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Carol Smillie

Carol Patricia Smillie (born 23 December 1961) is a Scottish former television presenter, actress and model. Smillie became famous as a presenter on British TV during the 1990s and early 2000s. She was best known for assisting Nicky Campbell on the UK version of the game show Wheel of Fortune between 1989 and 1994. Between 1996 and 2003, she was the main presenter on the BBC One home makeover show Changing Rooms.

After leaving the Glasgow School of Art, Smillie was a model throughout the 1980s. Her break in television came in 1989 when she auditioned for the role of hostess on Wheel of Fortune After leaving the show in 1994, Smillie appeared on the BBC television channel, firstly as a reporter on The Travel Show, and then the Holiday show, eventually becoming the programme's main presenter. The DIY programme Changing Rooms established her name and led to her presenting other primetime shows for the BBC, such as the National Lottery and her own morning chat show Smillie's People.

In 2012 Smillie decided to leave mainstream TV and created a new business venture, launching a brand of leak-proof underwear for women, named DiaryDoll. This was later changed to Pretty Clever Pants. In 2018 Smillie relinquished control of her business, licensing the brand to the company High Street TV.

As of 2018, Smillie qualified as a humanist celebrant with the Humanist Society Scotland, and is now pursuing a career conducting humanist, non-religious weddings, funerals and baby-namings.

1961–1988: Early life and career beginnings
Smillie was born on 23 December 1961, in Glasgow, Scotland, the daughter of Isobel and electrical engineer George Smillie. She has two older sisters and one older brother.

Smillie attended Simshill Primary School and the independent Hutchesons' Grammar School. Academically she attained seven O-grades, including a qualification in fabric and fashion. She left the following year with three Highers, but needed five to get into the Glasgow School of Art. Smillie studied at Langside College, but managed only one more, which she has attributed to too much freedom and enjoying herself. Undeterred, she spent another year at Cardonald College, finally achieving this goal.

At age 18, in 1979, Smillie embarked on her first year at the Glasgow School of Art, studying Art, Design, and Fashion, with the idea of becoming a fashion designer, but felt she didn't really fit in with the typical punk students sporting green hair and pink shoes. To subsidise her studies, Smillie worked in a cocktail bar, modelling part-time, and eventually left to embark on a modelling career.

Smillie then joined the Best Modelling Agency, run by Fiona Best. Too short at 5 ft for catwalk modelling, she booked photo shoots and promotions. Smillie worked for the agency throughout the 1980s. Smillie met her future husband, former model Alex Knight, through Fiona's agency.

1989–1994: Wheel of Fortune
Smillie's presenting career launched in 1989, at age 27, when she beat 5,000 other applicants to become the hostess and puzzle board operator of Scottish Television's Wheel of Fortune game show. She co-presented the show until 1994 with Nicky Campbell.

1994–1996: Get It On
Fashion series presented by Smillie and produced by Scottish Television.

1992–1993: The Travel Show
Reporter on BBC Two's The Travel Show.

1995–1996: Hearts of Gold
Smillie joined the show as co-presenter with Mickey Hutton, alongside the main presenter Esther Rantzen. The show recognised unsung heroes and heroines who had shown outstanding bravery and dedication to public life.

1996–2000: Holiday
Stints followed on BBC One for the Holiday programme. Smillie continued to present holiday programmes such as Summer Holiday, Holiday Swaps, Holiday Heaven and Holiday Favourites throughout the 1990s.

1996–2003: Changing Rooms
In 1996, Smillie became the original presenter of BBC Two's new DIY show Changing Rooms. The show was an immediate success and was transferred to BBC One for series 2. The programme is credited with starting a craze for DIY in the late 1990s. During her time on the show, it won a National TV Award and an INDIE Award and were BAFTA nominated. Smillie remained the main presenter for 13 series, leaving in 2003. In September 1998, she was the subject of This Is Your Life.

1996–2000: The National Lottery Show
In 1996, Smillie was selected as a presenter of the BBC The National Lottery Show. She mainly appeared on the Wednesday Midweek Draw show, but also made occasional appearances on Saturday nights. Smillie presented various incarnations of the show between 1996 and 2000. In September 2006, she appeared on The National Lottery: Everyone's A Winner! in Edinburgh.

1996–1997: Smillie's People
In 1998, Smillie hosted a short mid-morning celebrity chat-show on BBC One entitled Smillie's People.

2003–2005: Dream Holiday Homes
In 2003, after leaving Changing Rooms, Smillie joined the Channel 5 show Dream Holiday Homes. This new show was similar to Changing Rooms, although this time, entire properties were given a makeover. The properties were situated in various Southern European locations, and at the end of each show Smillie would sell off the property for the price of a £1 phone call to a lucky viewer picked at random. The show ran for five series.

2004: Strictly Ice Dancing
In 2004, Smillie was one of the celebrities to take part in Strictly Ice Dancing, a one-off ice dance version of Strictly Come Dancing.

2005: The People's Court
Smillie was back working for STV Productions in 2005 as presenter of the short-lived ITV show The People's Court.

2005: A Brush with Fame
Later that year, she was the presenter of ITV's A Brush with Fame, searching for the UK's best amateur portrait artist.

2006: Strictly Come Dancing
From October to December 2006, Smillie took part in Series Four of Strictly Come Dancing with dance partner Matthew Cutler. She improved as the series progressed. Len Goodman often referred to her as the Dark Horse of the competition, and played music from the Black Beauty TV series over her training clips on the complementary show Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two. She came fifth out of the fourteen competitors.

2007–2008: Postcode Challenge
Smillie returned to STV from November 2007 into 2008 to host the Scottish channel's new gameshow, Postcode Challenge. In each show, four teams of six people from the same postcode area are tested on general knowledge.

2009: Best of British Wedding Venues
On 22 September 2009, Smillie presented a 10 part series entitled Best of British Wedding Venues on Wedding TV, a woman's lifestyle channel on the Sky and Freesat platforms.

2013–2014: Finding Scotland's Real Heroes
Smillie presented the 2013 and 2014 series of STV's Finding Scotland's Real Heroes.

Television guest appearances
In 1993, she appeared on the Saturday evening BBC One light entertainment show Noel's House Party, when her "Gotcha" tape was shown to viewers.

In 2001, Smillie appeared on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank and the following year appeared on The Sooty Show in the episode called "All New Sooty".

In the summer of 2009, Smillie appeared as a guest presenter of STV's The Hour for one week, with main anchor Stephen Jardine.

In 2004, she took part in a television documentary called Gender Swap for Channel 5. Using silicon prosthetic makeup, she was transformed from female to male and was then given the challenge of attending a speed dating event as her new opposite sex self.

1982–2010: Model
In her early years, Smillie worked the exhibition circuit and was an occasional lingerie model. Smillie was allegedly one of the Tennent's Lager girls (a Scottish marketing promotion that put pictures of young women on the backs of cans of lager). Smillie denied having had this role in The Independent newspaper on 2 October 2006.

Smillie has continued to model occasionally since her rise to fame. Between 2007 and 2010 Smillie was the figurehead model for the Scottish company The Edinburgh Woollen Mill.

1994 and 2009: Radio
In 1994, Smillie presented a holiday show for BBC Radio 5 Live called Carol Smillie's Blue Skies, featuring reports from various worldwide destinations and holiday tips for would be travellers.

In June 2009, Smillie appeared in the BBC Radio Scotland comedy sketch show Ellis and Clarke. Smillie appeared in a number of sketches in the 30-minute production playing herself, in which she and the members of the cast parodied her television personality. The show was broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland on 5 June 2009.

On Bank Holiday 31 August 2009, Smillie hosted her own Radio show on 105.2 Smooth Radio, a Scottish Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Glasgow and the surrounding area.

2003: Author
In 2003, Smillie joined forces with Eileen Fursland to become a best selling author with the publication of Carol Smillie's Working Mum's Handbook. The book examined the practical problems and emotional issues that face women who go back to work. It considered work-life balance, time management, workplace rights to maternity leave and pay, tax credits.

Starting on 10 May 2008, Smillie co-wrote – with animal behaviourist Emma Magson – a weekly column in The Times entitled 'Perfect Pets'. The column was featured in the Body and Soul section of the Saturday edition and lasted 10 weeks.

2006–2007 and 2010–2011: Stage actress
In February 2006, Smillie made her début on the stage in the Eve Ensler play The Vagina Monologues. She completed three tours of Scotland, appearing in Aberdeen, Ayr, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth.

In February to March 2010, Smillie appeared on stage in Hormonal Housewives, a new comedy written by Julie Coombe and John MacIsaac. Appearing alongside Smillie were the co-writer Julie Coombe and Shonagh Price. The comedy portrayed three women juggling a career, childcare and  being a housewife. The play begins with the three women getting ready for a night out and then moves into a series of self-contained sketches. The finale features a medley of music by Kylie Minogue, Madonna and Cher. Smillie takes the part of Madonna, dancing and miming to the track "Holiday", dressed in a pastiche outfit based on the Jean Paul Gaultier-designed conical bra corset, from the singer's 1990 Blond Ambition tour. Smillie took the play on a three-week tour of Scotland performing at theatres in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.

2008: Film Actress
In 2008, Smillie made her film debut in a short film entitled Infamy playing a television presenter named Joan. The story concerns a man who is so desperate to get on Reality TV that he will try anything, including ultimately, holding up a shop at gunpoint to make the local news.

2012–2018: DiaryDoll/Pretty Clever Pants
In October 2012, Smillie started her own business, DiaryDoll, with business partner and friend Annabel Croft, an ex-international tennis player. Together they created a range of women's underwear specifically for use during periods, with a secret waterproof panel inside them to remove the possibility of leaks and stains on clothing and bedding. They were designed to look and feel like normal underwear – i.e. breathable, washable and not crackly – giving women the confidence to go about their usual activities. DiaryDoll then partnered with charity Endometriosis UK, giving confidence to some of the 1.5 million British women who suffer painful and heavy periods as a result of endometriosis. It was later noted that these were also useful to women in post-maternity and with pelvic floor weakness and the company was rebranded to include all of these groups.

An additional goal for Smillie is to reduce the stigma of periods and women's pelvic health as it is still seen to be an embarrassing topic despite its prevalence and normality amongst healthy women.

2018–present: Humanist celebrant
Smillie is a humanist. In 2018, she became an accredited humanist celebrant with the Humanist Society Scotland, conducting humanist, non-religious weddings, funerals and baby-namings.

Personal life
Smillie lives in Glasgow with husband Alex Knight, a restaurateur, whom she married in August 1991. They have three children.

Smillie's smile was caricatured by the British impressionist Ronni Ancona in the UK television show Big Impression. Ancona's impression of Smillie used the catchphrase "I'm Smiley Smiley Carol Smillie".

Charity work
Smillie is involved with several charities, primarily ones concerned with child welfare. One of her main charities is The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice (PPWH). She hosts 'A Little Less Strictly Come Dancing' Ball for them every year alongside Angus Purden. Smillie was a contestant on the British television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? supporting the charity NSPCC. She appeared on the show with Michael Aspel. They failed to progress past the £16,000 mark when they missed the question about authors, dropping to £1,000.

Trustee
Smillie is trustee to a number of Glasgow institutions. These include Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, where she is on the board as trustee of The Kelvingrove Refurbishment Appeal (KRA). This is an independent trust established to raise £5 million in sponsorship and donations towards the £27.9million refurbishment of Kelvingrove. She became a board member and Trustee for The Riverside Museum.

She supports the Glasgow School of Art, as a former and current student of the School’s Continuing Education Programme. Smillie is a member of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project team. In July 2007 she launched The Digital MacIntosh Project to raise funds for the restoration and refurbishment of the MacIntosh Building, which houses the school.

Mensa
When Smillie was hosting Wheel of Fortune in the early 1990s, she was invited to take the Mensa test for high IQs by a tabloid newspaper, to prove that game show hostesses were not stupid. She said she had passed with an IQ of 148. She courted controversy in 2003, when she announced in an interview that she had cheated on the test. She admitted that the test was not taken under exam conditions, and she completed only two thirds of it, coming unstuck at the end. Smillie had phoned a friend to complete the remainder of the test. She said, "I felt slightly guilty at the time, but it hadn't really bothered me that I had cheated because it was never a real test to me, and Mensa had never invited me to take part."

Television
Presenter

including Summer Holiday, Holiday Swaps, Holiday Heaven and Holiday Favourites including The National Lottery – Amazing Luck Stories, The National Lottery – We've Got Your Number, National Lottery – Local Heroes
 * Wheel of Fortune 1989–1994
 * The Travel Show 1992
 * Holiday 1994–2001
 * Hearts of Gold 1995 – 1996
 * Get It On 1996
 * Changing Rooms 1996–2003
 * The National Lottery 1996–2000
 * Smillie's People 1996–97
 * Crazy For Love 1996
 * Edinburgh Hogmanay Live 1996
 * Edinburgh Hogmanay Live 1997
 * New Year Live Hogmanay Show 1998
 * Star Secrets 1999
 * Surprising Stars 2001
 * Dream Holiday Homes 2003–2005
 * Baby Hospital Live 2004
 * The Peoples Court 2005
 * A Brush With Fame 2005
 * Yorkhill 2005–2006 (Narrator)
 * Postcode Challenge 2007–2008
 * The Hour 2009
 * Best of British Wedding Venues 2009
 * Scotland's Winter Wonderland 2010 (Narrator)
 * 3@Three 2010
 * The Hour 2010
 * Vet School 2011 (Narrator)

Guest appearances

 * The Hypnotic World of Paul McKenna 1994
 * You Bet 1995 1996 1997
 * The Alphabet Game 1996
 * Shooting Stars 1996
 * An Evening with Lily Savage 1996
 * Confessions 1998
 * Clive Anderson All Talk 1998
 * McCoist & MacAulay 1998
 * Celebrity Ready Steady Cook 1999
 * All Over The Shop 1999
 * It's Only TV...But I Like It 1999
 * Blankety Blank 1999
 * Clarkson 1999
 * This Is Your Life 1999
 * Heaven And Earth Show 2001
 * Celebrity Friends Like These 2001
 * Sooty 2001
 * Hot Potatoes 2002
 * Friday Night with Jonathon Ross 2002
 * The Brian Conley Show 2002
 * Alter Ego 2002
 * Kelly 2003 and 2005
 * V Graham Norton 2003
 * Have I Got News for You 2003
 * Today with Des and Mel 2003 2004
 * Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway 2004
 * Win, Lose or Draw Late 2004
 * 29 Minutes of Fame 2005
 * The Paul O'Grady Show 2005
 * Stars in Fast Cars 2005
 * Brainiac: Science Abuse 2005
 * The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday: Live 2006
 * Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 2006
 * Your Country Needs You 2007
 * The Aphrodisiac Test 2007
 * The Meaning Of Life 2007
 * Tonight With Trevor McDonald 2007
 * The Pyramid Game 2007
 * The Grumpy Guide To 2007
 * Hider in the House 2008
 * The Alan Titchmarsh Show 2008
 * Take It Or Leave It 2008
 * How TV Changed Britain – Property 2008
 * Daily Cooks Challenge 2008
 * What Are You Like ? 2008
 * STV's Top 30 Best Loved Shows (Part 5) 2009
 * Loose Women 2009
 * All Star Mr & Mrs 2010
 * The One Show (Children in Need Reporter) 2010
 * Coronation Street:The Big 50 2010
 * Countdown 2011
 * Pointless Celebrities 2013
 * Pointless Celebrities 2019
 * Richard Osman's House of Games 2022

Reality TV Appearances

 * Gender Swap 2004
 * Strictly Ice Dancing 2004
 * Star Spell 2005
 * Strictly Come Dancing 2006
 * Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 2006
 * Kitchen Burnout 2010

Actress

 * 2point4 Children 1999
 * Brookside 2000
 * Infamy 2008

Radio
 * Ellis and Clarke 2009

Videos

 * Changing Shape with Carol Smillie (2000)
 * Changing Rooms – Trust Me..I'm A Designer (2002)

Books

 * Carol Smillie's Working Mums Handbook (2003)

Awards

 * National Television Award for Changing Rooms
 * INDIE Award for Changing Rooms
 * Bafta Nominated for Changing Rooms
 * Rear of the Year 1998, a British award for people with a notable posterior.
 * In October 2008, Carol was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA, in The Lloyds TSB Scotland Audience Award for Most Popular Scottish Presenter category.

title: Carol Smillie


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Veles (god)

Veles, also known as Volos, is a major god of earth, waters, livestock, and the underworld in Slavic paganism. His mythology and powers are similar, though not identical, to those of (among other deities) Odin, Loki and Hermes.

According to reconstruction by some researchers, he is the opponent of the supreme thunder god Perun. As such he probably has been imagined as a dragon, which in the belief of the pagan Slavs is a chimeric being resembling a cross between a bear and a snake that devours livestock. His tree is the willow, while that of Perun is the oak. No direct accounts survive, but reconstructionists speculate that he may directly continue aspects of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon with the original deity Welnos.

Etymology
Presumably it is not possible to conclusively determine a definite etymology for the name of the god Veles, though there are several Proto-Indo-European roots that are all closely related to the nature of Veles and his domains.

One possibility is that the name derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *wel-, meaning wool. This seems plausible, since in Slavic cosmology Veles in serpentine form is lying in a nest of black wool in the roots of the Tree of the World and Veles is the shepherd of the dead. Volos is also the Russian and Ukrainian word for "hair" and Veles is hairy in his beastly form (bear, wolf).

The Proto-Indo-European root *welg- also means 'humid, wet'. Nothing is more connected with Veles than humidity and wetness. His domain is down, 'у воду пот корч пот колоду' ("in the water, below the tree stump and the log").

There is also the Indo-European word *woltus meaning 'meadow' which is derived from the same root. Accordingly, Veles is the shepherd of the dead who was imagined to browse the deceased on green lush meadows in the underworld.

The name is also related to Slavic terminology for oxen, for which the South Slavs, Russians, and Poles use "вол/vol/wół". Volos can also be a derivation from the same root by Eastern Slavic phonetic laws, now considered the most probable explanation for this phonetic form.

Veles is presumed to be or to represent the same figure as Vala, the enemy of the Vedic thunder god Indra. Other scholarship suggests a closer connection to characters of Baltic mythology, such as Velnias, Velns (Latvian) or Vėlinas (Lithuanian), a devil-like entity and enemy of the Baltic thunder-god Perkūnas (cf. Slavic Perun). Scholar Marija Gimbutas cited "related" etymons: Lithuanian veles 'shades of the dead' and Latvian Vels 'god of the underworld', which seem to indicate Veles's connection to the underworld. An ancient Russian word, Vlasezhelische, probably refers to the place where Veles dwells, "the underground kingdom or an entrance to it".

Enemy of Perun and storm myth
The Russian philologists Vyacheslav Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov reconstructed the mythical battle of Perun and Veles through comparative study of various Indo-European mythologies and a large number of Slavic folk stories and songs. A unifying characteristic of all Indo-European mythologies is a story about a battle between a god of thunder and a huge serpent or a dragon. In the Slavic version of the myth, Perun is a god of thunder while Veles acts as a dragon who opposes him, consistent with the Vala etymology; he is also similar to the Etruscan underworld monster Vetha and to the dragon Illuyankas, enemy of the storm god of Hittite mythology.

The reason for the enmity between the two gods is Veles's theft of Perun's son, wife, or, usually, cattle. It is also an act of challenge: Veles, in the form of a huge serpent, slithers from the caves of the underworld and coils up the Slavic world tree towards Perun's heavenly domain. Perun retaliates and attacks Veles with his lightning bolts. Veles flees, hiding or transforming himself into trees, animals or people. In the end, he is killed by Perun and in this ritual death, whatever Veles stole is released from his battered body in the form of rain falling from the skies. This "storm myth", or "divine battle", as it is generally called by scholars today, explained to ancient Slavs the changing of seasons through the year. The dry periods were interpreted as the chaotic results of Veles' thievery. Storms and lightning were seen as divine battles. The ensuing rain was the triumph of Perun over Veles and the re-establishment of world order. On a deeper level, as has been said above, Perun's place is up, high and dry and Veles' down, low and wet. By climbing up into the sphere of Perun, Veles disrupts the equilibrium of the world and needs to be put in his place. Perun achieves this in a fierce battle, smiting his adversary with lightning and driving him back down into his proper place, the watery realm lying beneath the roots of the cosmic tree (axis mundi). Order thus restored, the two gods cease hostilities until the next time that Veles tries to crawl up into Perun's realm.

The myth was cyclical, repeating itself each year. The death of Veles was never permanent; he would reform himself as a serpent who would shed its old skin and would be reborn in a new body. Although in this particular myth he plays a negative role as bringer of chaos, Veles was not seen as an evil god by ancient Slavs. In fact, in many of the Russian folk tales, Veles, appearing under the Christian guise of St. Nicholas, saves the poor farmer and his cattle from the furious and destructive St. Elias the Thunderer, who represents Perun. The duality and conflict of Perun and Veles does not represent the dualistic clash of good and evil; rather, it is the opposition of the natural principles of earth and water (Veles) against heaven/sky and fire (Perun).

The Ivanov/Toporov conception of "the key myth" of Slavic mythology has been criticized by several authors, including Leo Klejn and Igor M. Diakonoff. Many, including Klejn, pointed out that Ivanov and Toporov often tended toward unjustified generalizations and considered many of their arguments "far-fetched". Supporters of the theory, on the other hand, include Boris Uspensky, T. Sudnik and T. Tsivyan, and others.

God of magic and musicians
According to Ivanov and Toporov, Veles' portrayal as having a penchant for mischief is evident both from his role in the storm myth and in carnival customs of Koledari shamans. In his role as a trickster god, he is in some ways similar to both Greek Hermes and Scandinavian Loki. He was connected with magic. The word volhov, obviously derived from his name, in some Slavic languages still means sorcerer while in the 12th century Ruthenian epic The Tale of Igor's Campaign, the character of Boyan the wizard is called Veles' grandson. Veles was also believed to be protector of travelling musicians. For instance, in some wedding ceremonies of northern Croatia (which continued up to the 20th century), the music would not start playing unless the bridegroom, when making a toast, spilled some of the wine on the ground, preferably over the roots of the nearest tree. The symbolism of this is clear, even though forgotten long ago by those still performing it: the musicians will not sing until a toast is made to their patron deity.

Post-Christian Veles
After the advent of Christianity, Veles was split into several different characters. As a god of the underworld and dragons, he became identified with the Devil. His more benevolent sides were transformed to several Christian saints. As a protector of cattle, he became associated with Saint Blaise, popularly known among various Slavic nations as St. Vlaho, St. Blaz, or St. Vlasiy (Armenian: Սուրբ Վլասի; germ: Blasius; fr: Blaise; sp: San Blas; port: São Brás; it: San Biagio; Croat: sv. Blaž; eng: Blase; Greek: Άγιος Βλάσιος). In Yaroslavl, for example, the first church built on the site of Veles's pagan shrine was dedicated to St Blaise, for the latter's name was similar to Veles and he was likewise considered a heavenly patron of shepherds. As mentioned already, in many Eastern Slavic folk tales, he was replaced by St. Nicholas, probably because the popular stories of the saint describe him as a giver of wealth and a sort of trickster.

Place names

 * Veles Bastion on Brabant Island, Antarctica is named after the deity.
 * Velež Mountain in Herzegovina
 * Veles, North Macedonia, a town in North Macedonia
 * Velestovo, Montenegro, a village in Montenegro
 * Velestovo, Ohrid, a village in North Macedonia
 * Volosko, a village in Croatia

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

title: Veles (god)


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Carol Vorderman

Carol Jean Vorderman, (born 24 December 1960) is a Welsh broadcaster, media personality, writer and Vauxhall brand ambassador. Her broadcasting career began in 1982 when she joined the Channel 4 game show Countdown, appearing with Richard Whiteley from 1982 until his death in 2005, and subsequently with Des Lynam and Des O'Connor, before leaving in 2008.

While appearing on Countdown, Vorderman began presenting other television shows, including Better Homes (1999–2003) and The Pride of Britain Awards (1999–present) for ITV, as well as guest hosting shows such as Have I Got News for You (2004–2006) The Sunday Night Project (2006), and Lorraine (2011, 2018–2019, 2022). She was a presenter on the ITV talk show Loose Women from 2011 until 2014. She has also appeared as a contestant on reality television shows, including Strictly Come Dancing (2004), I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2016) and The Great Celebrity Bake-Off (2020), winning the last. Since 2022, Vorderman has been a news-reviewer for This Morning.

Vorderman was honoured as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to broadcasting in the Queen's Birthday Honours in June 2000. She has also worked as a newspaper columnist and nominal author of educational and diet books. In 2023, Vorderman began presenting her own show for the talk radio station LBC.

Early life and education
Vorderman was born on 24 December 1960 (Christmas Eve) in Bedford, Bedfordshire, the youngest of three children of a Dutch father, Anton Vorderman (1920–2007), and a Welsh mother, Edwina Jean Davies (1928–2017). Her parents separated three weeks after her birth, and her mother took the family back to her home town of Prestatyn, Flintshire, North Wales, where Vorderman and her brother and sister grew up. Vorderman did not see her father again until she was 42. In 1970, her mother remarried, separating ten years later. Vorderman's father remarried; his wife died in the early 1990s.

Vorderman was educated at Blessed Edward Jones Catholic High School in nearby Rhyl. In 1978, aged 17, she began studying engineering at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. She left with a third-class degree, a result which she has described as having been "disappointing". Vorderman did not trace the Dutch side of her family until 2007 (as part of the BBC genealogy programme Who Do You Think You Are?). It was only then that she discovered that her father had been an active member of the Dutch resistance during the Nazi occupation. He died while the programme was being filmed. Her great-grandfather Adolphe Vorderman played a key role in the discovery of vitamins.

Early career
Vorderman initially found employment as a junior civil engineer at Dinorwig Power Station in Llanberis, Wales, and later as a graduate management trainee in Leeds. In her spare time, she was briefly a backing singer with friend Lindsay Forrest in the Leeds-based pop group Dawn Chorus and the Blue Tits, fronted by radio DJ Liz Kershaw during the early 1980s.

The group recorded, among other songs, a version of The Undertones' hit "Teenage Kicks" (one of the tracks Vorderman had to identify during the "intros round" when she appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks in December 2009; the series often includes questions from contestants' pasts). During 1984–85, she made regular appearances on the Peter Levy show on Radio Aire, appearing mid-morning to read a story for pre-school children. In the mid-1980s, Vorderman worked part-time in the Information Services Department of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, principally in the production of in-house video programmes.

1982–2008
Vorderman's mother noticed an advertisement in The Yorkshire Post asking for "a woman with good mathematical skills" to appear as co-host on a quiz show for the fledgling fourth terrestrial channel. She submitted an application on behalf of her daughter, then aged 21. Vorderman appeared on Countdown from the show's inception in 1982 until 2008. Initially, Vorderman's only contribution to the show was the numbers game, and she formed part of a five-person presentation team, billed as one of the "vital statisticians" along with Linda Barrett. However, over the following years, the team was pared down, and Vorderman began handling tiles for both the letters and numbers games. Vorderman thus became a new type of game show hostess, revealing her intellectual ability by carrying out fast and accurate arithmetic calculations during the numbers game to reach an exact solution if neither contestant was able to do so. Her lasting success on the show led to her becoming one of the highest-paid women in Britain, ultimately earning her an estimated £1 million per year.

After Richard Whiteley
In June 2005, the producers of Countdown asked Vorderman if she wanted to fill the role of main presenter vacated by the recently deceased Richard Whiteley. Vorderman declined, and a search for a new presenter began while the show went into a four-month hiatus. In October 2005, Des Lynam replaced Whiteley and co-hosted with Vorderman. In January 2007, Des O'Connor replaced Lynam while Vorderman continued to co-host the show. On 25 July 2008, after 26 unbroken years with the show, it was announced that Vorderman was stepping down from Countdown. She later said she had resigned after failing to agree terms for a new contract, and it was reported that she had been asked to take a cut of 90% from her previous salary, estimated as £900,000. She had considered leaving the show when the show's original host Richard Whiteley died in 2005, but remained on the show when Lynam took over, and until 2008 when his eventual replacement O'Connor announced he was also to step down as the show's host. Vorderman and O'Connor both left the show in December 2008.

Vorderman recorded her last Countdown show on 13 November 2008 which was broadcast on 12 December 2008. Both of her children were in the audience, together with many of the previous guests from "Dictionary Corner". After the prizegiving at the end of the show, Des O'Connor was presented with a bouquet of flowers by the show's lexicographer Susie Dent, and Vorderman received one from Gyles Brandreth. She was too moved to complete her farewells. A special show, One Last Consonant, Please Carol, hosted by Brandreth and featuring Vorderman's highs and lows during the 26 years of the show, was also filmed and transmitted just before her final Countdown appearance. After leaving Countdown, Vorderman continued to contribute her column to the British magazine Reveal. Channel 4 admitted in 2009 that all Countdown presenters had always worn earpieces, and that producers would "sometimes supply extra ideas as there are often multiple options to ensure viewers are given the best possible answers." A source close to Vorderman denied that she had worn an earpiece or cheated in her mental arithmetic answers.

Loose Women
In July 2011, Vorderman and Sally Lindsay were tipped for roles on Loose Women following ITV's decision to axe Kate Thornton and Zoë Tyler from the programme. This was later confirmed, with Vorderman presenting her first live show on 5 September 2011. From September 2011 to June 2013, Vorderman and fellow Loose Women host Andrea McLean hosted two to three shows per week. However, after the show returned from its summer break in September 2013, she began to host one episode per week, with McLean anchoring the remaining four. On 3 October 2013, it was announced that former Loose Women presenter Kaye Adams would be returning to the show later in the year and Ruth Langsford would join the panel in January 2014. Adams, Langsford and Andrea McLean hosted the show in rotation, with Vorderman remaining as an occasional presenter on the programme, usually presenting one episode a fortnight.

On 14 July 2014, Vorderman announced her departure as a presenter on Loose Women. Vorderman explained:

"I am getting into the hard work for my planning and training to go round the world next year. In the first two years on Loose I did over 100 days a year but in the last year I have only managed just over 20 days because I kept having to cancel days due to other work commitments. I tried appearing just once a week up until Christmas and I just couldn't do it. I write a lot of educational books and have a big maths website so my time is spent with those too. I like to do things properly and it's unfair to commit to something half-heartedly."

Other television work
Vorderman is the presenter of the annual Pride of Britain Awards, which are televised by ITV. She began hosting the awards when they were introduced in 1999. In 2004, Vorderman took part in the second series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with professional dancer Paul Killick. She was the second celebrity to be eliminated from the show. She guest presented Have I Got News for You in 2004 and 2006 and also presented an episode of The Sunday Night Project. Vorderman guest presented 15 episodes of Lorraine in 2011. She presented the ITV Food show Food Glorious Food in 2013. In March 2013, Vorderman recorded an ITV gameshow pilot called Revolution. On 29 June 2013, it was announced that the show had been "scrapped" by ITV.

In 2016, Vorderman finished in eighth place in the sixteenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! On 7 April 2020, Vorderman appeared on The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off and won. Broadcast on S4C on 19 April 2020, Vorderman took part in the show Iaith ar Daith ('Language Road Trip') and, with the help of Owain Wyn Evans, learned Welsh and completed various challenges in the language. An extra episode, Iaith ar Daith 'Dolig ('Language Road Trip: Christmas') was broadcast at the end of 2020, interviewing each of the celebrities about whether they were still making use of their Welsh and the opportunities they had had to use Welsh during lockdown.

In 2023, Vorderman appeared in I'm a Celebrity... South Africa. On 16 June 2023, she appeared as herself in Episode 1 of the BBC One comedy Queen of Oz. Vorderman is seen and heard on her radio programme questioning the outrageous antics of spoiled spare to the British crown, Princess Georgiana, played by Catherine Tate.

Radio
After leaving the BBC in 2023, Vorderman was an occasional guest host on LBC. In January 2024, two months after her BBC departure, she was to present her own show from 4pm to 7pm on Sunday afternoons. She said "I'll be using my voice – as you might expect – to cause a commotion. I won't be shy to say things that others won’t and I'll hold the corrupt to account without fear or favour."

Journalism
Vorderman has had newspaper columns in The Daily Telegraph, and in the Daily Mirror on Internet topics. She has written books on Detox diets. Her No. 1 bestseller was Detox For Life, produced in collaboration with Ko Chohan and Anita Bean and published by Virgin Books, which sold over a million copies. Many school textbooks have been published under her name, chiefly by Dorling Kindersley in series such as English Made Easy, Maths Made Easy, Science Made Easy and How To Pass National Curriculum Maths.

Commercial ventures
Vorderman expanded her business ventures, launching a number of Sudoku products. In March 2007, she launched a brain-training game called Carol Vorderman's Mind Aerobics together with BSkyB. Also in 2007, she released a video game for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable in the United States entitled Carol Vorderman's Sudoku. In 2007, Vorderman did TV commercials for the frozen food chain Farmfoods – advertising "Chippy Chips for £1" and "Cadbury's Cones for 99p".

In the autumn of 2008, soon after she completed her final regular Countdown show, Vorderman announced a new commercial venture, her own property development and sales company that would specialise in overseas holiday and retirement homes in the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Spain. It was called Carol Vorderman Overseas Homes Limited. She saw the company as a natural extension of her own experiences in buying and selling properties over recent years and was aiming at a target market of "families aged 35 plus". However, because of the financial crisis of 2007–2008, the venture proved short-lived. During March 2009 Vorderman publicly withdrew her name from the firm, which suspended trading soon afterwards. On 2 March 2010, Vorderman publicly launched her new commercial venture of an online mathematics coaching system for 4- to 12-year-old children under the name of the MathsFactor.

Endorsement controversy
Vorderman had maintained a long-standing endorsement of the debt consolidation company FirstPlus, an association that ceased in 2007. In 2006, the charity Credit Action attempted to highlight the potential dangers of debt consolidation, calling on Vorderman to stop giving First Plus credibility. Her agent responded that Vorderman had no intention of curtailing the contract for a service which was perfectly legal and offered by an excellent company. When interviewed by The Daily Telegraph in November 2008 Vorderman herself responded with:"'The secured loans market was criticised and it was pertinent to pick me out, because I was a face. I advertised FirstPlus for 10 years. We had something like £1.5billion out on loan and until a matter of months ago there were no repossessions. When that programme [BBC's Real Story] was made, [there were] no repossessions. Did they say that? Funnily enough, no.'"

Other activities
On 18 September 2010, Vorderman, a Catholic, co-presented events leading up to the Papal Vigil in Hyde Park, alongside author Frank Cottrell Boyce. On 2 June 2012, Vorderman named a Class 91 (91110) "Battle of Britain Memorial Flight" at the National Railway Museum as part of the Railfest 2012 Event. In 2014, Vorderman qualified for a private pilot's licence and announced that she planned to fly solo around the world. She named her plane Mildred after Mildred, Mrs Victor Bruce, a British record-breaking racing motorist, speedboat racer and aviator in the 1920s and 1930s, who Vorderman has described as "my heroine. She's one of the most incredible women of the last century".

On 20 November 2014, Vorderman accepted the appointment of ambassador to the Royal Air Force Air Cadets, and was granted the honorary rank of group captain in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch). In 2017, her honorary commission was extended to 19 November 2020. Vorderman has also taken up learning the Welsh language and has been using the Say Something in Welsh online course. In early 2020, she said "I've been learning Welsh ... and I love it. It's taken me back to my roots".

Personal life
Vorderman is a Catholic. She was first married in 1985 at age 24 to Christopher Mather, a Royal Navy officer, but the marriage lasted only twelve months. Her second marriage was to management consultant Patrick King in 1990 at the age of 30. Vorderman had two children with King, Katie (b. 1992) and Cameron (born 1997); the couple separated in 2000.

After meeting at a Christmas party in 1999, Vorderman and Des Kelly lived together in London from 2001, also using their other house in Glandore, West Cork, Ireland. After five years together, Vorderman and Kelly separated in December 2006, publicly announcing the amicable split in January 2007, and after a brief reconciliation in Bristol, according to reports.

, Vorderman shares her Bristol home with her two children. Vorderman lived with or very near to her mother all her life, until her mother's death in 2017. On 6 June 2020, she complained in a number of UK newspapers of being harassed by photographers in the road outside her home. Vorderman in 2022 declared a lack of interest in traditional monogamy, preferring to have "special friends" with benefits.

Political views
In 2009, Vorderman mocked the Labour Party's education policies, as part of her work heading a task force established by the Conservative Party to look at the teaching of mathematics. David Cameron commented, "Carol has got a passion for maths. We have all seen that on Countdown with her brilliant mental arithmetic and she is going to lead this task force so we can get the answers right." In an appearance on Question Time in March 2010, Vorderman was critical of all three major parties for hypocrisy in taking donations from non-domiciled taxpayers.

In the early 2020s, Vorderman was regularly critical of the Conservative administration, labelling it a "despicable government", and described herself as being politically independent. In 2022, Vorderman was praised by The Herald as the "real leader of the opposition" after criticising members of the government for exploiting their positions for personal gain.

In November 2023, the BBC objected to Vorderman's social media postings reflecting her personal opinions; she said that she would "not be silenced" by the BBC's new social media guidelines, and resigned from her weekly BBC Radio Wales show. She immediately made several posts criticising several people and policies of the Conservative government in power at the time. She has referred to the government as "a lying bunch of greedy, corrupt, destructive, hateful, divisive, gaslighting crooks". In late 2023, she became the face of tactical voting initiative StopTheTories.vote.

Honours and awards
Vorderman was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for "services to broadcasting" in the Queen's Birthday Honours in June 2000. She was elected an Honorary Fellow of Bangor University in North Wales and, in 2000, received an Honorary MA from the University of Bath.

Vorderman was voted UK Female Rear of the Year in 2011. In 2014, she became the first celebrity to win the award twice. In November 2021, she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Institution of Engineering and Technology in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the engineering profession.

Charity work
Vorderman is a patron of the Cleft Lip and Palate Association (CLAPA) (her older brother, Anton, was born with a cleft lip and palate). In 2005, she was the winner of Ant and Dec's Gameshow Marathon. As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations ITV ran a series of the nation's favourite game shows featuring celebrities competing to become Gameshow Marathon winner and raise money for the charity of their choice. As series winner Vorderman won £60,000 for CLAPA. In November 2011, she appeared in the music video in aid of CLAPA for New Vorder's Carol O Carol, a song written by Jim Salveson in 1999 about his love for Vorderman, and directed by Tim Cocker.

Vorderman appeared in a short film, Run for the future, promoting prostate cancer awareness, and took part in a charity run held every year on the Bristol Downs to raise funds for the BUI prostate appeal. She also took part in the Great North Run on several occasions, to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care in memory of Richard Whiteley's sister Helen, who died of cancer. Vorderman is an active supporter and advocate of the RAF Association charity, appearing at airshows and taking part in other fundraising events.

Videos and published writings

 * Carol Vorderman's Pop Music Times Tables, 1990
 * Carol Vorderman's How to Write a Perfect Letter, 1991
 * How Mathematics Works, 1996
 * Carol Vorderman's Guide to the Internet (written with Rob Young), 1998
 * Carol Vorderman's How to Do Sudoku, 2005
 * Carol Vorderman's Massive Book of Sudoku, 2005
 * Eat Yourself Clever, 2008
 * Carol Vorderman's Guide to Maths
 * Carol Vorderman's Detox Diet
 * It All Counts, 2010

title: Carol Vorderman


text:
Talk:J. Wellington Wimpy

Fictional character
I don't think it's accurate to say that Wimpy the cartoon character in Popeye owns a hamburger chain. He is just a cartoon character, right? The chain was named after him.
 * Completely correct. -- Infrogmation 15:44, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Image
Couldn't we find a better uncopyvio picture than a Tijuana bible? 惑乱 分からん 00:36, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

Good Eats
Wimpy was also referenced on Good Eats. SargeAbernathy 07:15, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

Implausible material
''In one strip, Wimpy conned Popeye and Olive Oyl into agreeing to an "indecent proposal", which he then reneged on. In a notoriously shocking Sunday strip, Wimpy tries to sell a cow to Popeye to raise money for hamburgers, but Popeye angrily refuses. Wimpy then asks if he can borrow some kitchen implements. The final, wide panel shows Popeye coming across Wimpy sitting beside a meat grinder, hundreds of burgers and a barbecue grill.''

The first sentence makes it sound like Wimpy offered Popeye $1 million if he could sleep with Olive Oyl (à la the movie Indecent Proposal), and if that's not what the strip was about then the sentence is too vague to be meaningful. I doubt this happened in the Popeye comic strip since Bobby London was fired as the cartoonist for doing a sequence with references to abortion the year before the movie Indecent Proposal was released. The latter two sentences are described as "notoriously shocking" ... to whom? People who don't know what animal hamburgers come from? I'm removing these sentences until they are verified and properly cited. --Metropolitan90 04:30, 15 July 2006 (UTC) Well, wouldnt throwing a cow into a meat grinder be considered cruelty? People like animal rights activists would... um... for lack of better expression, have a cow. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.53.45.215 (talk) 03:20, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Cleaned up trivia section
Lord, nobody cares if somebody mentioned Wimpy's name once on some episode of Family Guy or in a hamburger commercial. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.129.135.114 (talk) 15:30, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

 * Actually, not true. Since Wimpy as a character is not very present in current pop culture, his appearance (not just mention) in a very popular TV series is significant and non-trivial. Should Wimpy start showing up all over the place, then additional passing mentions or appearances would be trivial, but that's not the case. Sach (talk) 01:47, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

 * I know this is from forever ago, but I just want to point out how hilarious I find an argument about whether something is too trivial to appear in the trivia section. 128.36.184.62 (talk) 21:04, 2 June 2010 (UTC)

"I would gladly pay you Tuesday for for a hamburger today."
The use of this phrase on The Drew Carey Show and the American The Office wasn't the result of a thousand monkeys typing randomly in the staff writing rooms for these shows. It's the height of silliness to challenge that it is a direct and deliberate reference to Wimpy. Sach (talk)
 * WP:AGF and WP:CIVIL. It's quite common for people to say something to effect of "If you give me X now I'll pay for it in the future." What other connection is there to the Wimpy character on these shows? Doctorfluffy (robe and wizard hat) 20:26, 20 November 2009 (UTC)
 * My comment was both civil and AGF, please do not throw sand into the gears. The question here is whether the use of a specific catchphrase for comic effect is random, or whether comedy writers of a comedy program used a well-known catchphrase for comic effect.  The answer to that is obvious and clear -- the use of the phrase is a reference and hommage to Wimpy.  When people use the phrase "Make an offer you can't refuse", they're referencing The Godfather, when they say "Two wild and crazy guys" it's Saturday Night Live, and when comedy writers use "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today", it's Wimpy.  Sach (talk) 20:34, 20 November 2009 (UTC)
 * You called my concern "the height of silliness"; that is very close to implying that I'm ignorant. On topic, if it's so blindingly obvious that it's a Wimpy quote then find a source that says it's a reference to Wimpy. That shouldn't be difficult since, by your own admission, Wimpy is rarely used in modern pop culture, so it would follow that many people have written about this notable quotation on the tv shows in question. Doctorfluffy (robe and wizard hat) 20:44, 20 November 2009 (UTC)
 * There's not much point in looking for such a source, because it is so  blindingly obvious  that no one's going to write anything about it. People don't much comment on the force of gravity when they talk about pole-vaulting, either. Sach (talk) 20:59, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

Attribution of the phrase
It can be found with even a minimally cursory search that the phrase and its variations has become intimately associated with the character of Wimpy, and has continued and repeated quotation and attribution in numerous reliable sources... Mohave Daily Miner, Prepared Foods, Kansas City Star, St. Louis Post Dispatch, San Jose Mercury News, San Diego Union Tribune, Beacon Journal, Dallas Observer, San Francisco Chronicle, Star Telegram, Walls & Ceiling, Star Telegram, to name but a very few.... as well in numerous books. Perhaps it's time to more fully source Wimpy and stop any disagreements?  Schmidt,  MICHAEL Q. 21:15, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

 * Michael: Certainly, such general sources can be easily found, but I believe Doctorfluffy was challenging me to find a source that specifically said that the use of the phrase on those two sitcoms was a reference to Wimpy. In any event, I'll use your sources to add cites to the article. Sach (talk) 21:23, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

 * I have been searching for and have been unable to find that phrase attributed to anyone BUT Wimpy. Its his... as created for him by Segar.  Cultural knowledge is the starting point. "Come-on punk, make my day" belongs to Dirty Harry.  "I love the smell of napalm in the morning... it smells like victory" belongs to Apocolypse Now.  While I can be understanding of DF's wish to have its usage in those specific instances sourced as an intentional quote of the Wimpy Character or to the various writers' own early influencing by the Segar character, the "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today" phrase is Wimpy's... through historical usage and sourced attribution.  Use of the phrase by any other media is not a unique event, all being a direct result of its creation over 50 years ago for Wimpy.  The numerous sources available show that years-long continued attribution.   Schmidt,  MICHAEL Q. 22:22, 20 November 2009 (UTC)
 * I can't argue with that. Sach (talk) 23:32, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

 * I have integrated the Drew Carey reference into the main body, where the catchphrase is discussed. One issue which we should investigate is the exact wording of the phrase as this will complicate searches.  It might start "I will gladly...", "I would gladly...", "I'll gladly...", "I'd gladly..." and I'm not sure which we prefer.  I have added some sources to the article which may help us forward...  Colonel Warden (talk) 15:09, 21 November 2009 (UTC)
 * I have looked into this and documented the exact versions of the originals froma good source. Colonel Warden (talk) 15:44, 21 November 2009 (UTC)
 * That's great - I hadn't even thought of looking the phrase up in the quotation books crowding my desk. Silly! Sach (talk) 17:56, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

Origin of name
It is probably incorrect to state that the character's name was meant to describe his shy or retiring character. That meaning of "wimp" was not used in this way until the 1960s. If anything it may be that "weakling" meaning of wimp is an eponym of Wimpy. In the period when the character was developed the only meaning of "wimp" cited by Oxford is slang meaning a young woman. It was sometimes used as a verb as in to go wimping. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.240.130.52 (talk) 21:42, 9 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I came across a brief article printed in the Daily Oklahoman newspaper in 1935, in which a man named "H. Hillard Wimpee" of "Atlanta" is interviewed. He claimed to work with Segar at the Chicago Herald-Examiner in 1917 and seems to have believed himself the inspiration for the name. Some research indicates that a "Hilliard H. Wimpee" of "Rome, Georgia" was a real person who lived at the right time, so this man at least existed. I added the information from the interview to the main article with citation. The referenced newspaper article is available behind a paywall, but I can't find a way to make any kind of direct link to the archive. Anyone wishing to read it can go to the Oklahoman archives and pay for access. GeoGreg (talk) 23:31, 25 September 2010 (UTC)

 * It's an English surname (spelled slightly differently but pronounced the same) as in here: George Wimpey — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.4.57.101 (talk) 14:02, 23 August 2011 (UTC)

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the usual gripe about the usual trivia:
Every entry under In popular culture that doesn't have credible outside sourcing ought to be deleted, and I'll likely do so.

Such lists must either be exhaustive (containing ALL examples that have existed, and with a verifiable authority stating such) or exemplary (and one or more verifiable authorities need to be presented who say they're notable). Until that happy day, it's sufficient to have a handful of properly sourced examples. Weeb Dingle (talk) 14:08, 21 July 2019 (UTC)

Some of the Character section — at a rough estimate, 90% or thereabouts — deserves to be removed. The section is one long pile of fancruft accretion. It makes only four citations: one to verify a catch-phrase, the rest to characterize him as fiscally irresponsible. Surely there must be some fan site where all this stuff belongs, but certainly not an encyclopedia. Weeb Dingle (talk) 14:21, 21 July 2019 (UTC)

Agreed. This article gives me more information about Wimpy than I care to have. Jlaffan (talk) 21:10, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:J. Wellington Wimpy


text:
James Burnham

James Burnham (November 22, 1905 – July 28, 1987) was an American philosopher and political theorist. He chaired the New York University Department of Philosophy; his first book was An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis (1931). Burnham became a prominent Trotskyist activist in the 1930s. A year before he wrote the book, he rejected Marxism and became an influential theorist of the political right as a leader of the American conservative movement. His book The Managerial Revolution, published in 1941, speculated on the future of capitalism. Burnham was an editor and a regular contributor to William F. Buckley's conservative magazine National Review on a variety of topics. He rejected containment of the Soviet Union and called for the rollback of communism worldwide.

Early life
Born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 22, 1905, James Burnham was the son of Claude George Burnham, an English immigrant and executive with the Burlington Railroad. James was raised as a Roman Catholic but rejected Catholicism as a college student, professing atheism for the rest of his life. He graduated at the top of his class at Princeton University before attending Balliol College, Oxford, where his professors included J. R. R. Tolkien and Martin D'Arcy. In 1929, he became a professor of philosophy at New York University.

In 1934, he married Marcia Lightner.

Trotskyism
In 1933, along with Sidney Hook, Burnham helped to organize the American Workers Party led by the Dutch-born pacifist minister A. J. Muste. Burnham supported the 1934 merger with the Communist League of America which formed the US Workers Party. In 1935, he allied with the Trotskyist wing of that party and favored fusion with the Socialist Party of America. During this period, he became a friend to Leon Trotsky. Writing for Partisan Review, Burnham was also an important influence on writers including Dwight Macdonald and Philip Rahv. However, Burnham's engagement with Trotskyism was short-lived: from 1937 a number of disagreements came to the fore.

In 1937, the Trotskyists were expelled from the Socialist Party, an action which led to the formation of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) at the end of the year. Inside the SWP, Burnham allied with Max Shachtman in a faction fight over the position of the SWP's majority faction, led by James P. Cannon and backed by Leon Trotsky, defending the Soviet Union as a degenerated workers state against the incursions of imperialism. Shachtman and Burnham, especially after witnessing the Nazi–Soviet pact of 1939 and the invasions of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia by Joseph Stalin's regime, as well as the Soviet invasion of Finland in November 1939, came to contend that the USSR was a new form of imperialistic class society and was thus not worthy of even critical support from the socialist movement.

In February 1940 he wrote Science and Style: A Reply to Comrade Trotsky, in which he broke with dialectical materialism. In this text he responds to Trotsky's request to draw his attention to "those works which should supplant the system of dialectic materialism for the proletariat" by referring to Principia Mathematica by Russell and Whitehead and "the scientists, mathematicians and logicians now cooperating in the new Encyclopedia of Unified Science".

After a protracted discussion inside the SWP, in which the factions argued their case in a series of heated internal discussion bulletins, the special 3rd National Convention of the organization in early April 1940 decided the question in favor of the Cannon majority by a vote of 55–31. Even though the majority sought to avoid a split by offering to continue the debate and to allow proportional representation of the minority on the party's governing National Committee, Shachtman, Burnham, and their supporters resigned from the SWP to launch their own organization, again called the Workers Party.

This break also marked the end of Burnham's participation in the radical movement, however. On May 21, 1940, he addressed a letter to the National Committee of the Workers Party resigning from the organization. In it he made it clear the distance he had moved away from Marxism:

"I reject, as you know, the "philosophy of Marxism," dialectical materialism. …

The general Marxian theory of "universal history", to the extent that it has any empirical content, seems to me disproved by modern historical and anthropological investigation.

Marxian economics seems to me for the most part either false or obsolete or meaningless in application to contemporary economic phenomena. Those aspects of Marxian economics which retain validity do not seem to me to justify the theoretical structure of the economics.

Not only do I believe it meaningless to say that "socialism is inevitable" and false that socialism is "the only alternative to capitalism"; I consider that on the basis of the evidence now available to us a new form of exploitive society (which I call "managerial society") is not only possible but is a more probable outcome of the present than socialism. …

On no ideological, theoretic or political ground, then, can I recognize, or do I feel, any bond or allegiance to the Workers Party (or to any other Marxist party). That is simply the case, and I can no longer pretend about it, either to myself or to others."

In 1941, Burnham wrote a book analyzing the development of economics and society as he saw it, called The Managerial Revolution: What is Happening in the World. The book was included in Life magazine's list of the 100 outstanding books of 1924–1944.

OSS and National Review
During World War II, Burnham took a leave from NYU to work for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency. Recommended by George F. Kennan, Burnham was invited to lead the semi-autonomous "Political and Psychological Warfare" division of the Office of Policy Coordination.

Subsequently, during the Cold War, he called for an aggressive strategy against the Soviet Union. A contributor to The Freeman in the early 1950s, he considered the magazine too focused on economic issues, though it presented a wide range of opinion on the Soviet threat. In The Struggle for the World (1947), he called for common citizenship between the United States, Great Britain, and the British dominions, as well as a "World Federation" against communism. Burnham thought in terms of a hegemonic world, instead of a balance of power:

"A World Federation initiated and led by the United States would be, we have recognized, a World Empire. In this imperial federation, the United States, with a monopoly of atomic weapons, would hold a preponderance of decisive material power over all the rest of the world. In world politics, that is to say, there would not be a balance of power."

In 1955, he helped William F. Buckley Jr. found National Review magazine, which from the start took positions in foreign policy consistent with Burnham's own. In the National Review, he wrote a column titled "Third World War," which referred to the Cold War. Burnham became a lifelong contributor to the journal, and Buckley referred to him as "the number one intellectual influence on National Review since the day of its founding." His approach to foreign policy has caused some to regard him as the first "neoconservative," although Burnham's ideas have been an important influence on both the paleoconservative and neoconservative factions of the American Right.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In early November 1978 he suffered a stroke which affected his health and short-term memory. He died of kidney and liver cancer at home in Kent, Connecticut, on July 28, 1987. He was buried in Kent on August 1, 1987.

The Managerial Revolution
Burnham's seminal work, The Managerial Revolution (1941), theorized about the future of world capitalism based upon its development in the interwar period. Burnham begins by saying that "It is a historical law, with no apparent exceptions so far known, that all social and economic groups of any size strive to improve their relative position with respect to power and privilege in society". He then weighed three possibilities: (1) that capitalism was a permanent form of social and economic organization and would continue indefinitely; (2) that it was temporary and destined by its nature to collapse and be replaced by socialism; (3) that it was currently being transformed into some non-socialist future form of society. Since capitalism had a more or less definite beginning in the 14th century, it could not be regarded as an immutable and permanent form. Moreover, in the last years of previous economic systems such as those of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, mass unemployment was "a symptom that a given type of social organization is just about finished." The worldwide mass unemployment of the depression era thus indicated that capitalism was itself "not going to continue much longer."

Burnham agreed with Marxists that the capitalist class would inevitably lose the class struggle, but disagreed that they would lose to the working class due to this class being too disorganized and weak. He instead argued that a new class called the managerial class would win against the capitalist class. Burnham defines this new class as the individuals responsible for "the tasks of the technical direction and coordination of the process of production." The managerial class is responsible for directing technical experts, including "operating executives, superintendents, administrative engineers, supervisory technicians; or, in government… administrators, commissioners, bureau heads, and so on." According to Burnham, the managerial class has risen due to the increasing complexity and large scope of modern economies. Because doing certain tasks requires hyper specific technical knowledge, the capitalist class cannot perform all of the necessary tasks by themselves. This means that the capitalist class has to employ individuals who manage other individuals engaged in technical work. By doing this, the capitalist class has made themselves obsolete, since the managers are the individuals who actually control production. Although the managerial class is still employed by the capitalist class, Burnham argued that this arrangement was irreconcilable. This would eventually result in the managerial class who actually owns production seizing it from the capitalist class who owns it in name only. According to Burnham, the managerial class would seize power by implementing state ownership of production. Due to the complexity and large scale of modern economies, Burnham argues that this form of state ownership would prove more efficient than rule by individual capitalists. The "managerial revolution", according to Burnham, would result in the decline of capitalist democracy and the rise of managerial control of production while using "the unlimited state" as a vehicle.

Analyzing the emerging forms of society around the world, Burnham saw certain commonalities between the economic formations of Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, and America under Roosevelt's New Deal. Burnham argued that in the short period since the First World War, a new society had emerged in which a social group or class of "managers" had waged a "drive for social dominance, for power and privilege, for the position of ruling class." For at least the previous decade, there had grown in America the idea of a "separation of ownership and control" of the modern corporation, notably expounded in The Modern Corporation and Private Property by Berle and Means. Burnham expanded this concept, arguing that whether ownership was corporate and private or statist and governmental, the essential demarcation between the ruling elite (executives and managers backed by bureaucrats and functionaries) and the mass of society was not ownership so much as control of the means of production.

Burnham emphasized that "New Dealism", as he called it, "is not, let me repeat, a developed, systematized managerial ideology." Still, this ideology had contributed to American capitalism's moving in a "managerial direction": "In its own more confused, less advanced way, New Dealism too has spread abroad the stress on the state as against the individual, planning as against private enterprise, jobs (even if relief jobs) against opportunities, security against initiative, "human rights" against "property rights." There can be no doubt that the psychological effect of New Dealism has been what the capitalists say it has been: to undermine public confidence in capitalist ideas and rights and institutions. Its most distinctive features help to prepare the minds of the masses for the acceptance of the managerial social structure."

Burnham argued that the power of the capitalist class would decline, while a new managerial class would rise to take its place, directing the state and industry. He described both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union as having a managerial class based on an economic model he considered to be superior to liberal capitalism. Because of this, he incorrectly predicted that the Nazis would win World War II.

In June 1941, a hostile review of The Managerial Revolution by Socialist Workers Party loyalist Joseph Hansen in the SWP's theoretical magazine accused Burnham of surreptitiously lifting the central ideas of his book from the Italian Bruno Rizzi's La Bureaucratisation du Monde (1939). Despite certain similarities, there is no evidence Burnham knew of this book beyond Leon Trotsky's brief references to it in his debates with Burnham. Burnham was influenced by the idea of bureaucratic collectivism of the Trotskyist Yvan Craipeau, but Burnham took a distinct conservative Machiavellian rather than a Marxist viewpoint, an important philosophical difference which Burnham explored in greater detail in The Machiavellians.

According to Vox, "Virtually all of The Managerial Revolution's major predictions — the coming collapse of capitalism, an Axis victory in World War II, the superior efficiency of state-run enterprises — were proven wrong. The power of the capitalist class has become more entrenched since the neoliberal revolution of the 1970s and '80s and attendant skyrocketing inequality. The rise of tech capitalism, with firms founded by individual innovators and technical experts, seems to disprove his theory that capitalists cannot themselves perform technical and management tasks at scale."

Burnham's idea of an unaccountable managerial class has gained traction among conservative intellectuals seeking to counteract the power of this class, viewing them as "woke".

Later writings
In The Machiavellians, he developed his theory that the emerging new élite would prosper better if it retained some democratic trappings—political opposition, a free press, and a controlled "circulation of the élites."

His 1964 book Suicide of the West became a classic text for the post-war conservative movement in American politics, proclaiming Burnham's new interest in traditional moral values, classical liberal economics and anti-communism. He defined political ideologies as syndromes afflicting their proponents with various internal contradictions. His works greatly influenced paleoconservative author Sam Francis, who wrote two books about Burnham, and based his political theories upon the "managerial revolution" and the resulting managerial state.

In fiction
British writer George Orwell was inspired by Burnham's The Managerial Revolution and his explanation of power, which informed Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell noted in 1945, "For Burnham's geographical picture of the new world has turned out to be correct. More and more obviously the surface of the earth is being parceled off into three great empires…" The superpowers of Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia in the novel are partly influenced by Burnham's assessment of Roosevelt's America, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union as being managerial states. In 1946 Orwell, summarized Burnham's managerial revolution and outlined the geopolitical landscape of Nineteen Eighty-Four:

"The rulers of this new society will be the people who effectively control the means of production: that is, business executives, technicians, bureaucrats and soldiers, lumped together by Burnham, under the name of 'managers'. These people will eliminate the old capitalist class, crush the working class, and so organise society that all power and economic privilege remain in their own hands. Private property rights will be abolished, but common ownership will not be established. The new 'managerial' societies will not consist of a patchwork of small, independent states, but of great super-states grouped round the main industrial centres in Europe, Asia, and America. These super-states will fight among themselves for possession of the remaining uncaptured portions of the earth, but will probably be unable to conquer one another completely. Internally, each society will be hierarchical, with an aristocracy of talent at the top and a mass of semi-slaves at the bottom.""

While Orwell partly agreed with Burnham's analysis, he never fully accepted Burnham's attitude towards Machiavellian managerial power. This unresolved thought helped to inspire the character of O'Brien, who talks about power and regimes in Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Works
Books
 * Introduction to Philosophical Analysis (with Philip Wheelwright). New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1932.
 * The Managerial Revolution: What is Happening in the World. New York: John Day Co., 1941.
 * The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom. New York: John Day Co., 1943. ISBN 0-89526785-3.
 * The Struggle for the World. New York: John Day Co., 1947.
 * The Case for De Gaulle: A Dialogue Between André Malraux and James Burnham. New York: Random House, 1948.
 * The Coming Defeat of Communism. New York: John Day Co., 1949.
 * Containment or Liberation? An Inquiry into the Aims of United States Foreign Policy. New York: John Day Co., 1953.
 * The Web of Subversion: Underground Networks. New York: John Day Co., 1954.
 * Congress and the American Tradition. Chicago: Regnery, 1959. ISBN 0-76580997-4.
 * Bear and Dragon: What is the Relation Between Moscow and Peking? New York: National Review, in cooperation with the American-Asian Exchange, 1960.
 * Suicide of the West: An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism. New York: John Day Co., 1964.
 * The War We Are In: The Last Decade and the Next. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1967.

Book contributions
 * Introduction. In: Dobriansky, Lev E. Veblenism: A New Critique. Washington: Public Affairs Press, 1957.

Pamphlets
 * War and the Workers (as John West). New York: Workers Party of the United States, 1935. Marxists.
 * Why Did They "Confess"? A Study of the Radek-Piatakov Trial. New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1937. Marxists.
 * The People's Front: The New Betrayal. New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1937. Bolshevik.
 * How to Fight War: Isolation, Collective Security, Relentless Class Struggle? New York: Socialist Workers Party & Young Peoples Socialist League (4th Internationalists), 1938.
 * Let the People Vote on War! New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1939?.
 * In Defense of Marxism (Against the Petty-Bourgeois Opposition) (with Leon Trotsky, Joseph Hansen and William Warde). New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1942.

Public speaking
 * Why Does a Country Go Communist? An address delivered at the Indian Congress for Cultural Freedom on March 31, 1951. Bombay: Democratic Research Service, 1951.

Selected articles
 * "The Case Against Adlai Stevenson." American Mercury, Vol. 76, October 1952, pp. 11–19.
 * "Can Washington Conduct Political Warfare?" American Mercury, December 1952, pp. 10-24.
 * "Does ADA Run the New Frontier?" National Review, Vol. 14, No. 18, May 7, 1963, pp. 355–62.

title: James Burnham


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Abdülmecid II

Abdülmecid II or Abdulmejid II (عبد المجید ثانی; II. Abdülmecid; 29 May 1868 – 23 August 1944) was the last Ottoman caliph, the only caliph of the Republic of Turkey, and head of the Osmanoğlu family from 1926 to 1944. As opposed to previous caliphs, he used the title Halîfe-i Müslimîn (Caliph of the Muslims), instead of Emîrü'l-Mü'minîn (Commander of the Faithful).

He was also a relatively famous artist and a Turkish aesthete, interested in art and the ways to promote it, mainly literature, painting and music, in Turkey. After the abolition of the Ottoman caliphate, he was succeeded for a few months by Hussein bin Ali, who was mostly recognized in the Arab world, but that attempt ended as well.

He died in Paris in 1944 and was buried as a caliph in Medina.

Early years
On 30 May 1868, he was born at Dolmabahçe Palace, Beşiktaş, Istanbul, to then Sultan Abdulaziz and his consort Hayranidil Kadın. He was the younger full brother of Nazime Sultan. He was educated privately. According to testimonies, he agreed with marriages between cousins within the Ottoman dynasty to reduce tensions within the dynasty.

In accordance with late Ottoman custom, Abdulmejid was confined to the palace until he was 40. On 4 July 1918, his first cousin Mehmed VI became Sultan and Abdulmejid was named Crown Prince. He was interested in literature and founded the Pierre Loti Society in 1920 to promote the works of the author and translate them into Turkish. He had a genuine interest in painting as well, and himself painted a lot, trying to develop realist art in the Ottoman Empire and in music, for he was a composer also. He played the piano.

Caliphate
When his cousin was deposed on 1 November 1922, the Ottoman Sultanate was abolished. But on 19 November 1922, the Crown Prince was elected Caliph by the Turkish National Assembly at Ankara. He established himself in Istanbul on 24 November 1922. The choice of Abdulmejid as caliph was not evident for all Muslims, and there was a significant amount of Islamic and political criticism from within and outside the Ottoman Empire. There was indeed a conflict among certain Muslims, for example in Palestine, who opposed the figures of Hussein bin Ali and Abdulmejid to succeed Mehmed VI. Western colonial powers, such as France or the United Kingdom, were very attentive to these developments. One of those critics was Muhammad Rashid Rida, who claimed that he lacked some of the qualities needed to be the caliph.

However, even though he was criticized when he assumed the position, it seems that the vast majority of Muslims chose to recognize him.

Abdulmejid was targeted by Kemalist propaganda which used the fact that he occupied the Yıldız Palace in Istanbul, and he was subsequently portrayed as having unjustly claimed it for himself. He was also unhappy about the transfer of certain responsibilities from Istanbul to Ankara; for instance, he was angry about the relocation of a military band unit.

On 3 March 1924, six months after the foundation of the Turkish Republic, the Ottoman Caliphate was abolished and the Ottoman dynasty was deposed and expelled from Turkey.

Exile and death
The caliph was nominally the supreme religious and political leader of all Muslims across the world, with the main goal to prevent extremism or protect the religion from corruption. In the last session of the budget negotiations on 3 March 1924, Urfa Deputy Sheikh Saffet Efendi and his 53 friends demanded the abolition of the caliphate, arguing it was not necessary anymore. This was approved by majority of the votes and a law was established. With the same law, it was decided to expel all members of the Ottoman dynasty. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, however, offered the caliphate to Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi, on the condition that he reside outside Turkey; Senussi declined the offer and confirmed his support for Abdulmejid. He was succeeded by Hussein bin Ali in the Arab world, with the support of his cousin, Mehmed VI   but that attempt ended fast as well.

Although Abdülmecid and his family were upset about this decision, they did not want the people to revolt, so they secretly went to Çatalca by car from the Dolmabahçe Palace at 5:00 the next morning. Here, after being hosted by the head of the Rumeli Railways Company for a while, they were put on the Simplon Express. When he left Turkey, he traveled to Switzerland. However, contrary to expectations, he was not greeted by a delegation or ceremony but simply as an ordinary traveler. He was also in a difficult financial situation.

When Abdulmejid II arrived in Switzerland, he was detained at the border for a while, but was admitted to the country after a delay. In Switzerland, he said multiple times that he was upset about the abolition of the caliphate, and that this would bring chaos to the Islamic world, with the rise of extremism. But after the Turkish government put pressure on the Swiss government, Abdulmejid was never allowed to give such speeches in Switzerland again. After staying in Switzerland for a while, he moved to Nice, France in October 1924.

Abdulmejid lived a quiet life in Nice, France. His daughter Dürrüşehvar Sultan and his niece Nilüfer Hanım Sultan married the sons of the Nizam of Hyderabad, one of the richest people in the world; thanks to this, his financial situation improved. As he didn't get the anticipated support from the Islamic world for the restoration of the caliphate, he started to focus more on worship, painting, and music.

Abdulmejid, who later settled in Paris, used to perform Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque of Paris with other Muslims in the region. After the departure of his very fond grandchildren and son, who left France to marry the Kavala princes of Egypt, he spent painful days alone. He wrote a 12-volume book of memoirs, preserved by his daughter Dürrüşehvar Sultan.

On 23 August 1944, Abdulmejid II died at his house in the 15th Avenue du Maréchal Mounoury, Paris, due to a heart attack. His death coincided with the Liberation of Paris from the German occupation. Despite the efforts of Dürrüşehvar Sultan, the Turkish government did not permit his funeral to be held in Turkey. Subsequently, his remains were preserved at the Grand Mosque of Paris for ten years. Finally, when the mosque could no longer maintain his body, his body was subsequently moved to Medina, where he was then buried. His predecessor, Mehmed VI, was buried in Damascus, by Faisal I. This is explained by the prohibition imposed by the Kemalists, Atatürk and then İnönü, who prohibited them from being buried in Turkey.

As artist
Abdulmejid was given the title of General in the Ottoman Army, but did not have strong military inclinations. He had a more significant role as Chairman of the Ottoman Artists' Society and was a personal friend of some Western painters, such as Fausto Zonaro, who was influential in art in the Ottoman Empire. He was also connected to the French artist Adolphe Thalasso, who dedicated some works to him.

He is considered one of the most important painters of late period Ottoman art. His paintings of the Harem, showing a modern musical gathering, and of his wife, Şehsuvar Hanım, reading Goethe's novel Faust, express the influence of western Europe in his elite circle. These were displayed at a 1918 exhibition of Ottoman paintings in Vienna. His personal self-portrait can be seen at Istanbul Modern.

Abdulmejid was also an avid collector of butterflies, an activity that he pursued during the last 20 years of his life. His favourite magazine was Revue des deux Mondes.

Personal life
Abdülmecid's first wife was Şehsuvar Hanım, a Turk or an Ubykh. They married on 23 December 1896. She was the mother of Şehzade Ömer Faruk, born in 1898. She died in Paris in 1945, and was buried in Bobigny cemetery. His second wife was Mihrimah Hanım. She died at the Nakkaştepe Palace, on 23 May 1899, and was buried in Nuhkuyusu Mosque, Istanbul.

His third wife was Hayrünissa Hanım, a Circassian. She was childless. His fourth wife was Mehisti Hanım. She was a Circassian-Abkhazian. Her father was Akalsba Hacımaf Bey, and her mother was Safiye Hanım. They married on 16 April 1912. She was the mother of Dürrüşehvar Sultan (who married Azam Jah, son of Mir Osman Ali Khan), born in 1914. She died in Middlesex, London in 1964, and was buried in Brookwood cemetery.

Ottoman honours

 * Order of House of Osman, Jeweled
 * Order of Glory, Jeweled
 * Imtiyaz Medal, Jeweled
 * Order of Osmanieh, Jeweled
 * Order of the Medjidie, Jeweled
 * Iftikhar Sanayi Medal
 * Imtiyaz War Medal in Gold
 * Outstanding Navy Medal in Gold

Foreign honours

 * undefined: Grand-Cross Order of Leopold, 6 June 1918
 * undefined: Order of the Crown, 2nd Class, 23 August 1919

Consorts
Abdülmejid II had four consorts:
 * Şehsuvar Kadın (2 May 1881–1945). They married on 22 December 1896 and had a son.
 * Hayrünnisa Kadın (2 March 1876-3 September 1936). She was born in Bandirma, Turkey. They married on 18 June 1902 in Ortakoy Palace. She died in Nice. Hayrünisa was extremely well educated and a cello virtuoso. She was portrayed by her husband while playing.
 * Mihrimah Bihruz Kadın (24 May 1893–1955). She was born in İzmit. They married on 21 March 1912 in Çamlıca Palace. She died in Istanbul.
 * Atiye Mehisti Kadın (27 January 1892–1964). She was born in Adapadari. They married on 16 April 1912 in Bağlarbaşı Palace and had a daughter. She died in London.

Issue
Abdülmejid II had a son and a daughter:
 * Şehzade Ömer Faruk (27 February 1898 - 28 March 1969) - with Şehsuvar Kadın. Married twice with two his cousins and had three daughters by his first marriage.
 * Hatice Hayriye Ayşe Dürrüşehvar Sultan (26 January 1914 - 7 February 2006) - with Mehisti Kadın. She married an Indian prince and had two sons.

title: Abdülmecid II


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1945 Governor General's Awards

The 1945 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were the 10th rendition of the Governor General's Awards, Canada's annual national awards program which then comprised literary awards alone. The awards recognized Canadian writers for new English-language works published in Canada during 1945 and were presented in 1946. There were no cash prizes.

As every year from 1942 to 1948, there two awards for non-fiction, and four awards in the three established categories, which recognized English-language works only.

Winners

 * Fiction: Hugh MacLennan, Two Solitudes
 * Poetry or drama: Earle Birney, Now is Time
 * Non-fiction: Evelyn M. Richardson, We Keep a Light
 * Non-fiction: Ross Munro, Gauntlet to Overlord

title: 1945 Governor General's Awards