Bromley, Tony Cates, Tanvi Gokhale, Sir Laurie Magnus, Kunle Olulode, Sue Wilkinson and William Whyte.

Operational management is delegated to the chief executive, Nick Merriman. The chief executive is supported by an executive board of eight directors.

In 2013/14, prior to becoming a charity, English Heritage employed 2,578 staff.

Blue plaque

English Heritage has administered the blue plaque scheme in London since 1986. The plaques mark buildings in the capital that were the homes of (or otherwise associated with) people of historical significance. The scheme remains the responsibility of English Heritage following the transfer to the voluntary sector in 2015.

For a short period from 1998 English Heritage trialled plaques outside the Greater London area. Plaques were erected in Merseyside, Birmingham and elsewhere; but the scheme was discontinued in 2005.

Many other plaques have been erected throughout the UK (including London) by town councils, district councils, civic societies, historical societies, fan clubs, companies, and individuals. These are not managed or require approval from English Heritage. An open register is available at Open Plaques.

English Heritage sites in Cornwall
In 1999 a pressure group, the Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament, wrote to English Heritage asking them to remove all signs bearing their name from Cornish sites by July 1999 as they regarded the ancient sites as Cornish heritage, not English. Over a period of eleven months members of the Cornish Stannary removed 18 signs and a letter was sent to English Heritage saying "The signs have been confiscated and held as evidence of English cultural aggression in Cornwall. Such racially motivated signs are deeply offensive and cause distress to many Cornish people". On 18 January 2002, at Truro Crown Court, after the prosecution successfully applied for a Public Immunity Certificate to suppress defence evidence (these are normally issued in cases involving national security), three members of the group agreed to return the signs and pay £4,500 in compensation to English Heritage and to be bound over to keep the peace. In return, the prosecution dropped charges of conspiracy to cause criminal damage.

In 2011, Conservative MP George Eustice stated that Cornish heritage "is not English" and that there is "a growing feeling that Cornwall should have its own heritage organisation, taking over from English Heritage." He suggested that English Heritage be replaced "with a Cornish Heritage group, just like they have for instance in Wales and Scotland". The then Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt was called upon to give cash to a new autonomous body in Cornwall by "top slicing" English Heritage's budget.

Fortress House
In 2006, the Secretary of State at the DCMS issued a certificate of exemption from listing for Fortress House, the then English Heritage headquarters. In 2009, it was demolished and the site redeveloped for a commercial office building.

Photography
In 2010 the organisation sent an email to open access photograph agency fotoLibra, attempting to ban the unauthorised commercial use of photographs of Stonehenge. A subsequent statement of regret was issued, clarifying that "We do not control the copyright of all images of Stonehenge and have never tried to do so." The organisation added that they request that commercial photographers pay fees and abide by certain conditions.

Youth engagement
Since 2018, English Heritage's highly successful national youth engagement project, Shout Out Loud, has provided a platform for young people to explore heritage sites and collections across England, helping them to uncover untold stories from our past. By amplifying their voices, the now permanent youth engagement programme continues to put young people's ideas and stories at the heart of English Heritage, engendering feelings of inclusion and relevance via increased representation and creative opportunities for involvement. Shout Out Loud was originally funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of Kick the Dust.

Shout Out Loud established a successful consortium of partners between 2018 and 2022 including Photoworks, the Council for British Archaeology, National Youth Theatre and Sound Connections. A number of high-profile projects were delivered with these partners including: Reverberate, a project aimed at connecting grassroot youth organisations with their local heritage (with Sound Connections); England's New Lenses,   a photography project resulting in new bodies of work connected to English Heritage sites from four emerging photographers (with Photoworks); 'The Ancestors',   a performance based project exploring Black prisoners of War at Portchester Castle (with the National Youth Theatre and Warwick University) and 'Our House',  exploring LGBTQ+ history at Eltham Palace (with the National Youth Theatre and Metro Charity); 'From Ordinary to Extraordinary', a project supporting national Young Archaeologists' Clubs to creatively explore and share their local history with new audiences (with the Council for British Archaeology).

Shout Out Loud was awarded the 2019 UK Heritage Award for Best Event, Festival or Exhibition for 'Our House' and shortlisted for the 2022 Museums and Heritage Award for Community Engagement Programme of the Year for the programme as a whole.

Young People are able to get involved with the ongoing youth engagement programme via online mass participation projects, creative residency or participation opportunities (often shared on the dedicated Instagram channel @eh_shoutoutloud), via projects as part of a youth group, or by joining one of the ongoing schemes 'Young Associates' (ages 16–25, no application necessary, join at any time) or Young Producers (ages 18–25, applications open once a year). Paid six month placement opportunities are also available once or twice per year. Previous placement holders have gone on to positions with the BBC, The National Archives, Netflix, Warner Brothers and the National Trust.

Similar organisations

 * Cadw
 * Historic Environment Scotland
 * Manx National Heritage
 * National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

title: English Heritage


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Talk:Esoteric knowledge

I don't see any reason why we shouldn't merge Esoteric knowledge and Occult (and probably esotericism). If these articles need to be differentiated more strongly then we need to write text that does this.

Occult has a different connotation. Esoteric knowledge is simply information that is "true" but by some circumstance not general, for example, precisely how to make a small H-bomb, or the sort of knowledge a veteran taxidriver has of a city. Esotericism, on the other hand, consists of attaching significance to a body of knowledge which is at variance with general knowledge; although it may be neither secret or true. User:Fredbauder

 * Agree: true and deeper... --GalaazV 04:37, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

Request for your aid dealing with actions from a user against Religious, Spiritual and Esoteric articles
User:Baphomet. is damaging Wikipedia: he his trying to label Religious articles as Superstition (from a POV view of positivism, that he calls Science). At the article Reincarnation he just went on to add to category "Superstition" and later on without discussion put a POV msg in the article. Please see the discussion page between both of us Talk:Reincarnation.

Through the use of a Culture created by extremism in Science, he is clearly trying to do the job that the Inquisition did in the Middle Ages in a Culture created by extremism in Religion. He is damaging Wikipedia in a subtle invious way!
 * Please see also the Alert message I have created at Wikiquette_alerts, Thank you! --GalaazV 20:25, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Esoteric knowledge


text:
Talk:Occult

Occult or Esoteric?
I would like to clarify on some of the below listed remarks from people with honest questions but highly subjective views.The word Occult does in a glib definition mean 'Hidden' but the dogma the organizations claiming to be the Temples and Churches of God have often been to discourage ridicule and eradicate this traditions much as the Pharisee's did to Christ. I am a Christian Occultist myself and I think that if anyone wants to change this article they would have to be well acquainted with the tradition in question if you tell me that the Occult is a dark practice, I insist that you give Reference. Much of the Occult has to do with Exorcism and this is in fact a Occult Tradition maintained by most Orthodox Christians. Transubstantiations is another specifically Catholic Practice this is Occult. As is Baptism and a countless many traditions including the reciting of psalms to cure men or the calling down of the presence of the Lord to work a miracle through a man. Is this not Holy Possession much Like that of Voudo the Only real difference is i believe it is a demon posses the Houngan and a Spirit of the Lord the Preacher/Priest. If you still believe that the Occult means a Working against the will and plan of God in a Satanic way then Question away I will answer all Questions. Because I think it is about time the Occult is claimed by its rightful heirs the Monotheists.

Isn't it that occult carries a much darker emotional backdrop than magic or esoteric does ? From a rational view point there may be incorrectly perceived opposition to Christianity since Christianity has adopted some heathen rituals which follow an occult logic. But at its heart an occult act implies a physical or mental sacrifice to me. The object scarified(crop, animal) or my submission to higher powers is a symbolic sacrifice which constitutes the occult act substitutional psychologically. // sorry if my English style is not the best - I'm no native speaker. 02.09.2004

I don't see any reason why we shouldn't merge Esoteric knowledge and Occult (and probably esotericism). If these articles need to be differentiated more strongly then we need to write text that does this.

Only issue I imagine occurring is one of interpretation: the 'Occult' often implies (incorrectly, of course) an opposition to Christianity &/or other non-Occult oriented fields of interest..in my opinion, other than this (if it's in the least important) there'd be no issue.

There does seem to be quite a bit of overlap in the articles.

I usually think of "esoteric" as something that is still somehow within the confines of a more esoteric tradition or religion - like Sufism to Islam, or maybe Gnosticism to Christianity (although perhaps not all Gnostics would fit in this category).

To me, the "occult" involves those traditions or practices that fall outside of a religious category - like Magick, Hermeticism, Alchemy. - RL Barrett 22:23 May 6, 2003 (UTC)

This whole article (Occult) strikes me as redundant as well. Anything that could be covered in here is done much better in the previously mentioned pages, as well as Magic and New Age. Is there any need to keep it up except the definition?

Occult is derived from a Latin word meaning hidden. For all the ages of man there have been hidden things, and will continue to be. Occult is not nessecarily associated with magic satan or any other title thereof, it simply is not known. The fact of the matter is there will always be the occult. There may not be government conspiracies, but there can and have been secrets kept for the fact they can be kept.

Esoteric means 'inner' (as opposed to exoteric or 'outer'), in the sense that it is not the mainstream belief system that is practised by the masses but rather, like one of the above contributors has pointed out, a tradition that is (usually) associated with a larger framework-religion. so yes, Sufism is considered an esoteric stream of 'exoteric' or mainstream Islam, Kabbalists are adherents of an esoteric strain of Judaism, Mystics are sometimes considered esoteric Christians, Tantra is esoteric Buddhism, etc. In almost every form of esotericism, practitioners attempt to attain a direct union with the Divine rather than through a community or clergical figure playing the 'middle man'(although a 'guru' or teacher may aid the process of enlightenment. It is a more intimate version of mass religion and is often associated with the attainment of higher levels of consciousness, spiritual ecstasy, very strong feelings of understanding and interconnectedness and supernatural magic-like abilities. It is often confused with the New Age movement, which has borrowed heavily from esoteric and occult teachings and traditions but is again the more mainstream aspect of 'true' esotericism, which is not concerned with

Occultism is generally not directly associated with such larger established religions, but rather a collection of occult ('hidden') traditions, such as the aforementioned Hermeticism. It is not really 'darker' than esotericism, since neither are out in the open, but it has historically (but wrongly ) been associated with Satanism. There is a strong overlap in many of the core elements of both occultism and esotericism, yet they are still classified as separate in comparative religious studies, as certain traditions (such as Aleister Crowley's Magick) could not be classified as esoteric, since there is no exoteric counterpart of Magick (and no, Harry Potter does not count;)

I can put this section in the main article if you think it fits the standard. Krambambuli (talk) 13:13, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

The spin usually attributed to Occult is purely from the mind of the perceiver. There is no such thing as black or white magic, but rather the intentions meant while occult practices are being carried out make the darkness or lightness of the magic. Considering most of us have self-motivated gain in our hearts and minds, any practice we carry out to our own benefit is true sin. For example, to use advertising and manipulate a person, without them knowing they are being manipulated is true sin. Features of the psychology, sometimes referred to as the 9 gates, are the methods of manipulation in use today across the whole world. Considering most are unaware of these 9 gates, you are fully controlled by occult means. To name a few, sexuality, greed and security. They can all be tweaked to get you to buy, join, read, fear, conform and believe anything you read. The fear of WMD can even get you to support a war! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.155.212.139 (talk) 16:55, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

Occult, esoteric and any other forms of either word can safely have their articles merged, perhaps with the use of a TOC. Both terms, much like pagan or paganism, are catchall/umbrella phrases with many, Many subtopics under them. Occult and Esoteric are used interchangeably to speak about the exact same topics in many of not Most cases.

Some of the above posts are wildly inaccurate. The statement: “ Much of the Occult has to do with Exorcism” is a prime example, as are statements and posts speaking of The Occult (again, and umbrella term used to describe thousands of discrete subjects) as a discrete practice or belief system in itself. It is not, nor has it Ever been such in the same way that Paganism or NeoPaganism have never been discrete practices or belief systems. Those words as well, are catchalls or umbrella terms used to make talking about a subject with such an enormous volume of actual discrete practices and beliefs easier by giving people a Very general touchstone phrase.

Occult and Esoteric are Not common nouns. SundarkAdept (talk) 00:47, 28 February 2023 (UTC)

Meaning of "occult"
We can discuss about the meaning of occult here rather changing the short description text. I suggested that occult in broader sense is a belief on supernatural and magical entities that fall outside the scope of religion and science. The text should be indicate general term for occult, not only knowledge, but it can mean belief. You're welcome to suggest your idea about its meaning here, which is in broader sense as the intro paragraph direct the meaning. 196.188.241.162 (talk) 16:25, 3 March 2021 (UTC)

 * Although WP:NOTDICT applies, here are a few related open-license definitions (Webster's, WordNet):

{Occult sciences}, those sciences of the Middle Ages which related to the supposed action or influence of occult qualities, or supernatural powers, as alchemy, magic, necromancy, and astrology. adj : having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to            the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding; "mysterious symbols"; "the mystical style of Blake"; "occult lore"; "the secret learning of the ancients" [syn: {mysterious}, {mystic}, {mystical}, {secret}] n : supernatural forces and events and beings collectively; "She          doesn't believe in the supernatural" [syn: {supernatural}]
 * So it seems that mysticism and belief in the paranormal, that you already mentioned, apply. It's somewhat historically related to old "science" and by extension to religion because of the supernatural beliefs, but I agree that the short description doesn't need to mention religion. — Paleo  Neonate  – 21:26, 10 March 2021 (UTC)

 * Occultism in part (such as in the case of hermetic alchemy and astrology) can be regarded as archaic precursors to science sure. In the case of practices such as Cabalistic High-Magic, witchcraft, theurgy, thaumaturgy, or Rosicrucianism, however, these are based on wholly separate ideas such as the metaphysical sympathy of abstractions instead of any scientific methodology in our materialist or positivist causal universe, while still being deeply rooted or even a crucial portion of mainstream religions in modern time. (In the case of rosicrucianism, Santeria, or Cabala, it is based upon canon beliefs in Catholicism and Judaism).

To say that “supernatural beliefs” is somehow contrary to religion doesn’t really make much sense to me. Religious beliefs quite explicitly are those metaphysical precepts taken to be true that form a framework for answering questions about things we cannot adequately observe or quantify to our own standard of proof or threshold of belief. To say that this does not result in a belief in the supernatural, preternatural, or paranormal in most cases seems peculiar to me. I have posted a similar topic requesting the removal of religion from the long definition.

Luxnir (talk) 02:40, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

Religion and science?
Generally, occultism is related to the archaic definition relating to “hidden” things. What I don’t understand is where the qualification in the intro has to include “religion” with science? There are several religions that are identified with and even self-identify with occult practices. Even if we were to restrict occultism to Astronomy or alchemy, hermetic philosophy was very explicitly a monotheistic and/or biocentrist religious system and the zodiac was an obvious Greco-Egyptian pidgin of religious beliefs. To say that it “usually” deviates from religious concepts seems like (though pleasing to the tone) a conclusory statement that is needless and possibly misleading. I mean we have a religion like Wicca, which has been recognized and granted institutional religious privilege by governments across the world for decades, that is exclusively based upon secret oathbound esoteric arts and magic, along with other instances of Neopaganism or reconstructionist movements of pre-Christian religion in general. We don’t even need to get into hermetic alchemy being the precursor to modern chemistry or how things like “hermetically sealed” containers in science bear occult origins. I’m more convinced despite this that deviation from science is certainly a core aspect of occulted knowledge but I am very very uneasy about including religion in there.

I propose that we omit that deviation from “religion”, in the top of the article, is what defines occultism.

Thoughts?

Luxnir (talk) 02:25, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Information Literacy and Scholarly Discourse
— Assignment last updated by Mlclark1 (talk) 13:23, 10 June 2022 (UTC)

Adorno on occultism
It seems adornos definition of occultism as basically anything irrational and just as uninformed and presumptive as his views on things like jazz. Is it even worth including such a biased definition of occultism as literally “irrationality”? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2603:6010:1100:6026:991C:6C74:D210:46CA (talk) 15:23, 27 May 2022 (UTC)

A reasonable Definition of Occultism?
Sorry, but is not the the definition of occultism, "as basically anything irrational", a fair and reasonable statement? Then again, might not adding remarks about someone's views on jazz be seen as needless, uninformed and presumptive? For are there not some good reasons to add that the questioning of occultism is ("literally") far from irrationality? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.110.75.96 (talk) 16:41, 17 May 2023 (UTC)

List of Occult
There was a link to the List of Occult groups and organizations in the See Also section of this article. The list was in alphabetical order similar to the list of occult terms. I recall that the list was until 2023 available. Can this list be put back, please? Thank you Justeli (talk) 18:42, 29 December 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Occult


text:
Talk:Wilson

Do we need to rename this Wilson (film) and make Wilson a disambiguation page?

Maybe Woodrow Wilson should be under other (compared to TV characters)?

title: Talk:Wilson