text:
Talk:G. H. Hardy

comments
The assertion about Hardy's sexuality is presumably based on CP Snow. It hardly deserves so central a place here.

Charles Matthews 19:29, 1 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * (A comment nine months later) ... And it doesn't deserve a category listing. There appears to be a minor edit war over this at the moment, which I guess I'm about to enter. But putting every single person in wikipedia who was allegedly or admittedly gay into a sexuality-related category is idiotic - particularly when you're dealig with a person like Hardy whose sexuality was not publicly determined. (Wikpiedia isn't a postumous outing organization.) Hardy's sexuality is irrelevant to his public persona, his reason for being in wikipedia. He was also a smoker; shoould we create a "Category: Smokers" and include everybody in wikipedia who puffed on a cigarette or pipe? - DavidWBrooks 01:36, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)

How it is dealt with now seems fine to me. As far as I've heard he was celibate; so a category would be overdoing it. Charles Matthews 08:39, 9 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Below is discussion from the Villiage Pump. The consensus is that homosexuality can be mentioned if done in a way which makes sense.

For what it is worth: Littlewood calls him a "non-practising homosexual", and C. P. Snow concurs; apparently, he was relatively open about his orientation (both parts of it). Perhaps we should simply quote Littlewood? Human beings cannot be put into two discrete boxes. Hasdrubal 00:42, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Oh, not that there is anything wrong with it. ;) Hasdrubal 00:42, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Also, more importantly - categorizing Ramanujan as a "mystical Hindu" is something that gave Hardy the creeps; see his persuasive discussion of the matter at the beginning of (Hardy's book) _Ramanujan_. Hasdrubal 00:43, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Sexuality in biographies
I note that the reference to G. H. Hardy's homosexuality, a trait ascribed to him by a number of people who knew him (Snow, Littlewood, Turing) has been removed from his biography. This has been done not because the information was not correct, but because this sort of information is not regarded by some people as suitable to a biography. Why is this, and is this any kind of policy? If it is a policy, what precisely is the policy and what is its basis?

I note for example that Michelanglo's biography discusses his sexuality extensively, and Swinburne's mentions masochism. Is this because it is considered relevant to the artist? Hardy was also a literary figure, and his romanticizing of Ramanujan's remarkable gifts might well have something to do with his sexuality both directly and indirectly.
 * Some random comments: I think it's unquestionably necessary for at least some biographies — Alan_Turing, for example. For other people, it's less clear cut. My personal opinion is that you have to answer at least two questions:

 * 1) Why are we interested in this person? Is there interest in the person themselves, or are they primarily known for an important contribution? For example, people are intrigued by Turing's life beyond his contributions to logic, computer science, etc.
 * 2) What kind of impact does their sexuality have on the "reason for interest"?
 * For a famous mathematician, such as Hardy, you could argue that his (rumoured?) sexuality was a private matter and of no relevance to his work or how he came to be famous. You could, I guess, also argue that there is now a wider interest in the details of Hardy's life, so it is worth mentioning — it's notable if someone is homosexual in a culture where it was considered atypical, taboo or even illegal (making it much more notable than if he were heterosexual). We do, after all, include other "life-trivia" such as "Hardy never married, and in his final years he was cared for by his sister." — Matt 10:38, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)

As I pointed out, Hardy is also a literary figure; his A Mathematician's Apology is still in print after 64 years and is considered a classic; Graham Greene calling it "the best account of what it is like to be a creative artist". To say that he never married amounts to a wink and a nod under the circumstances; isn't it better simply to come right out with it? In any case it seems at least as relevant as his fascination with cricket or his atheism. User: Gene Ward Smith

 * So long as someone's sexuality is not the focus or most emphasized aspect of their biography on any article here, there is no reason why their sexual and other preferences should not be mentioned, particularly when, as Matt noted, they were taboo or illegal (which was the case with homosexuality in England at the time). It does seem silly to mention it in biographies of very recent Western celebrities however, because they don't face the same challenges and mentioning it seems like overemphasis (IMO)... - Simonides 23:27, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * They don't face the same challenges, but they usually face different ones. For popular entertainers it can influence how closely they guard their privacy; for political figures it has bearing on their policy positions (e.g. either explaining why a conservative Republican favored a gay rights bill, or casting doubt on his integrity if he did not).  Shying away from that particular aspect of the person's life when other aspects are discussed implies that it is scandalous or offensive (a POV with which I disagree).  In most situations, I don't think that merely mentioning a person's homosexuality is "overemphasis" any more than mentioning another person's apparent heterosexuality (by referring to his wife and seven children).  It's simply objective honesty.  And I think we're a long way from the point where a homosexual or bisexual orientation really isn't significant to a person's biography; someday when biographers are working on the Wikipedia entries, books, biopics, videogames, and holonovels about me, they're going to find my sexual orientation far more interesting and informative about me than the city or the specific year in which I was born, or what the names of my sisters were. Tverbeek 02:04, 5 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * Also don't underestimate the influence this can have on young gay people, who will most likely not be told anyone in history is gay in schools. While it may not be at all relevant to the person's work it is sometimes very relevant to readers as it may give them something on which to relate. - cohesion [[User_talk:Cohesion|☎]] 06:06, Oct 5, 2004 (UTC)

Just to play devil's advocate for a moment; should a person's heterosexuality be mentioned? My own view is that for Oscar Wilde, for example, his sexuality is relevant because it played a major part in his public life, but for many other figures it isn't. Wikipedia is not here to provide role models but to be an encyclopaedia, at the end of the day. Filiocht 11:22, 5 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * Well, if their heterosexuality is somehow notable, yes. For example, if (as I believe) Aubrey Beardsley was heterosexual (and if we can get a reasonably authoritative statement to that effect), that would merit mention, since his close association with Oscar Wilde and the aestheticist movement would probably make people guess otherwise. -- Jmabel 01:58, Oct 6, 2004 (UTC)

In my opinion, homosexuality or bisexuality should be mentioned if there is some proof of it aside from rumors and urban legends. In the past, when homosexuality have been illegal, there have been truckloads of malicious rumors that have been used for defamatory purposes. They are not necessarily based in fact. I have also seen unfounded claims (althought I have not noticed any in Wikipedia as of yet) that most of the famous historical people have been closet homosexuals, which is about the same thing in reverse. If the persons have clearly had same-sex beloveds or have clearly indicated that they are homosexuals or bisexuals, that should be mentioned. That should be emphasized mainly if their fame or important event of their life or career was due to their sexuality (in Turing's case, the cause of his loss of security rating) - Skysmith 08:18, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * I'm not so sure. If, like Forster, the person's sexuality is of great importance to the work they produce over their lifetime, or emerges as a prominent or constant theme within their work, then yes, their sexuality should be mentioned. Equally, Alan Turing's sexuality is important, as Matt Crypto points out, because it plays an important part in our understanding of his life.
 * But there is a problem with sticking someone's sexuality in their biography as a minor detail, and/or especially next to their profession. For example,
 * "Jane Doe is a lesbian playwright..."
 * as opposed to simply
 * "Jane Doe is a playwright..."
 * can, IMHO, be seen as pigeonholing and has no place in an encyclopedia. If you take the view that sexuality is something you are born with, then if it has little influence on our understanding of a person's life and actions, it is no more useful than saying-
 * "Jane Doe is a blue-eyed playwright...".
 * Just a thought. Shikasta 18:18, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * What I meant is something like this. If the aforementioned Jane Doe would be famous for writing lesbian-themed plays, she could be specifically listed as "lesbian playwright". In that case her fame would be based on her favorite theme. Otherwise she would be listed as a playwright and the fact that she is a lesbian could be mentioned elsewhere in the article, for example in a context of a same-sex partner. - Skysmith 08:29, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * Good point. We wouldn't say "Isaac Asimov was a bisexual writer", we'd say "Isaac Asimov was a science fiction writer" and mention his bisexuality where relevant; but we might say "Freddie Mercury was a musician and gay icon" or use a similar lead.  -Sean Curtin 01:49, Oct 9, 2004 (UTC)

I have removed the category and kept C. P. Snow's comment. Beyond agreeing with a comment above as to the silliness of such bottom-of-the-page pigeonholing, the fact is that Hardy resists such pigeonholing to a greater extent than others. He seems to have "out" to his friends, but not in a way that would put him clearly in any current category.

Keeping C. P. Snow's comment might be best, even though Hardy's sexuality (or ethnicity, or culinary preferences, or what have you) seems quite irrelevant to his work and rather secondary as far as his life is concerned. The comment addresses a topic that seems to be of great interest, though whether this interest is justified is another matter altogether. Hasdrubal 23:25, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
 * As is common with many Wikipedia biographies, unnatural sexuality is attributed to a famous man, this time on the authority of J. E. Littlewood. Hardy was supposed to be "… according to those who knew him best, a non-practising homosexual (Littlewood's phrase)." If he didn't practice or exhibit such aberrant behavior, what was the basis of Littlewood's judgment? Was Littlewood privy to the depths and recesses of Hardy's unconscious mind where he could read Hardy's hidden wishes? Did Hardy ever declare that he was a "non-practising homosexual"? His use of the word "romantic" in his description of the Ramanujan collaboration was, most likely, a reference to works of fictional, exotic adventure, rather than pederastic attraction.Lestrade 18:54, 11 January 2007 (UTC)Lestrade

These commentaries are homophobic : "unnatural sexuality" and "aberrant behaviour", it is not neutral. Without people like that, Turing could be still alive. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Special:Contributions/ (talk)

 * Thank you for ceasing to remove the comments you abhor from the talk page. I apologize if I reverted once too many. --Rpresser 21:28, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Voltaire wondered : How is it possible that such unnatural behaviour is actually so natural ? Voltaire was more clever than you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.200.121.251 (talk) 19:32, 22 September 2007 (UTC)
 * "Homophobic" means "afraid of the same." Also, it is unnatural and aberrant for two people of the same gender to engage in sexual intercourse. Lestrade (talk) 02:48, 20 December 2007 (UTC)Lestrade

The statement in the article of Hardy being "according to those who knew him best, a non-practising homosexual" is sourced to the book by Miller, whose treatment of Hardy is peripheral. Miller, in turn, quotes Kanigel on the matter. Kanigel cites Littlewood, but does not appear to give a source. Kanigel's view is that although "Hardy himself was at least of homosexual disposition."…."one cannot conclude that Hardy was a practising homosexual". There appears to be nothing explicitly about the sexuality of Hardy in the writings of C. P. Snow. I have changed reference [4] to Kanigel because he is closer to the primary sources and gives the more extensive insight into Hardy's life and upbringing. The citation from Littlewood needs to be verified; if it can't be, then I think the statement above should be removed. At the least, "those who knew him best" need to be specified. If Littlewood is the only person to express the view then this should be stated. Xxanthippe (talk) 09:28, 31 March 2008 (UTC).
 * Since the identities of "those who knew him best" have not been revealed I have removed the unsourced material. Xxanthippe (talk) 00:07, 9 April 2008 (UTC).

 * If I were a non–practising engineer, then I would not be an engineer. If I had the disposition to be a florist, but never once touched a flower, would I be a florist? Hidden, inner mental characteristics that are never outwardly expressed can be considered non–existent.Lestrade (talk) 15:09, 19 September 2009 (UTC)Lestrade

This is hardly worth answering, given some comments by Lestrade above ("aberrant", "pederastic", etc.). Still - the fact that this facet of Hardy's character was expressed in his life is beyond question (see the quotation by Snow below); what is more to the point is that (a) this may be excessive information for a brief biographical page of this length, (b) it is difficult to name exactly what this "facet" is; common categories (again by Snow) may not quite fit. Feketekave (talk) 11:23, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Moved to Godfrey Harold Hardy
I moved the page to Godfrey Harold Hardy from G. H. Hardy, since that's how the article begins:
 * Godfrey Harold Hardy (February 7, 1877 – December 1

The move had the unintended benefit of turning a few red links blue. (For what it's worth, I call him G. H. Hardy, since that's how he appeared on A Mathematician's Apology.) Dbenbenn 07:13, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 * Yes, but he's probably much better known as "G. H. Hardy".

 * Articles should always include a person's full name, including all middle names. But that is not necessarily the most appropriate title for the page.  Thus there is a Bill Clinton page, and William Jefferson Clinton is merely a redirect, and so forth.

 * It should probably be moved back. -- Curps 08:36, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 * He is much better known as G.H., but as long as one page redirects to the other, it doesn't really matter. I wouldn't bother un-moving it, personally. - DavidWBrooks 14:37, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 * It probably does matter, because there are some bots that go around removing redirects by changing links to reflect the actual page title name. Also, given that the first sentence gives his fully spelled-out name, the title of "G. H. Hardy" is in fact the best clue that this is how his name is usually known.

 * None of the above is specific to Hardy alone, it's true of most biographical pages. Anyways, I moved it back. -- Curps 20:59, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

"The Apology is dated" and POV
M a s, in your edit summary, you wrote:

Schutz - this one is from a mathematician, but are Amazon reviews considered worthwhile/ encyclopedic?

Borwein's comment is ok (I did not know about this document, but it looks interesting). Maybe you can cite the exact quote and page number ? Amazon reviews are definitively not encyclopedic, since anyone can write anything under a fake identity; the canonical example is The Pet Goat and the reviews "by" or about George W. Bush.

 * Borwein's paper has a section on Gauss, Hadamard and Hardy, and in subsection 2.3 he describes Hardy as a "stylish author who wrote compellingly in defense of pure mathematics". He calls Hardy's Apology a "spirited defense of beauty over utility".  After these words of praise, Borwein adds a single critical comment:
 * That said, [Hardy's] comment that Real mathematics ... is almost wholly useless has been overplayed and is now to my mind very dated
 * citing the important applications that fields of algebra and number theory (until 50 years ago seen as the epitome of "pure mathematics") have had in modern cryptography.
 * I don't know about other criticism of Hardy, but certainly Borweins paper does not "consider Hardy's style and comments dated". He considers Hardy's style elegant, one considers one (famous) comment dated.
 * (Personally, as a mathematician, I can say that Hardy's Apology has had a deep and lasting influence on my philosophy of mathematics.)
 * Aleph4 20:19, 16 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks all, and I agree. Maybe I read Borwein's comments in more than one or two places and came to the conclusion that many mathemeticians felt this way.  I'll try and dig up at least one more reference other than Amazon.  Actually, it might be better to move Borwein to the Apology article itself- there's a section there called "critiques."
 * I didn't mean to dinegrate the article or the man. I started my fascination with history of this one mildly insignficant* topic (mathematics) by reading E. T. Bell- and that of course has been chewed up and spit out lately.
 * tongue in cheek, I hope it's obvious

Ramanujan
There really needs to an addition to this article about the discovery of Ramanujan, which I feel was a very important part of Hardy's life.
 * Er, did you read the article? It's in there, quite a lot. - DavidWBrooks 11:24, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

The play 'A disappearing number' emphasizes their relationship and is a very good play —Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.60.133.66 (talk) 15:48, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

I had removed the phrase " mentor of Ramanujan" and replaced with postal partner if anyone has a better word than this, then please edit it. I would be grateful Uddhav9 (talk) 18:56, 20 June 2018 (UTC)
 * What's wrong with "mentor"? It seems to describe very accurately their relationship. "Postal partner" makes little obvious sense. - DavidWBrooks (talk) 00:48, 21 June 2018 (UTC)

 * Then replace it with collaboration. He wasn't tutor of Ramanujan. Ramanujan is way smarter than him Uddhav9 (talk) 09:12, 21 June 2018 (UTC)

 * "Mentor" doesn't mean "tutor." Ramanujan was in a mathematics class by himself, everybody knows that, but he needed somebody to bring him into the world's math network - that's what this concerns.  - DavidWBrooks (talk) 10:59, 21 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Don't make forum comments such as "x is way smarter than y". Hrodvarsson (talk) 14:30, 21 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Mentor is fine with me. Xxanthippe (talk) 11:51, 20 August 2018 (UTC).

Hardy and the game of cricket, etc.
Just out of interest, Hardy's was interested in baseball (during his time in the United States) as well as cricket. (He is said to have proposed some rule changes to the game too - inevitably rejected by the baseball authorities.)

As for cricket, he said:

 * "Cricket is the only game in which one plays against eleven opponents - and the ten members of one's own team."

I can think of several first-class cricketers who seem to work on this principle.

Hair Commodore 12:42, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Suicide?
The following text was added by 198.166.26.141

 * He was a very depressed man, and even attempted suicide several times. To divert him from such an undertaking, one of his good friends suggested he write a book, and so he wrote A Mathematician's Apology. After completing and publishing the work, he again attempted suicide - and was successful.

Now, as far as I can remember (from C. P. Snow's foreword) this is not true. He attempted suicide once, in the summer of 1947 (several years after the Apology was written) when his health was failing, and made such a mess of it that he didn't try again. It wasn't long after that he died but it was from natural causes I think. --Spondoolicks 10:05, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Three great English mathematicians: Hardy, Littlewood, Hardy-Littlewood
This story is not helpful as stated, since (1) there is no source (2) we don't know whose opinion it is. If anyone has more information please provide it, both in this article and in John Edensor Littlewood where the same story is told. Robert Kanigel in The Man Who Knew Infinity quotes the story on p. 165 and in the footnotes says "This has become a commonplace in mathematical circles", which means it may be unverifiable. Thanks. --Uncia (talk) 13:14, 27 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Kanigel is an acceptable secondary source. Wiki editors are not expected to do original research. Xxanthippe (talk) 07:40, 31 May 2008 (UTC).
 * I agree that Kanigel is an acceptable secondary source, but we still need to know who made the statement originally, otherwise it is "some people say that ...", i.e., WP:WEASEL. The article says that Bohr attributed it to "a colleague". Kanigel has a less detailed story, saying only "somebody said" without mentioning Bohr. As a statement about Hardy's work it seems not to be encyclopedic. Maybe we should take out Bohr, give Kanigel as a source and mark "somebody said" with Template:Who? Or should we just delete the story? --Uncia (talk) 12:35, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Try "Kanigel reports a joke that circulated at the time that ............." Xxanthippe (talk) 23:20, 31 May 2008 (UTC).
 * I dug up the source for the Bohr story, and gave an extended quote which shows that Bohr shares the high regard this story illustrates. Unfortunately Bohr did not name the original source, giving it only as "an excellent colleague". --Uncia (talk) 00:23, 15 June 2008 (UTC). I think that is fine. Xxanthippe (talk) 01:53, 15 June 2008 (UTC).

Wikipedia has a policy (for better or for worse) of using as few primary sources as possible. What we may need is a secondary source (as opposed to something at the end of a telephone game). Feketekave (talk) 23:14, 28 December 2008 (UTC)

More on sexuality
Personally, I believe we could live very well without categorising people by their sexuality (or race, or "ethnicity", or religion) in Wikipedia - especially when it comes to using labels, which tend to be binary. At the same time, this does not mean we should not *describe* a significant aspect of a deceased person's private life, or of his sentiments or attitudes, as long as this is not an attempt to claim somebody for a particular group.

"Gay" may be an anachronism. We also do not know whether Hardy had male lovers in the physical sense of the word, or even what his physical, as opposed to emotional, proclivities were. At the same time, he was unusually straightforward for the time - at least within a circle of friends - about not being a heterosexual in the sense that most men happen to be. Contemporary sources addressed this shortly after his death: Littlewood, one of his best friends, calls him (somewhat facetiously) a "non-practising homosexual"; C. P. Snow goes into much greater detail (viz., Hardy stated that marriage was an impossibility for him, he was given to strong emotional (but, according to Snow, non-physical) relations with young men, a (male) lost love of his youth had left him changed - this last detail has been fleshed out since; the young man (whose identity is now known) committed suicide).

The current text is fine; at the same time, if we delve more deeply into Hardy's life and psychological makeup later, there is no reason why we should not go over this (more briefly than I have just done, and with citations). Feketekave (talk) 21:44, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

Oh, and to answer a user above: we have absolutely zero evidence that Hardy had a crush on Ramanujan. Moreover, he was resolutely against romanticising him; see his remarks in the introduction to his book "Ramanujan". Feketekave (talk) 20:21, 27 December 2008 (UTC)
 * What is the primary source that indicates that Littlewood ever called Hardy a "non-practising homosexual"? Xxanthippe (talk) 01:45, 28 December 2008 (UTC).

If I remember correctly, Littlewood says that in print, in "Littlewood's miscellany". I don't have it at hand, though; perhaps you can locate the passage. Feketekave (talk) 02:05, 28 December 2008 (UTC)

- and C. P. Snow says what says in his introduction to A Mathematician's Apology (often printed with it). Feketekave (talk) 02:06, 28 December 2008 (UTC)

I cannot find it in a scanned copy of the first edition of the Miscellany. (But then, I may have overlooked it - and it would make a lot of sense for the quote to appear only in the second edition.) The quote was not made up by Kanigel, as I have not read Kanigel and I certainly know the quote. Feketekave (talk) 02:22, 28 December 2008 (UTC)
 * A primary source is needed before claims of this sort make it into article space. Otherwise Wikipedia descends into celebrity gossip. Xxanthippe (talk) 08:24, 28 December 2008 (UTC).

 * Also, a reminder that words can be said without consideration for their literal meaning :D "I like that person" does not necessarily mean that you "like" in any particular sense, just that you approve of (or even just not hold in contempt) the said person. 118.90.44.104 (talk) 10:25, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

"I think my experience was shared by most of his close friends. But he had scattered through his life, two or three other relationships, different in kind. These were intense affections, absorbing, non-physical but exalted. The one I knew about was for a young man whose nature was as spiritually delicate as his own. I believe, though I only picked this up from chance remarks, that the same was true of the others. To many people of my generation, such relationships would seem either unsatisfactory or impossible. They were neither the one nor the other; and, unless one takes them for granted, one doesn't begin to understand the temperament of men like Hardy (they are rare, but not as rare as white rhinoceroses), nor the Cambridge society of his time. He didn't get the satisfactions that most of us can't help finding: but he knew himself unusually well, and that didn't make him unhappy. His inner life was his own, and very rich. The sadness came at the end. Apart from his devoted sister, he was left with no one close to him." - from C P Snow's biographical foreword to Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology, pp 26-27. Feketekave (talk) 12:20, 18 September 2009 (UTC) Empire of the Stars: Obsession, Friendship, and Betrayal in the quest P 37 ...has a reference to the non practicing homosexual

Life
"In 1903 he earned his M.A., which was the highest academic degree at English universities at that time."

I am not sure that "earned" is quite right here. A Cambridge M.A. can be obtained after three years by anybody holding a B.A. All that is required is to pay a small sum and attend the relevant graduation ceremony. The sentence gives the impression that Hardy did something noteworthy to obtain the M.A., which is not correct. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.138.163.90 (talk) 17:16, 7 April 2009 (UTC)
 * One does not have to actually attend a ceremony, but that is beside the point. Xxanthippe (talk) 23:06, 7 April 2009 (UTC).

The PhD became the norm in the 1920s. British science facilities generally had the Doctor of Science degree, and most still do in Australia and Canada. Seven papers must be submitted to the university senate from where the BSc or MSc was obtained. The papers must be well referenced, usually a dozen times. Very few scientists have D.Sc. degrees these days. Very few academics bothered to do it in Hardy's times. Given Hardy's tenured position, it would have been a waste of time. One of Hardy's sayings, attributed to him by BC Rennie, when criticizing me, was "If you cannot do mathematics properly, it's not worth doing at all. (I've never done mathematics since then.) " It's a saying that is deeper than it appears. Kantor was proven wrong by Russell. Russell was proven wrong by Godel. Are we right now?14.202.248.10 (talk) 10:41, 21 January 2016 (UTC)

Politics
Was he a Communist? I believe I read somewhere that he had a picture of Lenin on his desk, and thought the UK should enter into a political union with the Soviet Union.

To be fair, even in the latter part of his life he lived in a time when it was less unusual for an intellectual, such as he was, to be pro-Soviet than it is now. Meltingpot (talk) 20:25, 3 September 2011 (UTC)

GH spent most time at Cambridge even though he disliked the place. It was the centre of maths at time. However, he did regard German universities as being the best at science. He returned to Cam in 1930 when the Cambridge gay commies were undergraduates. It's unlikely he ever met them, let alone jumped into the sack with them. He also tried to join the Army in 1915 to fight, but was rejected for multiple health reasons. He spent more time studying cricket than mathematics. He read maths only between 9am and lunch. Cricket (particularly the Australian dominance) and the London Times filled the afternoons. Hardy did not like having his photo taken, and only seven exist.220.244.84.193 (talk) 04:02, 23 January 2016 (UTC)

Publications
Seems the list of Hardy's publications is incomplete and should be in chronological order. Seems too many people are obsessed with sex and not concerned about his work.
 * Graemeb1967 (talk) 01:45, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

 * - The Integration of Functions of a Single Variable 1905
 * - A Course of Pure Mathematics 1908
 * - Orders of Infinity: The 'Infinitärcalcül' of Paul Du Bois-Reymond 1910
 * - The General Theory of Dirichlet's Series 1915
 * - Some Famous Problems of the Theory of Numbers and in particular Waring's Problem 1920
 * - An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers 1928
 * - Divergent Series 1931
 * - Inequalities 1934
 * - A Mathematicians Apology 1940
 * - Ramanujan: Twelve lectures on subjects suggested by his life and work 1940
 * - Bernard Russell and Trinity 1942
 * - Fourier Series 1944
 * Graemeb1967 (talk) 01:45, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 15:44, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

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Death of GH Hardy
There is no news till now about the death of Hardy and the place where he is resting or cremated... Gamaliel Hardy (talk) 18:10, 31 March 2019 (UTC)

Wiki edits about Hardy
What rationale do you need about those edits and what is so questionable about it? It is all perfectly laid out there.

 * What is this in reference to? - DavidWBrooks (talk) 12:58, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
 * In reference to edits you and Xxanthippe keep reverting back, obviously.

 * I'm the other editor who reverted, actually. This is about the move of several entities in the "see also" list to the "known for" section of the infobox and possibly a few other changes that are not obvious on inspection.
 * Other editors placed information in the places they did for some reason (maybe highly reasoned, maybe haphazard). Wikipedia is collaborative and works by consensus. Concepts like "known for" have an element of opinion which can vary by editor's experience. Please provide support for your opinion. What you think is obvious or "perfectly laid out" might not be to other editors. The fact that editors have asked you to show your reasoning suggests otherwise. BiologicalMe (talk) 13:42, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
 * They do have an element of opinion in which case you might revert edits of most other people. But in this case he is known for that, as evident by his name in wiki links lol. I have deleted 'see also' input in order for not having the same things being repeated twice and I have also added more things.
 * While the manual of style discourages duplication of entries found in body text, the infobox is not body text. The infobox does not need to be an exhaustive list; the Template specifies "Key topics/areas of study in which the scientist is notable", and fewer entries can be more informative. While well-intentioned, the proposed changes are not an improvement based on the structure of Wikipedia articles. BiologicalMe (talk) 14:19, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Also - sign your comments, please; otherwise it's hard to tell who's writing what. a dash and four tilde's will automatically sign it. - DavidWBrooks (talk) 14:39, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Please obtain consensus, on talk page, for edits, following WP:BRD. Users who WP:Edit war can have their editing privileges restricted. Xxanthippe (talk) 23:12, 18 August 2021 (UTC).
 * What's a matter now? I agreed with you and I only expanded See also list. What is the f problem? - 95.156.148.91 (talk) 07:52, 19 August 2021 (UTC)

Aphorisms Section
The aphorism section was recently deleted with reasonable justification from the guidelines, but I think we lose a good sense of the gentleman. I'd be inclined to ignore the rules here. Any thoughts? ? --John (User:Jwy/talk) 19:41, 19 February 2024 (UTC)
 * I agree that it should go back despite pedantic Wikilawyering: WP:IAR. Xxanthippe (talk) 21:36, 19 February 2024 (UTC).

The section is misnamed, these are not really aphorisms. The selection criteria is unclear, many suitable alternatives on Wikiquote. A better solution would be to integrate some aphorisms into the article, but this would require a secondary source to avoid Original Research. Do we have a secondary source which says something like "his book A Mathematician's Apology gives a a good sense of the man"? cagliost (talk) 06:09, 21 February 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:G. H. Hardy


text:
Love Canal

Love Canal is a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, United States, infamous as the location of a 0.28 km2 landfill that became the site of an environmental disaster discovered in 1977. Decades of dumping toxic chemicals killed residents and harmed the health of hundreds, often profoundly. The area was cleaned up over the course of 21 years in a Superfund operation.

In 1890, Love Canal was created as a model planned community, but was only partially developed. In the 1920s, the canal became a dump site for municipal refuse for the city of Niagara Falls. During the 1940s, the canal was purchased by Hooker Chemical Company, which used the site to dump 19800 t of chemical byproducts from the manufacturing of dyes, perfumes, and solvents for rubber and synthetic resins.

Love Canal was sold to the local school district in 1953 for $1, after the threat of eminent domain. Over the next three decades, it attracted national attention for the public health problems originating from the former dumping of toxic waste on the grounds. This event displaced numerous families, leaving them with longstanding health issues and symptoms of high white blood cell counts and leukemia. Subsequently, the federal government passed the Superfund law. The resulting Superfund cleanup operation demolished the neighborhood, ending in 2004.

In 1988, New York State Department of Health Commissioner David Axelrod called the Love Canal incident a "national symbol of a failure to exercise a sense of concern for future generations". The Love Canal incident was especially significant as a situation where the inhabitants "overflowed into the wastes instead of the other way around". The University at Buffalo Archives house a number of primary documents, photographs, and news clippings pertaining to the Love Canal environmental disaster; many items have been digitized and are viewable online.

Geography
Love Canal is a neighborhood located in the city of Niagara Falls in the northwestern region of New York state. The neighborhood covers 36 blocks in the far southeastern corner of the city, stretching from 93rd Street comprising the western border to 100th Street in the east border and 103rd Street in the northeast. Bergholtz Creek defines the northern border with the Niagara River marking the southern border 1/4 mi away. The LaSalle Expressway splits an uninhabited portion of the south from the north. The canal covers 16 acre of land in the central eastern portion.

Early history, canal dig, 1894-1940
In 1890, William T. Love, a former railroad lawyer, prepared plans to construct a preplanned urban community of parks and residences on the shore of Lake Ontario. Love, who would become notorious for similar real-estate schemes later in life, claimed it would serve the area's burgeoning industries with much-needed hydroelectricity. He named the project Model City, New York.

After 1892, Love's plan incorporated a shipping lane that would bypass Niagara Falls, and facilitate transportation between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. He arranged backing from financial banks in New York City, Chicago, and England. During October 1893, the first factory opened for business. In May 1894, work on the canal began. Steel companies and other manufacturers expressed interest in opening plants along Love Canal. Love began having a canal dug and built a few streets and houses.

The Panic of 1893 caused investors to end sponsorship of the project. Then in 1906, environmental groups successfully lobbied Congress to pass a law, designed to preserve Niagara Falls, prohibiting the removal of water from the Niagara River. Only 1 mi of the canal was dug, about 50 ft wide and 10-40 ft deep, stretching northward from the Niagara River.

The Panic of 1907 combined with the development of the transmission of electrical power over great distances, creating access to hydroelectric power far from water sources, proved disastrous for what remained of the Model City plan. The last piece of property owned by Love's corporation was lost to foreclosure and sold at public auction in 1910. By that point, Love himself was long gone; in 1897 he left the United States for England, before returning to attempt similar schemes in Washington, Illinois, and Delaware.

With the project abandoned, the canal gradually filled with water. Local children swam there during summers and skated during the winters. In the 1920s, the city of Niagara Falls used the canal as a municipal landfill.

Industry and tourism increased steadily throughout the first half of the 20th century due to a great demand for industrial products and the increased mobility of people to travel. Paper, rubber, plastics, petrochemicals, carbon insulators, and abrasives composed the city's major industries.

At the time of the dump's closure in 1952, Niagara Falls was experiencing prosperity, and the population had been expanding dramatically, growing by 31% in twenty years (1940–1960) from 78,020 to 102,394.

Hooker Chemical Company, 1940s-1952
By the end of the 1940s, Hooker Chemical Company was searching for a place to dispose its large quantity of chemical waste. The Niagara Power and Development Company granted permission to Hooker during 1942 to dump wastes into the canal. The canal was drained and lined with thick clay. Into this site, Hooker began placing 55 USgal drums. In 1947, Hooker bought the canal and the 70 ft banks on either side of the canal. It subsequently converted it into a 16 acre landfill.

In 1948, the City of Niagara Falls ended self-sufficient disposal of refuse and Hooker Chemical became the sole user and owner of the site.

In early 1952, when it became apparent that the site would likely be developed for construction, Hooker ceased use of Love Canal as a dumpsite. During its 10-year lifespan, the landfill served as the dumping site of 21,800 ST of chemicals, mostly composed of products such as "caustics, alkalines, fatty acid and chlorinated hydrocarbons resulting from the manufacturing of dyes, perfumes, and solvents for rubber and synthetic resins". These chemicals were buried at a depth of 20 to 25 ft. Upon its closure, the canal was covered with a clay seal to prevent leakage. Over time, vegetation settled and began to grow atop the dump site.

By the 1950s, the city of Niagara Falls was experiencing a population increase. With a growing population, the Niagara Falls City School District needed land to build new schools and attempted to purchase the property from Hooker Chemical. The population reached more than 98,000 by the 1950 census.

Sale of the site, 1952
During March 1951, the school board prepared a plan showing a school being built over the canal and listing condemnation values for each property that would need to be acquired. During March 1952, the superintendent of Niagara Falls School Board inquired of Hooker with regard to purchasing the Love Canal property for the purpose of constructing a new school. After this, in an internal company memorandum dated March 27, 1952, Bjarne Klaussen, Hooker's vice president, wrote to the works manager that "it may be advisable to discontinue using the Love Canal property for a dumping ground." During April 1952, after discussing the sale of the land with Ansley Wilcox II, Hooker's in-house legal counsel, Klaussen then wrote to the company president, R.L. Murray, suggesting that the sale could alleviate them from future liabilities for the buried chemicals:

"The more we thought about it, the more interested Wilcox and I became in the proposition, and finally came to the conclusion that the Love Canal property is rapidly becoming a liability because of housing projects in the near vicinity of our property. A school, however, could be built in the center unfilled section (with chemicals underground). We became convinced that it would be a wise move to turn this property over to the schools provided we could not be held responsible for future claims or damages resulting from underground storage of chemicals."

While the school board condemned some nearby properties, Hooker agreed to sell its property to the school board for $1. Hooker's letter to the board agreeing to enter into negotiations noted that "in view of the nature of the property and the purposes for which it has been used, it will be necessary for us to have special provisions incorporated into the deed with respect to the use of the property and other pertinent matters." The board rejected the company's proposal that the deed require the land to be used for park purposes only, with the school itself to be built nearby.

As "a means of avoiding liability by relinquishing control of the site", Hooker deeded the site to the school board in 1953 for $1 with a liability limitation clause. The sale document signed on April 28, 1953, included a seventeen-line caveat purporting to release the company from all legal obligations should lawsuits occur during the future.

"Prior to the delivery of this instrument of conveyance, the grantee herein has been advised by the grantor that the premises above described have been filled, in whole or in part, to the present grade level thereof with waste products resulting from the manufacturing of chemicals by the grantor at its plant in the City of Niagara Falls, New York, and the grantee assumes all risk and liability incident to the use thereof. It is therefore understood and agreed that, as a part of the consideration for this conveyance and as a condition thereof, no claim, suit, action or demand of any nature whatsoever shall ever be made by the grantee, its successors or assigns, against the grantor, its successors or assigns, for injury to a person or persons, including death resulting therefrom, or loss of or damage to property caused by, in connection with or by reason of the presence of said industrial wastes. It is further agreed as a condition hereof that each subsequent conveyance of the aforesaid lands shall be made subject to the foregoing provisions and conditions."

Critics of Hooker's actions believe that, in the words of Craig E. Colton and Peter N. Skinner, "Hooker assigned the board with a continuing duty to protect property buyers from chemicals when the company itself accepted no such 'moral obligation'." The transfer effectively ended what provision of security and maintenance for the hazardous waste had existed before and placed all responsibility in clearly unqualified hands. It was this attempt to evade their responsibility, Colten and Skinner contend, that would "ultimately come back to haunt not only Hooker but all other chemical producers in the United States through the strict liability provisions of Superfund legislation." However, Eric Zuesse writes that Hooker's decision to sell the property rather than allowing the school board to condemn it stemmed from a desire to document its warnings. "Had the land been condemned and seized, says Hooker, the company would have been unable to air its concerns to all future owners of the property. It is difficult to see any other reason for what it did."

Not long after having taken control of the land, the Niagara Falls School Board proceeded to develop the land, including construction activity that substantially breached containment structures in a number of ways, allowing previously trapped chemicals to seep out.

The resulting breaches combined with particularly heavy rainstorms released and spread the chemical waste, resulting in a public health emergency and an urban planning scandal. In what became a test case for liability clauses, Hooker Chemical was found to be "negligent" in their disposal of waste, though not reckless in the sale of the land. The dumpsite was discovered and investigated by the local newspaper, the Niagara Falls Gazette, from 1976 through the evacuation in 1978.

Construction of the 93rd Street School and the 99th Street School, 1952-1955
Despite the disclaimer, the School Board began construction of the 99th Street School in its originally intended location. In January 1954, the school's architect wrote to the education committee informing them that during excavation, workers discovered two dump sites filled with 55 USgal drums containing chemical wastes. The architect also noted it would be "poor policy" to build in that area since it was not known what wastes were present in the ground, and the concrete foundation might be damaged. The school board then relocated the school site 80 to 85 ft further north. The kindergarten playground also had to be relocated because it was directly on top of a chemical dump.

Upon completion in 1955, 400 children attended the school, and it opened along with several other schools that had been built to accommodate students. That same year, a 25 ft area crumbled exposing toxic chemical drums, which then filled with water during rainstorms. This created large puddles that children enjoyed playing in. In 1955, a second school, the 93rd Street School, was opened six blocks away.

Home construction, 1950s
The school district sold the remaining land, resulting in homes being constructed by private developers, as well as the Niagara Falls Housing Authority. The sale came despite the warning of a Hooker attorney, Arthur Chambers, that, as paraphrased in the minutes of a board meeting, due to chemical waste having been dumped in that area, the land was not suitable for construction where underground facilities would be necessary. He stated that his company could not prevent the Board from selling the land or from doing anything they wanted to with it, but it was their intent that this property be used for a school and for parking. He further stated that they feel the property should not be divided for the purpose of building homes and hoped that no one will be injured.

During 1957, the City of Niagara Falls constructed sewers for a mixture of low-income and single family residences to be built on lands adjacent to the landfill site. While building the gravel sewer beds, construction crews broke through the clay seal, breaching the canal walls. Specifically, the local government removed part of the protective clay cap to use as fill dirt for the nearby 93rd Street School, and punched holes in the solid clay walls to build water lines and the LaSalle Expressway. This allowed the toxic wastes to escape when rainwater, no longer kept out by the partially removed clay cap, washed them through the gaps in the walls. Hence, the buried chemicals could migrate and seep from the canal.

The land where the homes were being built was not part of the agreement between the school board and Hooker; thus, none of these residents knew the canal's history. There was no monitoring or evaluating of the chemical wastes stored under the ground. Additionally, the clay cover of the canal, which was supposed to be impermeable, began to crack. The subsequent construction of the LaSalle Expressway restricted groundwater from flowing to the Niagara River. After the exceptionally wet winter and spring of 1962, the elevated expressway turned the breached canal into an overflowing pool. People reported having puddles of oil or colored liquid in yards or basements.

By the 1970s, the Love Canal area was an established suburb that appealed to commuters and families. It was proximate to the school and newly constructed churches, it was conveniently located just a few miles from the city center, and the expressway provided access to shopping and leisure opportunities. Census data revealed the area had a higher than median income, and the majority of its households included young children. Due to the great percentage of new construction in the area, less than 3% of housing units were unoccupied. In 1976, a report evaluating Niagara Falls ranked Love Canal the fourth-best area in "social well-being." In total, 800 private houses and 240 low-income apartments were constructed. Before the public revelation of the environmental crisis, developers were planning to expand the area with additional homes. There were 410 children in the school during 1978.

Lead-up and discovery, 1970s
Residents were suspicious of black fluid that flowed out of the Love Canal. For years, residents had complained about odors and substances in their yards or the public playgrounds. Finally, the city acted and hired a consultant, Calspan Corporation, to do a far-reaching study. In 1977, a harsh winter storm dumped 33-45 in of snow, significantly raising the water table. The excess water got into the ground water and raised the elevation of contaminants including dioxin. During the spring of 1977, the State Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation began an intensive air, soil, and groundwater sampling and analysis program after qualitative identification of a number of organic compounds in the basements of 11 homes adjacent to the Love Canal. It was also revealed that the standards at the time did not require the installation of a liner to prevent leaching; this became very common among companies.

Contaminants
Numerous contaminants dumped in the landfill included chlorinated hydrocarbon residues, processed sludge, fly ash, and other materials, including residential municipal garbage.

Data showed unacceptable levels of toxic vapors associated with more than 80 compounds were emanating from the basements of numerous homes in the first ring directly adjacent to the Love Canal. Ten of the most prevalent and most toxic compounds - including benzene, a known human carcinogen - were selected for evaluation purposes and as indicators of the presence of other chemical constituents.

Laboratory analyses of soil and sediment samples from the Love Canal indicate the presence of more than 200 distinct organic chemical compounds; approximately 100 of these have been identified to date.

Numerous other chemicals seeped through the ground. Some of the chemicals and toxic materials found included benzene, chloroform, toluene, dioxin, and various kinds of PCB.

Health effects
At first, scientific studies did not conclusively prove the chemicals were responsible for the residents' illnesses, and scientists were divided on the issue, even though eleven known or suspected carcinogens had been identified, one of the most prevalent being benzene. Also present was dioxin (polychlorinated dibenzodioxins) in the water, a very hazardous substance. Dioxin pollution is usually measured in parts per trillion; at Love Canal, water samples showed dioxin levels of 53 parts per billion (53,000 parts per trillion). Geologists were recruited to determine whether underground swales were responsible for carrying the chemicals to the surrounding residential areas. Once there, chemicals could leach into basements and evaporate into household air.

In 1979, the EPA announced the result of blood tests that showed high white blood cell counts, a precursor to leukemia, and chromosome damage in Love Canal residents. 33% of the residents had undergone chromosomal damage. In a typical population, chromosomal damage affects 1% of people. Other studies were unable to find harm. The United States National Research Council (NRC) surveyed Love Canal health studies during 1991. The NRC noted the major exposure of concern was the groundwater rather than drinking water; the groundwater "seeped into basements" and then resulted in exposure through air and soil. Several studies reported higher levels of low-birth weight babies and birth defects among the exposed residents with some evidence the effect subsided after the exposure was eliminated. The National Research Council also noted a study that found exposed children were found to have an "excess of seizures, learning problems, hyperactivity, eye irritation, skin rashes, abdominal pain, and incontinence" and stunted growth. Voles in the area were found to have significantly increased mortality compared to controls (mean life expectancy in exposed animals "23.6 and 29.2 days, respectively, compared to 48.8 days" for control animals). New York State also has an ongoing health study of Love Canal residents. In that year, the Albert Elia Building Co., Inc., now Sevenson Environmental Services, Inc., was selected as the principal contractor to safely re-bury the toxic waste at the Love Canal Site.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 1979 residents exhibited a "disturbingly high rate of miscarriages ... Love Canal can now be added to a growing list of environmental disasters involving toxics, ranging from industrial workers stricken by nervous disorders and cancers to the discovery of toxic materials in the milk of nursing mothers." In one case, two out of four children in a single Love Canal family had birth defects; one girl was born deaf with a cleft palate, an extra row of teeth, and slight intellectual disability, and a boy was born with an eye defect.

Awareness
In 1976, two reporters for the Niagara Falls Gazette, David Pollak and David Russell, tested several sump pumps near Love Canal and found toxic chemicals in them. The Gazette published reports, once in October 1976 and once in November 1976, of chemical analyses of residues near the old Love Canal dumpsite indicating the presence of 15 organic chemicals, including three toxic chlorinated hydrocarbons.

The matter became quiet for more than a year and was then revived by reporter Michael Brown, who then investigated potential health effects by performing an informal door-to-door survey during early 1978, writing a hundred news items on toxic wastes in the area and finding birth defects and many anomalies such as enlarged feet, heads, hands, and legs. He advised the local residents to create a protest group, which was organized by resident Karen Schroeder, whose daughter had many (about a dozen) birth defects. The New York State Health Department investigated and found an abnormal incidence of miscarriages. Brown discovered the size of the canal, the presence of dioxin, the expanding contamination, and the involvement, to an extent, of the U.S. Army. Hooker threatened to sue him and he fought the firm for years, including on the Today Show. His book on toxic wastes, Laying Waste: The Poisoning of America By Toxic Chemicals, was the first written on the subject of toxic wastes and created a national firestorm, as did articles of his in The New York Times Magazine and The Atlantic Monthly. He also discovered a huge dump called the Hyde Park landfill (or Bloody Run) and the "S-Area," which was leaking into the water supply for Niagara Falls. His work inspired many activists. He spoke for ten years on the college lecture circuit.

In September 1977, Congressman John LaFalce (D), who represented the district, paid a high profile visit to Love Canal, to raise attention to the serious problems. LaFalce intervened to get city, state and federal officials, and Hooker executives, involved to take quick action, but he was met with resistance, apathy and stalling.

By 1978, Love Canal had become a national media event with articles referring to the neighborhood as "a public health time bomb", and "one of the most appalling environmental tragedies in American history". Brown, working for the local newspaper, the Niagara Gazette, is credited with not only revealing the case, but establishing toxic chemical wastes as a nationwide issue as well. Brown's book, Laying Waste, examined the Love Canal disaster and many other toxic waste catastrophes nationwide.

The dumpsite was declared an unprecedented state of emergency on August 2, 1978. Brown, who wrote more than a hundred articles concerning the dump, tested the groundwater and later found the dump was three times larger than originally thought, with possible ramifications beyond the original evacuation zone. He was also to discover that toxic dioxins were there.

Activism tactics
Activism at Love Canal was initially organized by community residents Tom Heiser and Lois Gibbs, with Lois Gibbs often serving as spokesperson. Gibbs's strategies emphasized concerns for children and families of the affected area, with women taking the most prominent public and active roles. Many men also helped women in these efforts, though not always publicly. Men who were hesitant to oppose Hooker Chemical openly for example, were able to contribute to the movement through increased contributions to family labor in the absence of their activist wives.

In addition to community organizing and pressuring authorities for appropriate responses, direct-action forms of activism were employed. Tactics included protests and rallies, which were intentionally timed and planned in an effort to maximize media attention. Such events included "controversial" methods such as mothers protesting while pushing strollers, marching by pregnant women, and children holding protest signs. Notably, two EPA employees were also held hostage by activists for approximately five hours at the office of the Love Canal Homeowners Association (LCHA), in order to bring their demands to the attention of the federal government.

Role of community organizations
Numerous organizations were formed in response to the crisis at Love Canal, with members' activism emphasizing variously overlapping interests. In addition to the Love Canal Homeowners Association (LCHA), other major organizations involved included the Ecumenical Taskforce (ETF), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Concerned Love Canal Renters Association (CLCRA). These organizations are often overlooked in the story of Love Canal, according to research by Elizabeth Blum in Love Canal Revisited.

The Ecumenical Taskforce (ETF) was a religious organization composed of volunteers from the surrounding area. In conjunction with other citizens' groups such as LCHA and LCARA, the ETF used their resources to promote environmental health and gender, class, and racial equality.

The NAACP became involved with the Love Canal issue after William Abrams Sr., president of the Niagara Falls chapter drew attention to his wife's fatal liver failure. Abrams's involvement drew attention to racial inequality present in the community and concerns about how this could affect comprehensive relocation efforts. Abrams contacted the regional NAACP director who announced that discrimination against minorities at Love Canal would be met with legal action. This involvement inspired additional support and activism, particularly on behalf of members of the renting community, many of whom were also members of the African-American and immigrant communities at the site.

Another subgroup of local residents formed the Concerned Love Canal Renters Association (CLCRA). This group's action sought to address the needs of the (largely, but not exclusively, African-American) renter community, whose interests were at times perceived to be in conflict with those of some members of the (predominantly white) property owners represented by the LCHA.

In 1980, Lois Gibbs established the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice as a continuation of her activism at Love Canal.

Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal Homeowners' Association
On August 2, 1978, Lois Gibbs, a local mother who called an election to head the Love Canal Homeowners' Association, began to rally homeowners. Her son, Michael Gibbs, began attending school in September 1977. He developed epilepsy in December, suffered from asthma and a urinary tract infection, and had a low white blood cell count, all associated with his exposure to the leaking chemical waste. Gibbs had learned from Brown that her neighborhood sat atop the buried chemical waste.

During the following years, Gibbs organized an effort to investigate community concerns about the health of its residents. She and other residents made repeated complaints of strange odors and "substances" that surfaced in their yards. In Gibbs' neighborhood, there was a high rate of unexplained illnesses, miscarriages, and intellectual disability. Basements were often covered with a thick, black substance, and vegetation was dying. In many yards, the only vegetation that grew were shrubby grasses. Although city officials were asked to investigate the area, they did not act to solve the problem. Niagara Falls mayor Michael O'Laughlin infamously stated that there was "nothing wrong" in Love Canal.

With further investigation, Gibbs discovered the chemical danger of the adjacent canal. This began her organization's two-year effort to demonstrate that the waste buried by Hooker Chemical was responsible for the health problems of local residents. Throughout the ordeal, homeowners' concerns were ignored not only by Hooker Chemical (now a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum), but also by members of government. These parties argued that the area's endemic health problems were unrelated to the toxic chemicals buried in the Canal. Since the residents could not prove the chemicals on their property had come from Hooker's disposal site, they could not prove liability. Throughout the legal battle, residents were unable to sell their properties and relocate.

Federal response, 1978-2004
On August 7, 1978, United States President Jimmy Carter announced a federal health emergency, called for the allocation of federal funds, and ordered the Federal Disaster Assistance Agency to assist the City of Niagara Falls to remedy the Love Canal site. This was the first time in American history that emergency funds were used for a situation other than a natural disaster. Carter had trenches built that would transport the wastes to sewers and had home sump pumps sealed off.

Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), better known as the Superfund Act. Love Canal became the first entry on the list. CERCLA created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and provided broad Federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. CERCLA also created a National Priorities List, a shortened list of the sites that has priority in cleanup. Love Canal was the first Superfund site on that list. Eventually, the site was cleaned and deleted off the list in 2004. Because the Superfund Act contained a "retroactive liability" provision, Occidental was held liable for cleanup of the waste even though it had followed all applicable U.S. laws when disposing of it.

Aftermath
When Eckhardt C. Beck (EPA Administrator for Region 2, 1977–1979) visited Love Canal during the late 1970s, he discerned the presence of toxic substances in the community:

"I visited the canal area at that time. Corroding waste-disposal drums could be seen breaking up through the grounds of backyards. Trees and gardens were turning black and dying. One entire swimming pool had been popped up from its foundation, afloat now on a small sea of chemicals. Puddles of noxious substances were pointed out to me by the residents. Some of these puddles were in their yards, some were in their basements, others yet were on the school grounds. Everywhere the air had a faint, choking smell. Children returned from play with burns on their hands and faces."

Robert Whalen, then-New York's Health Commissioner, also visited Love Canal and believed that the Canal constituted an emergency, stating: "Love Canal Chemical Waste Landfill constitutes a public nuisance and an extremely serious threat and danger to the health, safety and welfare of those using it, living near it or exposed to the conditions emanating from it, consisting among other things, of chemical wastes lying exposed on the surface in numerous places pervasive, pernicious and obnoxious chemical vapors and fumes affecting both the ambient air and the homes of certain residents living near such sites." Whalen also instructed people to avoid going into their basements as well as to avoid fruits and vegetables grown in their gardens. People became very worried because many had consumed produce from their gardens for several years. Whalen urged that all pregnant women and children under the age of two be removed from Love Canal as soon as possible.

The 99th Street School, on the other hand, was located within the former boundary of the Hooker Chemical landfill site. It was closed some two years later and subsequently demolished because of concerns about seeping toxic waste, but both the school board and the chemical company denied responsibility for the pollution, and thus the liability for its cleanup and the damages arising from past failures to remediate the site.

Evacuation
The lack of public interest in Love Canal made matters worse for the homeowners' association, which was opposed by two organizations seeking to disprove negligence in the disposal of the waste. Initially, members of the association had been frustrated by the lack of a public entity that could advise and defend them. Gibbs met with public resistance from a number of residents within the community. Eventually, the federal government relocated more than 800 families and reimbursed them for the loss of their homes. The state government and federal government used $15 million to purchase 400 homes closest to Love Canal and demolished several rings of houses.

Litigation and compensation
In 1994, Federal District Judge John Curtin ruled that Hooker/Occidental had been negligent, but not reckless, in its handling of the waste and sale of the land to the Niagara Falls School Board. Curtin's decision also contains a detailed history of events leading up to the Love Canal disaster. Occidental Petroleum was sued by the EPA and in 1995 agreed to pay $129 million in restitution. Out of that federal lawsuit came money for a small health fund and $3.5 million for the state health study. Residents' lawsuits were also settled in the years following the Love Canal disaster.

The Department of Justice published a report noting that the sites have been successfully remediated and are ready again for use. The Love Canal Area Revitalization Authority sold a few abandoned homes to private citizens. Virtually all remedial activities of the site, other than the operation of the leachate collection system, were completed by 1989.

Remediation
Houses in the residential areas on the east and west sides of the canal were demolished. All that remains on the west side are abandoned residential streets. Some older east side residents, whose houses stand alone in the demolished neighborhood, chose to stay. It was estimated that fewer than 90 of the original 900 families opted to remain. They were willing to remain as long as they were guaranteed that their homes were in a relatively safe area. On June 4, 1980, the state government founded the Love Canal Area Revitalization Agency (LCARA) to restore the area. The area north of Love Canal became known as Black Creek Village. LCARA wanted to resell 300 homes that had been bought by New York when the residents were relocated. The homes are farther away from where the chemicals were dumped. The most toxic area (16 acre) was reburied with a thick plastic liner, clay and dirt. A 2.4 m high barbed wire fence was installed around the area. It has been calculated that 248 separate chemicals, including 60 kg of dioxin, have been unearthed from the canal.

Analysis
In 1998, Elizabeth Whelan, founder of industry advocacy group American Council on Science and Health, wrote an editorial about the Canal in which she stated that the media started calling the Canal a "public health time bomb", an editorial that created minor hysteria. She declared that people were not falling ill because of exposure to chemical waste, but from stress caused by the media. Besides double the rate of birth defects to children born while living on Love Canal, a follow-up study two decades after the incident "showed increased risks of low birth weight, congenital malformations and other adverse reproductive events".

Love Canal, along with Times Beach, Missouri and the Valley of the Drums, Kentucky, are important in United States environmental history as three sites that significantly contributed to the passing of the CERCLA. Love Canal has "become the symbol for what happens when hazardous industrial products are not confined to the workplace but 'hit people where they live' in inestimable amounts".

Love Canal was not an isolated case. Eckardt C. Beck suggested that there are probably hundreds of similar dumpsites. President Carter declared that discovering these dumpsites was "one of the grimmest discoveries of the modern era". Had the residents of Love Canal been aware that they were residing on toxic chemicals, most would not have moved there in the first place. Beck noted that one main problem remains that ownership of such chemical companies can change over the years, making liability difficult to assign (a problem that would be addressed by CERCLA, or the Superfund Act). Beck contended that increased commitment was necessary to develop controls that would "defuse future Love Canals".

Some free market environmentalist activists have cited the Love Canal incident as a consequence of government decision-makers not taking responsibility for their decisions. Stroup writes, "The school district owning the land had a laudable but narrow goal: it wanted to provide education cheaply for district children. Government decision makers are seldom held accountable for broader social goals in the way that private owners are by liability rules and potential profits."

Conclusion
In 2004, federal officials announced that the Superfund cleanup has ended, although cleanup had concluded years prior. The entire process occurred over 21 years and cost a total of $400 million. About 260 homes north of the canal have been renovated and sold to new owners, and about 150 acre east of the canal have been sold to commercial developers for light industrial uses. In total, 950 families had been evacuated. The site was removed from the Superfund list on September 30, 2004.

Epilogue
After Love Canal families were relocated, the canal was buried under a plastic liner, clay and topsoil in a fenced area that was declared to be permanently off-limits, while scores of the abandoned homes were buried. The rest of the Love Canal area was declared safe by the EPA and a public corporation (Love Canal Revitalization Agency) took ownership of the abandoned properties, which were fixed up and sold.

Beginning in 1990, there were 260 homes that were given new vinyl siding, roofs and windows, then resold at prices that were 20% below market value and renamed "Black Creek Village." By 1998, the Love Canal Revitalization Agency had sold 232 of 239 renovated homes. New residents of the area were initially undeterred and felt safe due to extensive testing of the area. They were enticed to move into the area due to the promise of "cleaned-up land and affordable homes." For example, Dan and Teresa Reynolds had bought a 4 bedroom home in the neighborhood for less than $40,000 in the early 2000s. They were told the waste was contained and the area was safe.

Former residents who had evacuated Love Canal were alarmed when new residents began to move in. Luella Kenny's 7 year old son had died of kidney disease, and a new family later moved into the same home her family had abandoned. Kenny noted her son's autopsy had revealed the "same symptoms they see in animals that have been exposed to dioxin." She commented about the new residents, "The children are what bother me when I see them running around this neighborhood. I'm so frightened for them."

In 2013, when Lois Gibbs returned to visit the area, she was shocked that the containment site no longer had "danger" signs and the signs merely indicated "private property." She noted that someone house hunting in the area would not be put on alert that there were toxins in the area. Gibbs observed, "It's like a gated community for chemicals."

By 2013, residents of Black Creek Village complained of mysterious rashes, cysts and other ailments, as well as miscarriages. Initially, six families initiated lawsuits with notice that an addition 1100 claims might be coming. The lawsuits did not specify damages sought, but alleged that Love Canal was never properly remediated and dangerous toxins continued to leach onto residents' properties.

Hooker Chemical Company had dumped the chemicals in the 1940s and 1950s, but the company was bought in 1968 by Occidental Petroleum Corporation. In 1994, to settle a key civil lawsuit, Occidental agreed to pay the state of New York $25 million over 30 years. At one time, Occidental's liability in the case was estimated to be as much as $700 million, but U.S. District Judge John T. Curtin rejected the state's request for punitive damages, which might have totaled $270 million. After the settlement, in 1995, Occidental Petroleum Corporation was tasked by the state of New York with monitoring the Love Canal site. Occidental Petroleum Corporation shifted responsibility for maintaining the site to its subsidiary, Glenn Springs Holdings. The 2013 litigation largely sought to hold Occidental Petroleum Corporation responsible. However, the corporation maintained that the waste was contained and state and federal agencies supported their position.

In 2024, a state court in New York dismissed 18 class-action lawsuits against OxyChem, another subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, because the court found the plaintiffs' claims were "speculative." The plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal.

Controversies related to Wheatfield landfill
As remediation of the Love Canal site was attempted beginning in the 1970s, contamination was moved elsewhere. Waste equal in volume to 80 dump trucks was exhumed and shipped to out-of-state incinerators. However, some of the waste also ended up less than 10 miles away to a landfill owned by the Town of Wheatfield, which is located on the border of Wheatfield and North Tonawanda. The landfill had been operated by the Niagara Sanitation Company from 1964 to 1968 for municipal and industrial waste from plants including Carborundum, Bell Aerospace and Frontier Chemical. Residents near the landfill frequently complained of odors, exposed waste, discolored water and generally unsafe conditions, especially for children. In 1965, residents wrote to the city and asked the area be fenced.

In 1968, during the construction of the LaSalle Expressway in Niagara Falls, Love Canal waste was dug up, which ended up in the Wheatfield landfill. In 1982, a local newspaper report initially brought to light that Love Canal waste had ended up in the Wheatfield landfill. The Wheatfield municipal authorities ignored residents' concerns as hysteria, but in subsequent years many residents developed cancers, lupus, as well as other mysterious ailments that confounded doctors. In 2012, the state Department of Environmental Conservation reversed its long-term position that remediation of the landfill was unnecessary. In 2014, the DEC got Glenn Springs Holdings (the subsidiary of Occidental that was responsible for maintaining the Love Canal site) to pay for the removal of the Love Canal waste from the Wheatfield landfill. In December 2015, the landfill was declared a Superfund site.

A 2017 lawsuit asserts that Hooker's creation of a brine pipeline along the edge of the landfill used to move brine from Wyoming County to its Niagara Falls plant location, may have created a conduit for the landfilled waste to leak out. Ironically, some of the residents who lived near the landfill had moved there when they were evacuated from their previous homes in Love Canal.

In popular culture
The legacy of the disaster inspired a fictionalized 1982 made-for-TV film titled Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal.

In 1983, the award-winning documentary by Lynn Corcoran titled In Our Own Backyard was released in the U.S..

The 1998 video game Blood II: The Chosen features a level called Love Canal, whose opening text makes explicit references to the disaster.

Modern Marvels retold the disaster in 2004.

10,000 Maniacs has a song about Love Canal on the Blind Man's Zoo album which is titled "Poison in the Well."

Joyce Carol Oates included the story of Love Canal in her 2004 novel The Falls, but she changed the period of time when the disaster occurred from the 1970s to the 1960s.

The film Tootsie has a character (played by Bill Murray) attempting to produce a play called "Return to Love Canal". In response to the pitch for the play, Sydney Pollack tells Dustin Hoffman that "Nobody wants to produce a play about a couple that moved back to Love Canal. Nobody wants to pay twenty dollars to see people living next to chemical waste. They can see that in New Jersey."

In 2022, the non fiction narrative Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe, was published by Pantheon.

In April 2024, the documentary Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal was premiered on PBS. "Love Canal" was a segment in the premiere episode of Michael Moore's television series TV Nation, which featured realtors attempting to lure prospective residents to the area.

"Love Canal" is the name of a 7" single released by the punk rock band Flipper in February 1981. The lyrics are about the disaster.

In the 2000 film Erin Brockovich, when legal counsel Ed Masry holds a town meeting in an attempt to discuss arbitration in the case of Hinkley groundwater contamination by Pacific Gas and Electric, the townsfolk are reluctant to agree. When they turn on the idea, Masry brings up Love Canal, as an example of a case in which going to trial would be more time-consuming and difficult, explaining that many plaintiffs still had cases which were open because they were still being settled or appealed. When the film was set, in 1993, litigation for Love Canal was still ongoing, despite the fact that it first came to the attention of the public and the government back in the late 1970s.

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

title: Love Canal


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Talk:Natural therapy

Natural health

 * The health benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables has been documented by science over and over again.
 * In 1754, James Lind, a Scottish naval surgeon, conducted the first ever clinical trial, when he studied 12 sailors with scurvy to see if they could be healed by diet. Within six days, the fruits effectiveness was obvious.

Please discuss the health benefits of eating "more" fruits and vegetables, and explain how such a diet differs from that recommended by conventional medicine.

By the way, Lind's discovery proves that scurvy is caused by a deficiency of Vitamin C, doesn't it? Would you please mention whether artificial supplements (i.e., swallowing pills or eating fortified bread) produces the same results?

If so, please comment on the "model" of scurvy being cured by "medicine".

 * cause: not enough vitamin C
 * cure: eat something with vitamin C in it

Is there any common ground between conventional medicine's approach to scurvy and natural therapy's approach? --Uncle Ed 19:38, 1 Dec 2003 (UTC)

This question is off-topic. Please, email me. Mr-Natural-Health 12:05, 4 Dec 2003 (UTC)

This page by Mr-Natural-Health is a joke. The only rational parts of it are accepted by conventional ("Western") medicine! And the rest is one man's POV. I sincerely vote for deletion. RK 03:45, Dec 6, 2003 (UTC)

To state the obvious. Natural therapy is the treatment method used by a well known form of Alternative medicine called Natural Health. Natural health is a form of alternative medicine because it has been attacked as quackery by many confused individuals. Natural therapy happens to be strongly grounded both in science and research. Natural health is one the most science based forms of alternative medicine currently available to the public. Just thought that you might want to know the facts. :)--Mr-Natural-Health 19:39, 6 Dec 2003 (UTC)

title: Talk:Natural therapy


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Joan Tower

Joan Tower (born September 6, 1938) is a Grammy-winning contemporary American composer, concert pianist and conductor. Lauded by The New Yorker as "one of the most successful woman composers of all time", her bold and energetic compositions have been performed in concert halls around the world. After gaining recognition for her first orchestral composition, Sequoia (1981), a tone poem which structurally depicts a giant tree from trunk to needles, she has gone on to compose a variety of instrumental works including Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, which is something of a response to Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, the Island Prelude, five string quartets, and an assortment of other tone poems. Tower was pianist and founding member of the Naumburg Award-winning Da Capo Chamber Players, which commissioned and premiered many of her early works, including her widely performed Petroushskates.

Life and career
Born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1938, Tower moved to Bolivia when she was nine years old, an experience which she credits for making rhythm an integral part of her work. Tower discovered this love for rhythm in the local saint’s day celebrations. There, she learned how to play percussion and then started her musical journey. For the next decade Tower's talent in music, particularly on the piano, grew rapidly due to her father's insistence that she benefit from consistent musical training. Tower's relationship with her mineralogist father is visible in many aspects of her work, most specifically her "mineral works" including Black Topaz (1976) and Silver Ladders (1986). She returned to the United States as a young woman to study music, first at Bennington College and then at Columbia University where she studied under Otto Luening, Jack Beeson, and Vladimir Ussachevsky and was awarded her doctorate in composition in 1968.

In 1969 Tower, along with violinist Joel Lester and flautist Patricia Spencer, founded the New York-based Da Capo Chamber Players where she served as the group's pianist. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s Tower wrote a number of successful works for the Da Capo Players, including Platinum Spirals (1976), Amazon I (1977) and Wings (1981). The group won several awards in its early years, including the Naumburg Award in 1973. Tower left the group in 1984, buoyed by the immediate success of her first orchestral composition, Sequoia (1981).

In 1972 Tower had accepted a faculty position at Bard College in composition, a post she continues to hold today. Tower received a Guggenheim fellowship in 1976. From 1985 to 1988 Tower was composer-in-residence at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Tower became the first woman recipient of the Grawemeyer Award for Music in 1990 for her composition Silver Ladders. In 1993, under commission from the Milwaukee Ballet, Tower composed Stepping Stones, and she conducted sections from it at the White House. Other compositions from the 1990s include the third Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, several piano concertos (notably 1996's Rapids (Piano Concerto no. 2) and Tambor (1998) written for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. In 1999 Tower accepted a position as composer-in-residence with the Orchestra of St. Luke's and in 1998 she won the Delaware Symphony's Alfred I. DuPont Award for Distinguished American Composer.

In 2002 Tower won the Annual Composer's Award from the Lancaster Symphony. During the 2003–2004 season two new works were debuted, DNA, a percussion quintet commissioned for Frank Epstein, and Incandescent. In 2004 the Nashville Symphony's recording of Tambor, Made in America, and her Concerto for Orchestra earned a Grammy nomination. In 2004 Carnegie Hall's "Making Music" series featured a retrospective of Tower's body of work, performed by artists including the Tokyo String Quartet and pianists Melvin Chen and Ursula Oppens. In 2005 Tower became the first composer commissioned for the "Ford Made in America" program, the only project of its kind to involve smaller-budget orchestras as commissioning agents of new work by major composers, in which her 15-minute Made in America was performed in every state of the union during the 2005–2007 season. In 2008, Tower's Made in America and the recording of it by the Nashville Symphony conducted by Leonard Slatkin won three Grammy Awards: in the categories Best Orchestral Performance, Best Classical Album and Best Classical Contemporary Composition.

She is currently the Asher B. Edelman Professor of Music at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, and as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She also serves on the Artistic Advisory panel of the BMI Foundation.

Work
Tower's early music reflects the influence of her mentors at Columbia University and is rooted in the serialist tradition, whose sparse texture complemented her interest in chamber music. As she developed as a composer Tower began to gravitate towards the work of Olivier Messiaen and George Crumb and broke away from the strict serialist model. Her work became more colorful and has often been described as impressionistic. She often composes with specific ensembles or soloists in mind, and aims to exploit the strengths of these performers in her composition.

Among her most notable work is the six-part Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, each dedicated to 'women who are adventurous and take risks'. Inspired by Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, four of the six parts are scored for 3 trumpets, 4 horns, 3 trombones, tuba and percussion. The first was debuted in 1987 and conducted by Hans Vonk. For the second, which premiered in 1989, Tower added one percussion while the third, debuted in 1991 was scored for a double brass quintet. The fourth and sixth are scored for full orchestra. The fifth part was commissioned for the Aspen Music Festival in 1993 and was written specifically for Joan W. Harris. The first five parts were added to the National Recording Registry in 2014.

Ballet

 * Stepping Stones (1993), commissioned by the Milwaukee Ballet
 * Choreographed by Kathryn Posin

Orchestral

 * Sequoia (1981)
 * commissioned by the Jerome Foundation for the American Composers Orchestra, who gave the work's première with Dennis Russell Davies conducting in New York City
 * Music for Cello and Orchestra (1984)
 * written for André Emelianoff
 * Island Rhythms (1985)
 * commissioned by the Florida Orchestra (with a grant from the Lincoln Properties Company), who gave the work's première under Irwin Hoffman on 29 June 1985.
 * Concerto for Piano (Homage to Beethoven) (1985), for piano and orchestra
 * co-commissioned by the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonia Virtuosi, with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
 * Silver Ladders (1986)
 * commissioned by the Saint Louis Symphony, and dedicated to Leonard Slatkin, who conducted the première. The work was a prize winner in the 1988 Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards, and in 1990 won the prestigious Grawemeyer Award.
 * Clarinet Concerto (1988), for clarinet and orchestra
 * commissioned by the Naumburg Foundation for clarinettist Charles Neidich, who gave the work's première with the American Symphony Orchestra under Jorge Mester in 1988
 * Flute Concerto (1989), for flute and orchestra
 * written for Carol Wincenc, who gave the work's première.
 * Island Prelude (1989), for oboe and string orchestra
 * written for oboist Peter Bowman, who premièred the work with the Saint Louis Symphony under Leonard Slatkin on 4 May 1989.
 * Concerto for Orchestra (1991)
 * co-commissioned by the Chicago Symphony, the Saint Louis Symphony and the New York Philharmonic.
 * Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (1987–1992)
 * commissioned by Absolut Vodka for the Houston Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the Kansas City Symphony. The world première was given by the Houston Symphony with Hans Vonk conducting.
 * Violin Concerto (1992), for violin and orchestra
 * commissioned by the Snowbird Institute and the Barlow Endowment
 * Stepping Stones (1993)
 * commissioned by the Milwaukee Ballet
 * Duets (1994), for chamber orchestra
 * written for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
 * Paganini Trills (1996)
 * premièred in Powell Symphony Hall, Saint Louis on 19 May 1996.
 * Rapids (Piano Concerto No. 2) (1996), for piano and orchestra
 * commissioned by the University of Wisconsin for pianist Ursula Oppens
 * Tambor (1998)
 * commissioned by Mariss Jansons and the Pittsburgh Symphony, who gave the work's première on 7 May 1998.
 * The Last Dance (2000)
 * written for the Orchestra of St. Luke's, who premièred the work under Alan Gilbert (conductor) at Carnegie Hall, New York City on 24 February 2000.
 * Fascinating Ribbons (2001), for concert band
 * commissioned by the College Band Directors National Association and was given its première at the CBDNA Conference in 2001.
 * Strike Zones (2001), concerto for percussion and orchestra
 * written for Evelyn Glennie and the National Symphony Orchestra, who gave the work's première under Leonard Slatkin at the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. in October 2001.
 * In Memory (2002), for string orchestra
 * transcription of a string quartet Tower wrote for the Cavani String Quartet
 * Made in America (2004), for chamber orchestra
 * commissioned by Ford Made in America in partnership with the League of American Orchestras and Meet the Composer, for a consortium of over 60 amateur orchestras across the United States. The world première was given by the Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra in October 2005.
 * Purple Rhapsody (2005), concerto for viola and chamber orchestra
 * co-commissioned by the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Virginia Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony, the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra (Columbus), the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra (Door County, Wisconsin), and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, with a grant from the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress. The work was premièred by the violist Paul Neubauer (to whom the work is dedicated) and the Omaha Symphony Orchestra in 2005.
 * Chamber Dance (2006), for chamber orchestra
 * written for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, who premièred the work at Carnegie Hall on May 6, 2006.
 * Stroke (2010)
 * commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony, who premièred the work under Manfred Honeck on 13 May 2011 at Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
 * Red Maple (2013), for bassoon and string orchestra
 * premiered by Peter Kolkay, bassoon, with the South Carolina Philharmonic under Morihiko Nakahara on 4 October 2013.
 * 1920/2019 (2020) for orchestra
 * commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, who premièred the work under Jaap van Zweden on 3 December 2021.
 * A New Day (2021) for cello and orchestra
 * commissioned by the Colorado Music Festival, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra. The work was premièred by the cellist Alisa Weilerstein and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra on 25 July 2021.

Chamber

 * Breakfast Rhythms I. and II. (1974), for clarinet solo, flute, percussion, violin, cello and piano
 * Black Topaz (1976), for flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, piano and two percussion
 * Amazon I. (1977), for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano
 * Petroushskates (1980), for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano
 * Noon Dance (1982), for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin and cello
 * Fantasy... Harbour Lights (1983), for clarinet and piano
 * Snow Dreams (1983), for flute and guitar
 * Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (1986), for eleven brass and three percussion
 * Island Prelude (1989), for oboe solo and string quartet/quintet or wind quintet
 * Second Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (1989), for eleven brass and three percussion
 * Third Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (1991), for brass dectet
 * Celebration Fanfare (1993), for eleven brass and three percussion
 * Elegy (1993), for trombone solo and string quartet
 * Fifth Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (1993), for four trumpets
 * Night Fields (String Quartet No. 1) (1994), for string quartet
 * Très lent (Hommage à Messiaen) (1994), for cello and piano
 * Turning Points (1995), for clarinet and string quartet
 * And...they're off (1997), for piano trio
 * Rain Waves (1997), for violin, clarinet and piano
 * Toccanta (1997), for oboe and harpsichord
 * Big Sky (2000), for piano trio
 * In Memory (String Quartet No. 2 (2002), for string quartet
 * Incandescent (String Quartet No. 3) (2003), for string quartet
 * For Daniel (2004), for piano trio
 * DNA (2005), for percussion quintet
 * A Little Gift (2006), for flute and clarinet
 * Copperwave (2006), for brass quintet
 * A Gift (2007), for flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn and piano
 * Trio Cavany (2007), for piano trio
 * Angels (String Quartet No. 4) (2008), for string quartet
 * Dumbarton Quintet (2008), for piano quintet
 * Rising (2009), for flute and string quartet
 * White Granite (2010), for piano quartet
 * 17-minute work, co-commissioned by the St Timothy's Summer Music Festival, Montana, the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Colorado, and the LaJolla Music Society for SummerFest, California. Premièred in Georgetown Lake, Montana on 11 July 2010.
 * White Water (String Quartet No. 5) (2011), for string quartet, commissioned for the Daedalus Quartet by Chamber Music Monterey Bay.

Vocal

 * Can I (2007), for S.S.A.A. choir and percussionist
 * written for the Young People's Chorus of New York City, who premièred the work under Francisco J. Nuñez at the Miller Theater, New York City on 27 April 2008.

Solo

 * Circles (1964), for piano
 * Fantasia (1966), for piano
 * Platinum Spirals (1976), for violin
 * Red Garnet Waltz (1977), for piano
 * Wings (1981), for clarinet or alto saxophone
 * Clocks (1985), for guitar
 * Or like a...an engine (1994), for piano
 * Ascent (1996), for organ
 * Holding a Daisy (1996), for piano
 * Valentine Trills (1996), for flute
 * Wild Purple (1998), for viola
 * Vast Antique Cubes/Throbbing Still (2000), for piano
 * Simply Purple (2008), for viola
 * Ivory and Ebony (2009), for piano
 * For Marianne (2010), for flute
 * String Force (2010), for violin
 * Steps (2011), for piano
 * Purple Rush  (2016), for viola

Interviews

 * Joan Tower interviewed by Michael Schell, July 22, 2021 on Radio Eclectus, KHUH-LP
 * At 80, Joan Tower Says Great Music Comes ‘in the Risks’, New York Times, November 9, 2018, by William Robin
 * Joan Tower interview by Bruce Duffie, April, 1987
 * Private Interview with Joan Tower, February 23, 1988, Saint Louis, MO, in "An Analysis of Joan Tower's Wings for Solo Clarinet", August 1992, by Nancy E. Leckie Bonds
 * Private Interview with Joan Tower, May 21, 1988, Saint Louis, MO, in "An Analysis of Joan Tower's Wings for Solo Clarinet", August 1992, by Nancy E. Leckie Bonds,
 * The composer in conversation with Bruce Duffie, published in New Music Connoisseur Magazine, Spring, 2001.
 * The composer in conversation with Bruce Duffie, published in New Music Connoisseur Magazine, Spring, 2001.

Discography

 * Big Sky: Chamber Music of American Women Composers White Pine WPM202
 * Cantos Desiertos / BEASER / TOWER / LIEBERMANN Naxos – Catalogue No:8.559146
 * Chamber and Solo Music Naxos – Catalogue No:8.559215 Chamber Music, Instrumental
 * Red Maple, Peter Kolkay (bassoon), Calidore String Quartet. Bridge Records 9587 (2023)
 * Silver Ladders / Island Prelude / Sequoia Naxos – Catalogue No:FECD-0025
 * TOWER: Made in America / Tambor / Concerto for Orchestra Naxos – Catalogue No: 8.559328
 * WORLD PREMIERE COLLECTION Naxos- Catalogue No: FECD-0032

Listening

 * Art of the States: Joan Tower Petroushskates (1980)

title: Joan Tower