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Jerry Rice

Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former football wide receiver who played for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers before two shorter stints at the end of his career with the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks. Nicknamed "World" because of his superb catching ability, his accomplishments and numerous records, Rice is widely regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in NFL history. His biography on the official Pro Football Hall of Fame website names him "the most prolific wide receiver in NFL history with staggering career totals". In 1999, The Sporting News listed Rice second behind Jim Brown on its list of "Football's 100 Greatest Players". In 2010, he was chosen by NFL Network's NFL Films production The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players as the greatest player in NFL history.

Rice played college football for four seasons with the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils, setting several National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and team receiving records, including becoming the all-time leader in NCAA receiving touchdowns. He joined the 49ers after being selected with the 16th overall pick of the 1985 NFL draft. After a modest rookie season, Rice emerged in the following season as one of the best receivers in the league, leading the NFL in receiving yards and touchdowns, a feat he achieved four times. In 1987, Rice set the record for most receiving touchdowns in a season, with 22, in a twelve-game strike-shortened season. He won back-to-back championships in 1988 and 1989, and was the MVP of the former championship. Rice developed connections with quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young that are viewed as among the best in NFL history, helping him lead the league in both receiving yards and touchdowns six times, and in receptions twice.

Going into the 1990s, Rice won a third Super Bowl in 1994, and a second Offensive Player of the Year Award. After recovering from a knee injury and his play regressing, San Francisco released him in June 2001, where the Raiders would sign him to a four-year deal. He continued to start for the team, and helped lead them to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII, where they were defeated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, affecting Rice's previously unblemished Super Bowl record. Midway through 2004, the Raiders traded him to the Seahawks, where he spent his final season. He briefly signed with the Broncos, retiring shortly before the start of the 2005 season.

Rice is the career leader in most major statistical categories for wide receivers, including receptions, receiving touchdowns, receiving yards, scrimmage yards, and total touchdowns, holding the postseason records for these statistics, and once held the single-season records for yards and touchdowns. He scored more points than any other non-kicker in NFL history with 1,256. Rice was selected to the Pro Bowl 13 times (1986–1996, 1998, 2002) and named All-Pro twelve times in his 20 NFL seasons, including ten First-team All-Pros, tied for the most by any player. Rice was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Rice was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, and in the same year was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. The NFL honored him as a member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team and the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, as well as both the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.

Early life
Jerry Lee Rice Sr. was born on October 13, 1962, in Starkville, Mississippi, and lived in Crawford, Mississippi, the sixth of eight children. Crawford was a small town, having only 600 residents. Rice's father, Joe, was a brick mason who built houses by hand, while holding other jobs to provide for the family. Joe was described by Rice as "a tough man" and held him and his siblings to a strict lifestyle. Eddie B., Rice's mother, raised Rice while Joe was working, and after Rice left cleaned the houses of wealthy families. Rice and his brothers often worked with their father building houses, catching bricks on top of scaffolds to make sure his father had bricks to lay. He did not see bricklaying as his future, later saying that "it taught me the meaning of hard work." The Rice family struggled financially, with Rice sometimes not having many pairs of clothing or having a "hearty meal on the table". To provide for his family, he and his brothers picked corn, cotton, carrots, and hay. Rice asserted that he was shy as a child, and had few friends.

Rice attended B. L. Moor High School in Oktoc, Mississippi. Although he played mock games of basketball and football, Rice initially played no sports in high school. He enjoyed playing sandlot football and watching football on television. His mother didn't allow him to join the school's football team in his freshman year, as she thought that football was "too rough" for Rice. While Rice was a sophomore, the school's assistant principal caught him skipping class with a friend, causing him to panic and sprint away. After Rice fled, the principal was impressed with his speed, and informed the school's football coach, Charles Davis, who offered Rice a place on the team. Initially unhappy about this, Rice's mother relented after realizing that "the more I fought it, the more determined he was, so I gave it up." Rice played basketball as a forward and was on the track and field team, competing in the high jump. Rice played multiple positions in high school, including running back, defensive back and tight end. The position he was most skilled at, however, was wide receiver. During the off-season before his junior year, Rice increased his training; running several miles back to his house because he didn't have a ride. Rice had a breakout junior season, primarily playing wide receiver and defensive back.

Rice was a Mississippi All-State selection at wide receiver in his senior year. Due to the small size of Moor, few of his statistics were officially recorded. According to sports journalist Glenn Dickey, Rice caught 50 receptions and 30 touchdowns as a senior, helping to lead the team to a 17–2 record over his final two seasons. He and Moor's starting quarterback, Willie Gillespie, were very dependable, enough for them to be nicknamed Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry. Rice initially wanted to go to Mississippi State University, but the team wasn't interested in Rice. Mississippi State was one of over 40 NCAA Division I-A schools that contacted him, but did not offer a scholarship. He was drawn to Mississippi Valley State, in part because the school's coach, Archie Cooley, ran a pass-heavy offense—so much so that Cooley was nicknamed "The Gunslinger." After Cooley watched him play in person and after he visited the school's campus, Rice committed to playing at Mississippi Valley State.

College career
Rice attended Mississippi Valley State University from 1981 to 1984. When Rice arrived at Mississippi Valley State, he attended summer school and freshman orientation before the regular season. Two of his former teammates from B.L. Moor were there as well, but both left before the start of training camp. Rice studied receiving techniques from Gloster Richardson, stating: "I soaked up everything I could."

In 1981, Rice's freshman season, he caught 30 passes for 428 yards and two touchdowns. In 1982, Rice played his first season with freshman quarterback Willie Totten. They became friends and practiced into the evening. Under the direction of Cooley, Mississippi Valley State ran an "unusual" offense, playing four wide receivers who tended to line up on one side of the field. Rice caught 66 passes for 1,133 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore that year. Together, Totten and Rice became known as "The Satellite Express." Success on the field did not put any money in his pocket, and many times he relied on friends for food, stating that the food given to him at Mississippi Valley "were not enough for a growing man".

Rice had a record-setting 1983 campaign, including NCAA marks for receptions (102) and receiving yards (1,450). He was named a first-team Division I-AA All-American. He set a single-game NCAA record with 24 receptions against Southern University. He acquired the nickname "World," because of his ability to seemingly catch anything thrown near him.

After an August practice experiment, Cooley had Totten call all the plays at the line of scrimmage without a huddle, resulting in even more staggering offensive numbers. Rice caught 17 receptions for 199 yards against Southern, 17 receptions for 294 yards, and five receiving touchdowns against Kentucky State, and 15 for 285 yards against Jackson State. During the game against Kentucky State, Rice caught twelve passes and scored three touchdowns in a single quarter. As a senior in 1984, he surpassed his own Division I-AA records for receiving yards (1,845), and receptions (112); his 27 touchdown receptions in the 1984 season set the NCAA record for every division. The 1984 Delta Devils averaged more than 60 points per game. Rice was named to the Division I-AA All-American team and finished ninth in Heisman Trophy balloting in 1984.

In the Blue–Gray Classic all-star game played on Christmas Day, he earned MVP honors after four receptions for 101 yards and a 60-yard touchdown. He finished his career with 301 catches for 4,693 yards and 50 touchdowns, (although some sources have his numbers as 310 receptions, 4,856 receiving yards, and 51 touchdowns); his NCAA record for total career touchdown receptions stood until 2006 when New Hampshire wide receiver David Ball recorded his 51st career receiving touchdown. Rice's all-division NCAA record for total career receptions stood until 1999 when Scott Pingel of Division III Westminster logged his 302nd career reception. By the end of his college career, he had broken 18 NCAA records. Rice became a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity at the Delta Phi chapter. In 1999, the school renamed its football stadium from Magnolia Stadium to Rice–Totten Stadium in honor of the players. Rice was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006, and was in the inaugural class of the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

During this time, Rice met Jackie Mitchell at an MVS basketball game, while she was still in high school. Rice eventually approached her, and they dated casually before Rice met her mother. Her mother was initially unhappy about Rice and preferred that Mitchell see another boy that lived in Greenville, Mississippi, but after meeting Rice in person she approved of him.

San Francisco 49ers (1985–2000)
Rice's record-breaking season at Mississippi Valley State caught the attention of NFL scouts. Sources vary on his 40-yard dash time, which was measured between 4.45 and 4.71 seconds. Both the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers showed interest in him. San Francisco had won two out of the previous four Super Bowls prior to the draft. Rice later wrote in Go Long! that he was unsure about what success he might have in the league, and that he would "often play head games" with himself; his backup plan if his football career didn't pan out was fixing electronics. In a 2022 interview with Fox News Digital, Rice expressed his doubts about being drafted at the time: "To be honest, I never thought I was going to get drafted, I downplayed everything because I didn't want that disappointment of getting up here and then come down in disappointment if it didn't happen".

In the first round of the 1985 NFL draft, Dallas had the No. 17 selection and San Francisco, as Super Bowl champion from the previous season, had the last. 49ers coach Bill Walsh sought Rice after seeing television highlights of his college performances. Walsh "saw the deep-threat the 49ers lacked ... a player who could break open a game with one play." The 49ers traded their first, second, and third-round picks for the New England Patriots' first and third-round picks. The 49ers had the No. 16 selection overall and drafted Rice before the Cowboys had a chance. Walsh described Rice as "a swift, smooth player who's got great instincts running with the ball, going to the ball and catching in a crowd." Rice was selected by the United States Football League (USFL), where the Birmingham Stallions selected him with the No. 1 overall pick of the 1985 USFL Draft, but the league folded after its 1986 season. In training camp, Rice had to compete with 49ers Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon for roster spots at the wide receiver position.

Joe Montana and first two Super Bowls (1985–1989)
In July 1985, Rice was one of 21 rookie players who had not yet signed a contract. Rice signed a rookie contract for five years that paid him $377,000 per year. He wrote that during training camp, he was nicknamed "Fifi" because of his haircut, but he was praised by his teammates for his work ethic. It was with the 49ers where Rice switched from his college number, 88 (which was already taken by teammate Freddie Solomon), to his now famous #80 (in honor of his idol, Steve Largent). Rice made his NFL debut in the 49ers' regular season opener against the Minnesota Vikings. He had four receptions for 67 yards in the 28–21 loss. Rice scored his first receiving touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons on a 25-yard reception from Joe Montana in Week 5. Rice had a breakout game with ten receptions for a then franchise-record 241 yards against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 13, his first over 100 receiving yards, with San Francisco losing 27–20. For his game against the Rams, Rice earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week. After a seven reception, 111-yard performance in a 31–16 victory in the regular season finale against the Dallas Cowboys, while scoring a rushing touchdown, CBS announcer Pat Summerall stated that "When this guy [Rice] is finished [retires], he'll be considered one of the greatest wide receivers to ever play this game." He recorded 49 catches, for 927 yards, and three receiving touchdowns, averaging 18.9 yards per catch in his rookie season, and started four out of sixteen possible games. United Press International (UPI) named Rice the NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year, and he was selected to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. Nevertheless, Rice struggled, dropping numerous passes that season. In a game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Rice dropped two wide-open passes and later fumbled on an 8-yard pass that was intended to boost Rice's confidence. Rice said that his poor play may have been impacted by his increased wealth and the distractions that came with it. The 49ers finished the regular season with a 10–6 record and made the postseason. During the Wild Card Round against the New York Giants, Rice had four receptions for 44 yards in the 17–3 loss.

During the 1986 off-season, Rice spent much of his time studying the 49ers playbook. Playing against the Los Angeles Rams, Rice had six receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown in a Week 2 loss. He followed that with a seven reception, 120-yard game against the New Orleans Saints in a 26–17 victory in Week 3. Following a two-touchdown game against the Miami Dolphins in Week 4, Rice had six receptions for 172 yards and three touchdowns in a 35–14 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. In Week 10, against the St. Louis Cardinals, he had four receptions for 156 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the 43–17 victory. Rice had his second career 200-yard receiving game against the Washington Redskins, having a 12 reception, 204-yard performance in Week 11. For his game against Washington, he won NFC Offensive Player of the Week. He won NFC Offensive Player of the Month for November. Overall, he caught 86 passes for 1,570 yards and 15 touchdowns, both of which led the league, the first of four seasons in which Rice led the NFL in both receiving yards and touchdown receptions. He was named to the Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro teams. The 49ers finished the regular season with a 10–5–1 record, won the NFC West, and made the postseason. Rice struggled in the Divisional Round against the eventual Super Bowl-winning Giants, fumbling what would have been a long touchdown on the game's first drive. The 49ers lost 49–3.

In the first game of the 1987 season, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Rice went for eight receptions and 108 yards with a touchdown in a 30–17 loss. The following week against the Cincinnati Bengals, Rice recorded four receptions for 86 yards and two touchdowns in a 27–26 victory. The NFL Players Association began a strike after the season's second game, causing Rice to miss the next four games while backups replaced him (including a canceled game). He picketed outside the 49ers practice facility while some of his teammates (including quarterback Joe Montana and halfback Roger Craig), crossed picket lines to play. When the strike ended, Rice resumed playing in Week 7. In Week 10, against the New Orleans Saints, he had four receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns in the 26–24 loss. In the following game, a 24–10 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had seven receptions for 103 yards and three receiving touchdowns in the 24–10 victory. His continued his productive streak with seven receptions for 126 yards and three touchdowns in a 38–24 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the following game. For his game against the Browns, he won NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Two weeks later, in Week 14, Rice recorded three receiving touchdowns for the third time in four games in a 41–0 victory over the Chicago Bears. In the final two games of the regular season, Rice recorded four total receiving touchdowns. Rice scored a receiving touchdown in every game he played that season. In total, he scored 22 receiving touchdowns in 12 games, coupled with 1,078 receiving yards from 65 receptions. His touchdown number broke a then-NFL-record previously held by Mark Clayton (18), which Rice officially broke against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 15. The record was broken by Randy Moss in 2007, when he scored 23 receiving touchdowns. After being selected to the Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro teams, Rice was awarded the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award, becoming the first wide receiver to receive the award. He was also named the NFLs MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association. In 1987, the touchdown runner-up was receiver Mike Quick with 11, marking the first time in post-NFL–AFL merger history that a category leader doubled the total of his nearest competitor and the second time in the history of the NFL from its inception; the first being Don Hutson in 1942. The 49ers finished the season 13–2 and made the postseason, but lost in the Wild Card Round to the Minnesota Vikings 36–24, with Rice having three receptions for 28 yards.

Before the 1988 season, Rice signed a five-year, $5.05 million contract in June that kept him with the 49ers through 1992. He was plagued by an ankle injury throughout the season, In Week 3, Rice had eight receptions for 163 yards in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons. In the following game, he recorded 163 receiving yards once again and had three touchdowns in a 38–7 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. In Week 13, he had six receptions for 171 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in a 48–10 victory over the San Diego Chargers. He won NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his game against the Chargers. He still put up high numbers in the games he played, finishing the season with 64 receptions for 1,306 yards and nine receiving touchdowns, averaging a career-high 20.4 yards per reception, earning him more selections to the Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro teams. The 49ers won the NFC West with a 10–6 record. Rice had five receptions for 61 yards and three touchdowns, scoring all three in the first half of the 49er's 34–9 win against the Vikings during the Divisional Round. In the 49ers' 28–3 win over the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship, he had five receptions for 133 yards and two touchdowns. In Super Bowl XXIII, Rice had an 11 reception, 215-yard performance with a touchdown, helping the 49ers to a narrow 20–16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Both his receptions and receiving yards were Super Bowl records. For his performance, Rice was named the Super Bowl MVP; he called the win "stupendous". He became the third wide receiver to earn Super Bowl MVP honors. Even though Rice won the MVP, Montana uttered the famous: "I'm going to Disney World!" line, instead of Rice; Rice attributed him not saying it to racism. Overall, Rice caught 21 receptions for 409 yards and six touchdowns; his yards and touchdown numbers stood as postseason records until Larry Fitzgerald broke both of them in 2008.

After the 1988 season, 49ers head coach Bill Walsh retired from coaching after much speculation, and was to be replaced by George Seifert; Rice was saddened by this, referring to Walsh his "West Coast father". Rice started off the season strong with six receptions for 163 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in a 30–24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. In the following game, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had eight receptions for 122 receiving yards in the 20–16 victory. In the next game, a 38–28 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, he had a season-high 164 receiving yards on six receptions for two touchdowns. Two weeks later, he had seven receptions for 149 receiving yards and a touchdown in a 24–20 victory over the New Orleans Saints in Week 5. Starting in Week 7, Rice had a six-game stretch where he had three games with two receiving touchdowns and three games going over the 100-yard mark. By the end of the 1989 season, Rice had gained 82 receptions for 1,483 yards and 17 receiving touchdowns; both his yards and touchdown numbers led the league. For the fourth straight season, Rice was selected to the Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro team. San Francisco finished the regular season with a 14–2 record, the league's best. Rice had six receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns in the Divisional Round against the Minnesota Vikings; the 49ers won 41–13. In the NFC Championship against the Los Angeles Rams, he had six receptions for 55 yards in the 30–3 victory. Rice finished Super Bowl XXIV with seven receptions for 148 yards and three touchdowns in the 49ers 55–10 blowout victory against the Denver Broncos.

Steve Young years (1990–1994)
In the 1990 season, Rice started all 16 games. In Week 3, against the Atlanta Falcons, he had eight receptions for 171 yards and a touchdown in the 19–13 victory. For his game against the Falcons, he won NFC Offensive Player of the Week. On October 14, in Week 6 against the Falcons, Rice caught a career-best five touchdowns to go with 13 receptions for 225 yards in the 45–35 victory. For the second time and against the same opponent in the 1990 season, Rice won NFC Offensive Player of the Week. On November 4, against the Green Bay Packers, Rice had a six reception, 181-yard performance with a touchdown. In the following game, against the Dallas Cowboys, he had 12 receptions for 147 yards and one touchdown in the 24–6 victory. In three of the last four games of the regular season, Rice went over 100 receiving yards. Rice had a successful year, leading the NFL in receptions (100), receiving yards (1,502), and receiving touchdowns (13), becoming the first player to lead the NFL in all three categories in the Super Bowl era: only Sterling Sharpe (1992), Steve Smith Sr. (2005), and Cooper Kupp (2021) have managed the feat since. He was named to the Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro teams. Rice's efforts helped San Francisco finish the year with an NFL-best 14–2 record. During the Divisional Round against the Redskins, Rice had six receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown in the 28–10 victory. Montana injured his elbow in the NFC Championship against the New York Giants, ending with the 49ers losing 15–13, failing to repeat as NFC champions for a third time; Rice went for five receptions and 54 yards in the game.

In 1991, Montana was ruled out for the season with an injury, making Steve Young the starting quarterback. Along with Montana, teammates Ronnie Lott and Roger Craig had left in free agency, making Rice "the last of the Mohicans" as he described himself, the only remaining star player from San Francisco's 80s dynasty. Rice started the season with six receiving touchdowns in the first four games, which included a 150-yard game against the San Diego Chargers in Week 2. In Week 7, against the Atlanta Falcons, he had seven receptions for 138 yards and one touchdown in the 39–34 loss. Rice recorded 80 receptions for 1,206 yards and led the league in receiving touchdowns with 14 in the 1991 season, and was again selected to the Pro Bowl. He suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) against the Vikings, but the injury did not cost him any games. San Francisco managed to win their final six games to finish with a 10–6 record but they failed to make the postseason, marking the first time in Rice's career that the 49ers failed to do so. During the 1992 season, a quarterback controversy swirled around Montana and Young. Rice openly supported Montana, but Young ended up starting, while Montana rehabbed. Wanting a high-value contract, Rice skipped training camp. He eventually signed with the 49ers for a three-year, $7.5 million contract, returning to training camp. On September 13, Rice was knocked unconscious against the Buffalo Bills, and was taken out of the game with a concussion. In Week 7, against the Falcons, Rice had a seven reception, 183-yard performance with two touchdowns to go along with a 26-yard touchdown rush, totaling 209 scrimmage yards in the 56–17 victory. He won NFC Offensive Player of the Week for this game against the Falcons. In Week 13 against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had eight receptions for 133 receiving yards and one touchdown in the 20–14 victory. He won NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his game against the Eagles. Rice surpassed Steve Largent's career receiving touchdown record on December 6 in a Week 14 game against the Miami Dolphins, scoring his 101st touchdown. In Week 16 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had seven receptions for 118 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in the 21–14 victory. Overall, Rice finished the season with 84 catches for 1,201 yards and ten touchdowns, and was once again named to the Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro team. Rice helped the 49ers to an NFL-best 14–2 record, and they made the postseason. San Francisco won in the Divisional Round against the Redskins, but lost in the NFC Championship against the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys, being unable to stop the offense of Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith. Rice had eight receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown in the game, with the touchdown being his 13th of his postseason career, an NFL record.

After the 1992 season, in April 1993, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs; Rice wasn't able to properly say goodbye to him, and believed that San Francisco should have "treated Joe with more class" when they traded him. In Week 8, Rice had a 155-yard performance with two receiving touchdowns against the Phoenix Cardinals. In Week 11, Rice had eight receptions for 172 yards and four touchdowns against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 45–21 victory. For his game against Tampa Bay, he won NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Two weeks later, he had eight receptions for 166 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in the 35–10 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. In Week 16, he had four receptions for 132 receiving yards and one touchdown in the 55–17 victory over the Detroit Lions. Rice caught 98 receptions for 1,503 yards and 15 touchdowns in the 1993 season; both his receiving yards and touchdown numbers led the league. He was awarded his second career NFL Offensive Player of The Year Award, along with being selected to the Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro teams. San Francisco finished the season 10–6, and made the postseason. Rice and the 49ers won in the Divisional Round against the New York Giants, but once again lost in the NFC Championship against the Dallas Cowboys; Rice recorded nine receptions for 126 yards during the 1993 postseason.

While he didn't get along with free agent addition Deion Sanders, he believed Sanders would help in the 49ers' pursuit of the Super Bowl. These assertions were proven correct, as Rice made it back to the Super Bowl with the 49ers in 1994, recording 112 receptions for 1,499 yards and 13 touchdowns, with Sanders winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. The season began against the Los Angeles Raiders, where he had a seven reception, 169-yard game with two touchdowns (rushing for one more), moving into first place in the NFL records for career touchdowns, with 127. On September 18 against the Rams, his 147 receiving yards from 11 catches moved him past Art Monk as the NFLs active leader in that category and past Charlie Joiner for third all-time. In Week 12, in another game against the Rams, he had 16 receptions for 165 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. For his game against the Rams, he won NFC Offensive Player of the Week. In Week 15 against the Chargers, he had 12 receptions for 144 receiving yards in the 38–15 victory. He passed Largent for second place in the 16th game of the season. Rice was selected to the Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro teams. With a 13–3 record and making the postseason, the 49ers won against the Bears in the Divisional Round. Moving on to the NFC Championship, they faced the Cowboys for the third straight year. After two previous defeats, the 49ers were victorious against the Cowboys 38–28. Rice was a vital component in their 49–26 victory over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX, combined with a six-touchdown performance by Young, Rice caught ten passes after catching six in the 49ers last two postseason games, coupled with 149 yards and three touchdowns, despite playing with a separated shoulder for much of the game. In three Super Bowl appearances at this point in his career, Rice caught 28 receptions for 512 yards and seven touchdowns, with all three statistics career Super Bowl records.

Final 49ers' seasons (1995–2000)
During the 1995 season, Rice had a record-setting campaign. After an 87-yard, one-touchdown day to start the season against the New Orleans Saints, Rice had 11 receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns in a 41–10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Following a two-touchdown game against the New England Patriots in Week 3, Rice had 11 receptions for 181 yards in a 27–24 loss to the Detroit Lions. In Rice's next three games, he scored a receiving touchdown in each. On October 29, with an eight reception, 108-yard performance in Week 9, he surpassed James Lofton as the all-time leader in receiving yards against the Saints, with 14,040. Against the Cowboys, he had five receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown in a Week 11 victory. In Week 12, against the Miami Dolphins, he had eight receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns in the 44–20 victory. Rice had one of the best statistical games in his career against the Vikings, catching 14 passes for a career-high 289 yards (at the time the fifth-most ever in a game), and three touchdowns. Rice won NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his game against the Vikings. Vikings head coach Dennis Green said of Rice: "We did take the 49ers out of their running game, but Jerry was the one ingredient we had a hard time stopping", "In fact, we had a hard time slowing him down". In the final game of the regular season against the Atlanta Falcons, he surpassed Art Monk as the all-time leader in receptions, with 942; his performance included 12 receptions for 153 yards, a 41-yard touchdown-throw, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown; his yards total was enough to break the record for most receiving yards in a season, with 1,848 yards, coupled with 122 receptions and 15 touchdowns. He was selected to the Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro teams. His single-season receiving yards record was not broken until Calvin Johnson broke it in 2012. With an 11–5 record and making the postseason, the 49ers lost in the Divisional Round to the Green Bay Packers, in which Rice had 11 receptions for 117 yards.

During the offseason of 1996, Rice and Jackie were expecting their third child, and on May 16, 1996, Jada Rice was born. Minutes after the birth, however, Jackie suffered complications and nearly died from blood loss. She made a recovery after many surgeries. This caused Rice to miss almost all of June mini-camp and one week of training camp; he was supported by his teammates and coaches along the way. Even through these troubles, he was available for the start of the regular season. In Week 4, against the Carolina Panthers, he had ten receptions for 127 receiving yards. In Week 7, he had his only game of the season with multiple receiving touchdowns with two against the Green Bay Packers. He had ten receptions for 129 yard and a touchdown in a Week 15 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Overall, he recorded 108 receptions (leading the NFL) for 1,254 yards and eight touchdowns. Rice was selected to the Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro. With a 12–4 record and making the postseason, San Francisco won in the Wild Card Round against the Philadelphia Eagles 14–0 with Rice scoring a touchdown, but lost to the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round, as the 49ers were unable to gain any ground with their offense, with only 196 yards of total offense. Through 1994 and 1996, Rice racked up 342 catches for 4,601 yards and 36 touchdowns.

Before the 1997 season, Rice signed a seven-year, $32 million contract. During the 49ers' opening game of the season, Rice tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee on a reverse. Warren Sapp of the Buccaneers grabbed Rice by the face mask and wrenched him to the ground, drawing a 15-yard personal foul. The injury broke Rice's streak of 189 consecutive games played; throughout high school, college, and the NFL he had never missed a game excluding three strike games. Wanting to make it back in time for the retirement of Montana's jersey number, he made his return 14 weeks later on December 15, much earlier than doctors wanted him to. He scored a touchdown, but he cracked his left patella as he came down with the catch. He missed the Pro Bowl team for the first time in 11 years due to the injury. San Francisco still made the postseason with a 13–3 record, beating the Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Round 38–22, but lost for the third straight time against the Green Bay Packers 23–10 in the NFC Championship.

Rice made a full recovery, coming back in time for the 1998 regular season opener. In Week 4, against the Atlanta Falcons, he had eight receptions for 162 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in the 31–20 victory. In Week 11, in another game against the Falcons, he had ten receptions for 169 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. Overall, he recorded 82 catches for 1,157 yards and nine touchdowns, becoming the oldest receiver ever to record a 1,000-yard season, at age 36, and returned to the Pro Bowl team. San Francisco made the postseason with a 12–4 record. They faced the Packers once again the Wild Card Round. Though Rice only had one catch for six yards in the game, the 49ers defeated the Packers 30–27. San Francisco was defeated in the Divisional Round by the Atlanta Falcons 18–20. Rice had a receiving touchdown in the loss.

In Week 13 of the 1999 season, Rice had nine receptions for 157 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the 44–30 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. In the 49ers' regular season finale against the Atlanta Falcons, he had six receptions for 143 yards in the 34–29 defeat. Rice finished the 1999 season with 67 receptions for 830 yards and five touchdowns. The season was the first that Rice failed to reach 1,000 yards receiving while playing in all 16 games. San Francisco struggled as a whole, going 4–12 and missing the postseason, losing 11 out of their last 12 games after Young had concussion troubles, leading him to retire after the season.

In the 2000 season, his final season in San Francisco, he again missed 1,000 receiving yards, with 75 receptions for 805 yards and seven touchdowns. The 2000 season marked Rice's first without having a game where he recorded at least 100 receiving yards. In his final home game against the Bears, he had seven receptions for 76 yards in the 17–0 victory. It was the same game in which Terrell Owens set the single-game record for receptions, with 20. This angered Rice as he wanted it to be a special day for him, not for Owens, and many of Owens' receptions were intentionally called in order for him to break the record. San Francisco once again struggled, going 6–10 and missing the postseason.

Oakland Raiders
With the emergence of Terrell Owens in San Francisco and because of their desire to rebuild the team and clear salary, Rice was released by the 49ers in June 2001 and signed with the Oakland Raiders for a four-year, $7.8 million contract. He joined a Raiders team coming off a loss in the playoffs to form one of the oldest receiver duos with Tim Brown (age 35). During the season, he had an eight reception, 131-yard performance with three touchdowns against the Chargers, and a nine reception, 108-yard performance against the Broncos. Rice caught 83 passes for 1,139 yards and nine touchdowns for the year. Oakland finished the season with a 10–6 record and made the postseason. The Raiders played the New York Jets in the Wild Card Round, winning 38–24, with Rice having nine receptions for 183 yards and a touchdown. In the Divisional Round, the Raiders faced Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. In what was later called the "Tuck Rule Game", the Raiders lost in overtime 16–13, after officials ruled a Brady fumble was an incomplete pass, allowing the Patriots to kick the game-tying field goal, all in a severe snowstorm.

In 2002, Rice caught 92 passes for 1,211 yards and seven touchdowns, while being named to his 13th Pro Bowl team, and to the Second-team All-Pro team. Rice's teammate, Raiders starting quarterback Rich Gannon, was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player for the 2002 season. Against the Tennessee Titans, where Rice had seven receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown, he surpassed Walter Payton as the all-time leader in scrimmage yards, with 21,281 scrimmage yards. He scored his 200th career touchdown against the Broncos. Oakland finished the season with an 11–5 record and made the postseason. They won in the Divisional Round against the Jets, 30–10. Rice had a receiving touchdown in the win. The team won in the AFC Championship against the Tennessee Titans, 41–24, making it to the Super Bowl. There, against the Buccaneers, coached by former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, they were defeated 21–48, with Gannon throwing five interceptions, including three for touchdowns, and Rice having five receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown. Up to this point, Rice had been undefeated in the Super Bowl, having already won three with San Francisco. The fact that he lost a Super Bowl overwhelmed him to the point of crying in his hotel room after the game.

In Week 4 of the 2003 season, Rice had seven receptions for 126 receiving yards in the 34–31 victory of the San Diego Chargers. In Week 16, against the Green Bay Packers, he had ten receptions for 159 receiving yards in the 41–7 loss. Overall, in the 2003 season, Rice caught 63 passes for 869 yards; he didn't score a touchdown until the 12th game of the season, scoring only two through the whole year. Oakland as a team regressed from their 11–5 record in 2002 to a 4–12 record in 2003, leading to the firing of head coach Bill Callahan. This led Rice to be frustrated about his role with the team.

By the time the 2004 season was starting, Rice struggled, and by the fourth game of the season, Rice had five receptions for only 64 yards. Because of this, he asked Raiders owner Al Davis to trade him.

Seattle Seahawks
Rice was traded to the Seattle Seahawks six games into the 2004 season in exchange for a seventh round pick and reunited with Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren, who had previously worked with Rice as San Francisco's offensive coordinator. After speaking with Largent, Rice was permitted to wear Largent's retired jersey No. 80. In a Monday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Rice set the career record for combined net yards by catching a 27-yard touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck, his 35th career record. He finished that game eight receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown. In total Rice had 25 receptions for 362 receiving yards and three touchdowns with the Seahawks, having 30 receptions for 429 yards and three touchdowns in total for the season. At age 41, he managed to play 17 games in a 16-game season, as he was traded before Oakland's bye week and after Seattle's, and never missed a game, so he played six games for the Raiders and 11 for the Seahawks. Rice played his last non-preseason professional game for Seattle, a Wild Card Round loss to the St. Louis Rams in which he did not catch a pass.

Denver Broncos
After the 2004 season, Rice signed a one-year contract worth $790,000 in total salary with the Denver Broncos which was his lowest contract offer in his 20 years in the league. Rice never played for the Broncos, therefore he was only allowed his guaranteed money for a grand total of $25,000.

Retirement
Just before the 2005 season, on September 5, 2005, Rice announced his retirement after 20 seasons. In August 2006, the 49ers announced that Rice would sign a contract with them, allowing him to retire as a member of the team where his NFL career began. On August 24, he officially retired as a 49er, signing a one-day contract for $1,985,806.49. The number represented the year Rice was drafted (1985), his No. 80, the year he retired (2006), and the 49ers (49). The figure was ceremonial, and Rice received no money. A halftime ceremony honored him during the 49ers' match-up with the Seattle Seahawks on November 19, 2006.

Legacy

Rice holds numerous NFL receiving records. His 197 career touchdown receptions are 41 scores more than the second place of 156 touchdown receptions by Randy Moss; his 208 total touchdowns (197 receiving, ten rushing, and one fumble recovery) are 33 scores ahead of Emmitt Smith's second-place total of 175. His 22,895 career receiving yards are 5,403 yards ahead of the second-place Larry Fitzgerald. His 1,256 career points scored make him the highest-scoring non-kicker in NFL history. Many of these records are considered by sports analysts to be unbreakable. During a career spanning two decades, Rice averaged 75.6 receiving yards per game. He received MVP votes in six out of his 20 seasons, finishing as the runner-up twice in 1987 and 1995. He won two NFL Offensive Player of The Year Awards, and a Bert Bell Award in 1987.

Rice is remembered as one of the best clutch players in football history, often making game-winning catches throughout his career. Rice also was noted as an effective blocking receiver. Rice's "famous" catching ability, sometimes attributed to him having to catch bricks when working with his father during his childhood, led him to 1,549 career receptions, 117 ahead of the second-place Fitzgerald.

Despite being keen about his public image early in his career, Rice is remembered for his work ethic and dedication. He still cared extensively about his physical appearance, often tailoring his uniform and jersey, and combed his hair before putting on his helmet; his philosophy was: "If you look good, feel good, you'll play good", as described by Shawn Rogers, one of his friends. In his 20 NFL seasons, Rice missed only 17 regular season games, 14 of them in the 1997 season and the other three in the strike-shortened season of 1987; his 303 games are the most ever by an NFL wide receiver by a wide margin. In addition to staying on the field, his work ethic showed in his dedication to conditioning and running precise routes, with coach Dennis Green calling him "the best route runner I've ever seen". One of the best-known examples of his dedication and ethic was "The Hill," a steep hill in Edgewood County Park & Natural Preserve that is 2.5 mi long. Rice would sprint across the hill every day during the offseason to improve his abilities. In 1999, Rice was ranked No. 2 on the Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, behind only Jim Brown, and was 35 places ahead of the next-highest-ranked player then active, Deion Sanders. In 2000, Rice won the ESPY Award for Pro Football Player of the Decade for the 1990s. On November 4, 2010, he was ranked No. 1 on The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players. In 2011, The Sports Network awarded the inaugural Jerry Rice Award, to be given each year to the most outstanding freshman Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) player. The inaugural winner was Towson running back Terrance West.

In January 2015, Rice stated that he put Stickum, a substance that makes the ball easier to catch and hold on to, on his gloves during his career, saying: "I know this might be a little illegal, guys, but you put a little spray, a little Stickum on them, to make sure that texture is a little sticky." Stickum and similar adhesives were banned in the NFL in 1981, four years before Rice joined the league; he commented that "all players" in his era used the substance. The claims were rebutted by Pro Football Hall of Fame members Cris Carter and Michael Irvin. Rice retracted his claim shortly thereafter, stating that he "never used Stickum."

Rice was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2010 in his first year of eligibility. He was inducted in Canton, Ohio, on August 7, 2010, alongside Emmitt Smith, Floyd Little, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Dick LeBeau, and John Randle. On September 20, 2010, during halftime of a game against the Saints, the 49ers retired Rice's No. 80 jersey. He was officially named to both the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. During his career, he was included in the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team and the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.

NFL records
As of the end of the 2015 NFL season, Rice holds the following league records:

 * Most career receiving yards: 22,895
 * Most career receptions: 1,549
 * Most career touchdown receptions: 197
 * Most career yards from scrimmage: 23,540 (22,895 receiving, 645 rushing)
 * Most career touchdowns from scrimmage: 207 (197 receiving, 10 rushing)
 * Most career all purpose yards: 23,546 (22,895 receiving, 645 rushing, 6 kick returns)
 * Most career all purpose touchdowns: 208 (197 receiving, 10 rushing, 1 fumble recovery)
 * Most career postseason receiving yards: 2,245
 * Most career postseason touchdown receptions: 22
 * Most career Super Bowl receiving yards: 589
 * Most career Super Bowl receptions: 33
 * Most career Super Bowl touchdown receptions: 8
 * Most career Super Bowl points scored: 48
 * Most receiving yards in one Super Bowl: 215
 * Most receiving touchdowns in one Super Bowl: 3
 * Most games of 100 or more receiving yards: 76
 * Most consecutive games with a reception: 274
 * Most consecutive games with a touchdown from scrimmage: 13
 * Most seasons of 1,000 or more receiving yards: 14
 * Fastest player to reach 100 touchdown receptions: 120 games
 * Fastest player to reach 14,000 receiving yards: 164 games
 * Fastest player to reach 15,000 receiving yards: 172 games
 * Most points scored by a non-kicker: 1,256
 * Most games played by a wide receiver: 303 (leads all non-kickers and non-quarterbacks)
 * Oldest player to catch a touchdown in a Super Bowl: 40 years, 105 days
 * Most receiving touchdowns in a game: 5 (tied with Kellen Winslow and Bob Shaw)

Awards and honors
Throughout his collegiate and professional career, Rice has won the following awards and honors:

NFL

 * 3× Super Bowl champion (1988, 1989, 1994)
 * Super Bowl MVP (1988)
 * 2× NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award (1987, 1993)
 * 6× NFL receiving yards leader (1986, 1989, 1990, 1993–1995)
 * 2× NFL receptions leader (1990, 1996)
 * 6× NFL receiving touchdowns leader (1986, 1987, 1989–1991, 1993)
 * NFL scoring leader (1987)
 * 13× Pro Bowl (1986–1996, 1998, 2002)
 * 10× First-team All-Pro (1986–1990, 1992–1996)
 * Second-team All-Pro (2002)
 * PFWA All-Rookie Team (1985)
 * Bert Bell Award (1987)
 * NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
 * NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
 * NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
 * NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
 * No. 80 retired by the San Francisco 49ers
 * San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame

NCAA

 * 2× First-team Division I-AA All-American (1983, 1984)

Personal life
Rice married Jacqueline Bernice Mitchell on September 8, 1987. Jacqueline Rice filed for divorce in June 2007, which became final in late December 2009. They have three children together: Jaqui Bonet (born 1987), Jerry Rice Jr. (born 1991), and Jada Symone (born 1996). Jerry Jr., who attended high school at Menlo School in Atherton, California, graduated in 2009. Jerry Jr. was a walk-on at UCLA and redshirted his first season. After three seasons and limited playing time, Jerry Jr. graduated from UCLA and transferred to UNLV, and was eligible to play immediately. Jerry Jr. played wide receiver for the Rebels, and participated in a 49ers local pro day before the 2014 NFL draft, but was not drafted. Jerry has another son, Brenden Rice, who played football for the University of Colorado for two years. On January 1, 2022, it was announced that Brenden was transferring to the University of Southern California. As of October 21, 2019, Rice is married to Latisha Pelayo whom he had dated since 2008.

Rice is a Christian. He said he was raised as a Christian and still maintains the same faith from his youth.

After football
During the 2005–2006 broadcasting season, Rice competed in the reality show Dancing with the Stars. He paired with dancer Anna Trebunskaya, and they reached the final two before losing to singer Drew Lachey and his partner Cheryl Burke. In 2009, Rice portrayed Hal Gore in the film Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling. In the same year, he guest-starred as himself in the episode "Lyin' King" on the sitcom Rules of Engagement. Rice has co-authored two books about his life: Rice (with Michael Silver, published 1996, ISBN 0-312-14795-3) and Go Long: My Journey Beyond the Game and the Fame (with Brian Curtis, published 2007, ISBN 0-345-49611-6). In 2019, he co-authored a book America's Game: The NFL at 100 (with Randy O. Williams, ISBN 978-0062692900), celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Football League. Rice and his dog, Nitus, were featured in Jerry Rice & Nitus' Dog Football, a video game for the Wii that was released on August 16, 2011. Rice served as an alumni captain for "Team Rice" during the 2014 and 2016 Pro Bowls. In 2022, Rice partnered with the American Red Cross to raise awareness about blood donations.

Rice has played golf for over 20 years and woke up early to play golf during his football career. He competed in the Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae on the Nationwide Tour on April 15–16, 2010, receiving a sponsor's exemption to play in the tournament. Rice missed the cut and finished one shot ahead of last place, 17-over and 151st among the 152 players who completed two rounds. He was a team captain on The Big Break Puerto Rico, where his team won.

After Colin Kaepernick announced that he would be kneeling during the national anthem during games, Rice criticized his actions, stating in a Twitter post: "All lives matter. So much going on in this world today. Can we all just get along! Colin, I respect your stance but don't disrespect the Flag". He backtracked these statements later that month, after being criticized by the public and other players.

title: Jerry Rice


text: Talk:Detective fiction

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

title: Talk:Detective fiction


text:
Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud

Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud (عبد الله بن سعود آل سعود; died May 1819) was the ruler of the First Saudi State from 1814 to 1818. He was the last ruler of the First Saudi State and was executed in Constantinople under the Ottoman Empire. Although the Ottomans maintained several garrisons in the Nejd thereafter, they were unable to prevent the rise of the Emirate of Nejd, also known as the Second Saudi State, led by Turki bin Abdullah.

Early life
Abdullah was the eldest son of Saud bin Abdulaziz who declared him as the heir apparent in 1805. Abdullah's first military command was in 1811. In his second command he fought against the Egyptians in 1812, and was unable to defeat them who ultimately recaptured Hejaz. Upon his inability in the battle Saud bin Abdulaziz retook the command which delayed the capture of the region.

Reign
Abdullah succeeded his father, Saud, in May 1814. At the beginning of his reign Abdullah faced intrafamily challenges from his uncle Abdullah bin Muhammad, but he managed to settle down these problems.

His father had initiated a war with the Ottoman Empire with the capture of Hejaz which were regained by the Ottomans in 1813. Because of his father's conquest, Abdullah immediately had to face an invasion of his domains by an Ottoman-Egyptian army under the command of Ibrahim Pasha, the son of Muhammad Ali Pasha. The Ottoman forces began their campaign by quickly recapturing Mecca and Medina. Heavily outnumbered and under-equipped, the forces of Diriyah Emirate were defeated in 1815 and retreated to their stronghold of Najd. Following the battle Muhammad Ali sent a letter to Abdullah requesting his submission, and in May 1815 an agreement was made which terminated Abdullah's claims over two Islamic holy cities, Mecca and Medina, and the recognition of the supremacy of the Ottoman sultan. Between 1814 and 1816 another event that Abdullah had to deal with was the concerns of the British in regard to the piracy originated from Qasimi region. Abdullah sent several letters to William Bruce who was the British resident in Bushehr to inform him that the Emirate did not involve in any such event.

Rather than engage the Ottomans in open battle, Abdullah decided to attempt to weather the invasion by fortifying his forces in the Najd towns in 1816. As a result, Ibrahim took the villages of Najd one by one, sacking any town that resisted. Ibrahim finally reached the Saudi capital at Diriyah. After a siege that lasted several months, Abdullah finally surrendered on 9 September 1818, marking the end of the Saudi state.

Fall of the Emirate and execution of Abdullah bin Saud
Ibrahim systematically razed Diriyah to the ground and sent many members of the Al Saud clan into captivity in Egypt and Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire. Three brothers of Abdullah and eighteen Al Saud members were killed. Abdullah, his three sons and two of his supporters were brought to Cairo in November 1818.

After six-month stay in Cairo Abdullah was transferred to Constantinople where he and his two supporters were publicly beheaded in May 1819 for their crimes against Islamic holy cities and mosques in the square before Hagia Sophia when he refused to pardon. Hakan Özoğlu and Altan Tan argue that Abdullah's four sons were also beheaded with him. Prior to his execution, Abdullah, who forbade listening to music, was forced to listen to the lute.

Reasons for his execution
In 1802, during the Wahhabi sack of Karbala, the mausoleum of Husayn ibn Ali was desecrated by the army of Abdullah bin Saud, causing anger and shock among entire Muslim world. As a result, the Ottoman authorities found themselves in a situation that they had to punish the Saudis for their crimes. The guardian of Islam's religious places was the Turkish-Ottoman Caliph in Constantinople, Mahmud II, who ordered that an Egyptian force be sent to the Arabian Peninsula to defeat Abdullah bin Saud and his allies. In 1818, an Egyptian army led by Ibrahim Pasha led a siege on their capital, Diriyah, in Najd. Abdullah eventually surrendered. Abdullah bin Saud was taken along with two of his supporters who were then sent to Cairo and then to Constantinople.

title: Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud


text:
Talk:Council of state

Somebody could include British and other versions - Nilmerg 10:31, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC)

There is no British version. FearÉIREANN 19:56, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Sorry if this turns out to be a rude question, but is this a stand-in for the Privy Council? -- Kaihsu 16:02, 2004 Mar 2 (UTC)

title: Talk:Council of state


text:
Casimir Pierre Périer

Casimir-Pierre Périer (11 October 1777 –  16 May 1832) was a French banker, mine owner, political leader and statesman. In business, through his bank in Paris and ownership of the Anzin Coal Co. in the Department of Nord, he contributed significantly to the economic development of France in the early stages of industrialization. In politics, he was a leading liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies throughout the Bourbon Restoration and president of the chamber at the outset of the July Revolution of 1830. He led the liberal-conservative Resistance Party in support of the constitutional monarchy of Louis-Philippe I. He became president of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Interior in the spring of 1831 (13 March 1831 – 16 May 1832). Although his ministry was brief, his strong government succeeded in restoring order at home and keeping peace abroad. He fell victim to the cholera epidemic in France in 1832.

Early life
Born in Grenoble, Casimir Perier was the fourth of the eight sons of "Milord" Claude-Nicolas Perier (1742–1801), the rich merchant-manufacturer and banker who opened his Château de Vizille to the famous meeting of the Estates of Dauphiné (21 July 1788) foreshadowing the French Revolution. His mother was the former Marie-Charlotte Pascal (1749–1821), the daughter of a prominent linens manufacturer at nearby Voiron. Both his father and grandfather (Jacques Perier, 1702–82) made their fortunes in the commerce of canvas and linen cloths. Claude added the manufacture of printed cotton cloths (Indiennes) at the Château de Vizille, which he purchased in 1780 from Gabriel Louis de Neufville, duc de Villeroy. The Revolution and Napoleon opened up new opportunities for families of the wealthy "bourgeoisie grenobloise" such as the Periers. Claude Perier shifted the center of his business affairs to Paris, where he took up residence beginning in 1794 (rue Saint-Honoré) and mingled with leading French financiers. In 1795 he invested in and became a director of the largest coal mining company in northern France, the Anzin Company; in 1796 he helped to found a major investment bank in Paris, the Caisse des Comtes Courants; and in 1799, shortly after Napoleon's coup d’état of Brumaire, he became one of the founders and first directors of the famous Bank of France.

Claude Perier died on 6 February 1801, leaving his remarkably large family of ten children to share his enormous estate valued at 5,800,000 francs. Casimir, who was twenty-four years old at the time, inherited shares in the Anzin Company, land at Grenoble (Department of Isère) and in common with his brother Scipion, the property in Paris on the rue Saint-Honoré. He'd had little experience in business or banking. His father had anticipated that the three eldest brothers, Augustin, Alexandre and Scipion, would carry on the family businesses at Grenoble/Vizille. Casimir himself gave no clear indication of a specific career choice. He was intelligent, energetic, handsome and eager to succeed, but he had spent his life mostly as a student and received a church-school and Jesuit-tutor classical education. During service with the army in Italy from 1799 to 1800, he began to consider a military career, but his father's death and legacy, the lure of Paris, and his close friendship with his older brother Scipion took him in a much different direction.

Business career
The two brothers, Casimir and Scipion, founded a bank in Paris (8 June 1801), located at No. 8, Place Vendôme until 1809, and after that year at No. 27, rue Neuve du Luxembourg (now the rue Cambon). Henry Flory and William Sabatier, who were former associates with their father at the Bank of France and the Anzin Company, respectively, helped to get the bank started. The youngest Perier brother, Joseph, joined the bank in 1822, approximately one year after the death of Scipion. The affairs of the older Perier bank at Grenoble were by then administered mainly by another younger brother, Alphonse. The bank of "Perier Frères" in Paris, which played a significant and leading role in the early stages of the industrial revolution in France, would be near the peak of its success in the 1820s, numbering importantly by then among a small and select group of private banking houses known collectively as "la haute banque parisienne." Scipion became a regent of the Bank of France in 1818, Casimir in 1820. They both became members of the influential Chamber of Commerce of Paris.

The two most important clients of the Perier bank were the Anzin Coal Company (Department of Nord) and the Perier-owned iron foundry and workshops in Paris at Chaillot. The founder-owner of the Chaillot firm, Jacques-Constantin Perier (1742–1818), who was not related to the Paris bankers, was well known for having brought the Watt steam engine to France. Famously, he used a Watt engine at Chaillot to provide Paris with water pumped from the Seine. In 1802 he supplied the Anzin Company with twenty of his engines for winding and drainage at the mines. Casimir and Scipion Perier purchased the Chaillot firm in 1818 and used its workshops to upgrade Anzin with more efficient Cornish high-pressure engines patented in France by Arthur Woolf. Chaillot was an important part of the most notable entrepreneurial achievement of the Periers during the Restoration, namely, the renovation, managerial reorganization and business expansion of Anzin.

The Anzin Coal Company, which was established in 1757 as a closely held, family-owned firm managed by a self-perpetuating board of six directors, fell on hard times during the Revolution until rescued in 1795 by heavy investments from wealthy representatives of la grande bourgeoisie. Thus Claude Perier became a director of the company. The firm did reasonably well after 1795, although most of the new outsiders ("les Parisiens") who joined the founding families looked on Anzin as simply one of many investments. Not so Casimir and Scipion Perier, who determined to become active owner-directors for purposes of renovating and re-energizing the company for increased production and maximization of profits. The Perier bank in Paris became the company bank, regulating Anzin's accounts and contracts and supervising its large reserve funds. The brothers gradually took over making company policies. They were a good team. Scipion had the broad knowledge of the science and technology of the times (he was a long-standing member of the Society for the Encouragement of National Industry, est. 1801); Casimir acted as the determined, driving force for innovation and risk-taking as opposed to the 'old ways' and too cautious decision-making. He was Anzin's ‘ homme fort’ during the rejuvenation of the company in the 1820s. His much-quoted 1826 general report on Anzin company affairs illustrated the thoroughness of his knowledge of his firm's needs and potential. One measure of success during the Restoration was that output of coal at the mines increased from 250,000 metric tons in 1816 to 509,000 tons in 1830.

In association with other prominent bankers and business leaders, the Periers also engaged in the establishment of new financial institutions of the Restoration. Thus in 1818 Casimir and Scipion were among the founder-directors of the first French savings bank, the Caisse d’Épargne et de Prévoyance de Paris (No. 104, rue Richlieu). Besides the Perier bank, other investors included Jacques Laffitte (governor of the Bank of France, 1814–19) and the banks of Lefebvre, Pillet Will, and Cottier. The same five banking houses helped back the organization during 1816-20 of an important early insurance company, the Compagnie Royale d’Assurances, and in 1823 they would take part in the Compagnie des Quatre Canaux, a joint-stock company for loans to the government to improve the canal system in northern France. Perhaps a best example of the Perier bank's involvement in innovative financial ventures during the Restoration was the case of the ill-starred Société Commanditaire de l’Industrie. Conceived in 1825 mainly by Jacques Laffitte, its prospective president, this joint-stock company capitalized at 100 million francs was intended to help remedy the growing need in France for increased investment capital for large-scale projects in areas such as mining, metallurgy, canal construction and land development. It had the support of the haute banque and foreign banking houses. Casimir Perier and William Ternaux, France's leading woolens manufacturer, were its prospective vice-presidents. But in the end, unfortunately, the conservative Villèle ministry under Charles X refused to authorize the establishment of the Commanditaire.

Casimir Perier's policy as a banker was to spread his capital investment over a wide range of characteristic early nineteenth century business enterprise. He engaged as well in almost continuous investment in land and real estate, calculated most recently at about 15% of his total investments during 1815-30. Most notable were his purchases of highly valued properties on the rue Neuve du Luxembourg, the rue Sainte-Honoré and the Champs-Elysées; a summer residence in the Bois de Boulogne; the Château Saint-Pierre ('le Taillis') in Normandy, near Rouen; and the parkland and ruins of the Château Pont-sur-Seine (Department of Aube), a property owned previously by Napoleon that was destroyed by invading armies in 1814. Casimir's largest investment in Paris real estate during the Restoration was made in 1829-30 when he agreed to pay 744,600 francs for properties on the rue Saint-Honoré owned by Francis Egerton, Duke of Bridgewater. By the time of the Revolution of 1830, Casimir Perier was one of the richest men in Paris. At the age of 55 in 1832, when he died of cholera, his estate was estimated at close to 14 million francs.

Both Casimir and Scipion Perier valued education and believed strongly in the advancement of science and technology. They supported Joseph Degérando's Société pour l’Amélioration de l’Enseignement Élémentaire (est. 1815) and they arranged at Anzin for night-school instruction for workers using courses designed by Charles Dupin. In Paris, they supported the practical education programs provided by the École Spéciale de Commerce, founded in 1816, and the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures established in 1828. After Casimir was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1817, he would vote to protect the budgets of the Conservatory of Arts and Sciences and trade schools in the departments.

Political career
Casimir Perier's wide-ranging business interests and investments help to explain his opposition in the Chamber of Deputies to financial policies of Restoration ministries. In 1817, he opposed the policy of the Richelieu ministry for raising loans to pay the war indemnity demanded by the allied coalition after Napoleon's final defeat. In the 1820s, he was a leader in debates (1821–1822) against the policies of the Villèle ministry for financing canal construction and (1824–1825) for indemnifying the nobility for lands confiscated during the Revolution.

Perier entered the Chamber of Deputies for Paris in 1817, taking his seat in the Left Centre with the moderate opposition, and making his first speech in defense of the freedom of the press. Re-elected for Paris in 1822 and 1824, and in 1827 for Paris and for Troyes, he elected to represent Troyes (Department of Aube), and sat for that constituency until his death. Perier's violence in debate was not associated with any disloyalty to the Bourbon Restoration, and he held resolutely aloof from the Republican conspiracies and intrigues which prepared the way for the revolution of 1830. Under the Martignac ministry, there was some prospect of a reconciliation with the court, and, in January 1829, he was nominated a candidate for the presidency of the chamber; but in August with the elevation to power of Jules, Prince de Polignac, the truce ceased, and on 15 March 1830, Perier was one of the 221 deputies who repudiated the Ordinances put forward by Charles X.

Averse by instinct and by interest to popular revolution, Perier nevertheless sat on the provisory commission of five at the Hôtel de Ville during the Three Glorious Days of July 1830, but he refused to sign the declaration of Charles X's dethronement. Perier reluctantly recognized in the government of Louis Philippe's constitutional monarchy the only alternative to the continuance of the Revolution, but he was no favorite with the new king, whom he scorned for his trucking with the Paris 'mob'. He became President of the Chamber of Deputies, and sat for a few months in the cabinet, though without a portfolio.

President of the Council
During the first years of the July Monarchy of Louis Philippe, following the fall of the weak and discredited ministry of Jacques Laffitte, Perier, who had drifted more and more to the Right, was summoned to power (13 March 1831), and, in the short space of a year, he more or less restored civic order in France and re-established her credit in Europe. Paris was in a constant state of disturbance from March to September, and was only held in check by the premier's determination. The Canut Revolt at Lyon was suppressed after hard fighting; and at Grenoble, in face of the quarrels between the military and the inhabitants, Perier declined to make any concession to the townsfolk. For Perier, the Revolution of 1830 was not the beginning of greater things to come, it was the end of the Revolution of 1789. As he said to Odilon Barrot of Laffitte's "Party of Movement": "No, Monsieur, there has not been a revolution, only a change in the head of state."

As a minister, Perier refused to be dragged into armed intervention in favor of the revolutionary government of Warsaw, but his policy of peace did not exclude energetic demonstrations in support of French interests. He constituted France the protector of Belgium by the prompt expedition of the army of the north against the Dutch in August 1831. French influence in Italy was asserted by the audacious occupation of Ancona (23 February 1832); and the refusal of compensation for injuries to French residents by the Portuguese government was followed by a naval demonstration at Lisbon.

Perier had undertaken the premiership with many forebodings, and overwork and anxiety prepared the way for disease. In the spring of 1832, during the cholera outbreak in Paris, he visited the hospitals in company with Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans. He fell ill the next day of a violent fever, and died six weeks later.

Private life
Casimir Perier married (13 October 1805) Marie Cécile Laurence Loyer, nicknamed "Pauline", the daughter of Laurent-Pouthus Loyer, an old regime magistrate of Lyon who was a victim of the Terror during the Revolution. There were two sons: Auguste Casimir-Perier (1811–1876), deputy for Seine and Aube, and Charles-Paul Perier (1812–1897), deputy and senator for Seine-Inférieur. Auguste-Casimir's son, Jean Casimir-Perier (1847–1907), was elected President of the Third Republic in 1894.

title: Casimir Pierre Périer


text:
Revolution of 1830

The Revolution of 1830 can be:

 * The July Revolution in France leading to a constitutional monarchy lasting until the revolutions of 1848
 * The Belgian Revolution in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands leading to the creation of Belgium
 * The November Uprising in Poland, a failed attempt to overthrow Russian rule

title: Revolution of 1830


text:
Ernő Goldfinger

Ernő Goldfinger (11 September 1902 – 15 November 1987) was a Hungarian-born British architect and designer of furniture. He moved to the United Kingdom in the 1930s, and became a key member of the Modernist architectural movement. He is most prominently remembered for designing residential tower blocks, some of which are now listed buildings.

Biography
Goldfinger was born in Budapest to a Jewish family. The family business was forestry and saw-mills, which led Goldfinger to consider a career in engineering until he became interested in architecture after reading Hermann Muthesius's Das englische Haus, a description of English domestic architecture around the turn of the twentieth century.

Goldfinger moved to Paris in 1921, after the defeat and collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1923, he went to study at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in the atelier of Léon Jaussely, and in the following years got to know many other Paris-based architects, including Auguste Perret, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. In 1929, before finishing his studies, Goldfinger established a partnership and worked on a number of interior designs and an extension to a holiday home at Le Touquet.

He was strongly influenced by the publication of Le Corbusier's Vers une architecture, and became a fervent admirer of Le Corbusier's former mentor, Auguste Perret, an expert in designing reinforced concrete structures and an inspiration for Goldfinger when designing his own home. In the early 1930s, Goldfinger met and married Ursula Blackwell, heiress to the Crosse & Blackwell fortune. Goldfinger was based in the UK for the remainder of his career.

Modernist in London
In 1934, Ernő and his wife, Ursula, moved to a flat in Highpoint I, London. Before World War II, Goldfinger built three houses (including his own) at 1–3 Willow Road in Hampstead, North London, and another at Broxted, Essex. His own house, 2 Willow Road, is now in the care of the National Trust.

Post World War II
After the war, Goldfinger was commissioned to build new offices for the Daily Worker newspaper and the headquarters of the British Communist Party. In the 1950s, he designed two London primary schools from prefabricated pre-cast concrete with brick infill for the London County Council in Putney. A cottage forming part of one of these schools, Brandlehow School, was demolished by a rogue developer who was prosecuted in 2008, and ordered to restore the building to "exactly match" its former appearance. On the site of George Coles's Trocadero cinema in south-east London Goldfinger built Alexander Fleming House for the Ministry of Health, and the Odeon Elephant & Castle, which opened in 1966, and has since been demolished.

Rise of the high rise
In an attempt to solve the huge shortage of housing in the country following World War II, during which nearly 4 million houses had been destroyed or damaged, the British Government began to see high-rise buildings as a solution, and Goldfinger rose to prominence in England as a designer of tower blocks.

Among his most notable buildings of the period were the 27-floor Balfron Tower and the adjacent eleven-storey Carradale House in Poplar, which served as models for the similar 31-floor Trellick Tower in Kensal Town (started 1968, completed 1972). These three buildings are notable examples of Brutalist architecture.

Personal life
Goldfinger was known as a humourless man given to notorious rages. He sometimes fired his assistants if they were inappropriately jocular, and once forcibly ejected two prospective clients for imposing restrictions on his design.

A discussion on a golf course about Ernő with Goldfinger's cousin prompted Ian Fleming to name the James Bond adversary and villain Auric Goldfinger after Ernő—Fleming had been among the objectors to the pre-war demolition of the cottages in Hampstead that were removed to make way for Goldfinger's house at 2 Willow Road. Goldfinger consulted his lawyers when Goldfinger was published in 1959, which prompted Fleming to threaten to rename the character 'Goldprick', but eventually decided not to sue; Fleming's publishers agreed to pay his costs and gave him six free copies of the book.

Goldfinger died on 15 November 1987, at the age of 85, and was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium where his ashes remain.

Legacy
Although Goldfinger enjoyed living in his own buildings, they were unpopular among both the public and many post-modernist architects. Towards the end of the 20th century Goldfinger's work became more appreciated. Trellick Tower is now a Grade II* listed building and has become something of a design icon, appearing on T-shirts, paintings, and in the lyrics of the song "Best Days" by Blur. The few privately owned flats within fetch high prices at sale. Balfron Tower and Carradale House are also listed Grade II, while an adjacent building by Goldfinger's studio, the 14-storey Glenkerry House, is run as a housing co-operative and is regarded as a model for management of buildings of the type.

In 2000, Ernő Goldfinger's estate endowed a sum of money to foster links between Hungary and the United Kingdom by sponsoring young Hungarian architectural students to study, travel, or work in the UK. Their intention was to honour his achievements, his commitment to his profession, and his lifelong support for his compatriots. Six RIBA Goldfinger Scholarships were awarded from 2002 to 2011.

Buildings

 * 1, 2 & 3 Willow Road, Hampstead, London. (Listed II*, 1974)
 * 10 Regent's Park Road, Camden, London. (Listed II, 1998)
 * 45-46 Albemarle St, Green Park, London. (Listed II, 1991)
 * Balfron Tower, Tower Hamlets, London. (Listed II, 1996; II* 2014)
 * Carradale House (Listed II, 2000)
 * Glenkerry House (Listed II, 2015)

 * Benjamin's Mount, Windlesham. (Listed II*, 1999)
 * Brandlehow School, Putney, London. (Listed II, 1993) And the attached caretaker's cottage
 * Cheltenham Estate and Edenham Way, Kensington & Chelsea (Listed II, 2012)
 * Trellick Tower (Listed II*, 1998)

 * Fulton House, on the campus of Swansea University
 * Goldfinger House (Listed II, 1995), Shirley, West Midlands.
 * Greenside School, Hammersmith, London. (Listed II*, 1993)
 * Haggerston Girls' School and School House, (Listed II, 2004)
 * Hille House, Watford
 * Metro Central Heights (Alexander Fleming House), Southwark, London. (Listed II, 2013)
 * Weiss shop – 2/2a Golders Green Road, London. (Built 1935)

title: Ernő Goldfinger


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Justice Union

Justice Union is a small political group in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

It was established and chaired by Angel Leung, former DJ and then Eastern District Councillor, after leaving the Democratic Party.

Three members of the group ran in the 2003 District Council election in the Chai Wan area in the Eastern District, and Leung herself ran in a constituency in Ma On Shan of the Sha Tin District. All were defeated.

title: Justice Union


text:
Fresh Air

Fresh Air is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 624 stations and claimed nearly 5 million listeners. The show is fed live weekdays at 12:00 noon ET. In addition, some stations carry Fresh Air Weekend, a re-programming of highlights of the week's interviews. In 2016, Fresh Air was the most-downloaded podcast on iTunes.

Overview

The show began in 1975 at WHYY (then called WUHY), with Judy Blank as host. In September of that year, Terry Gross took over as presenter and producer; over 45 years later she remains its chief presenter. In 1985, WHYY launched a weekly half-hour edition of Fresh Air, which was distributed nationally by NPR. The show began daily national broadcasts in 1987. The show is composed primarily of interviews with prominent figures in various fields, among them entertainment and the arts, culture, journalism, and global current affairs. This main segment is followed by shorter segments, most often comprising coverage and reviews of events and new releases in various cultural and entertainment spheres. The subjects of these shorter segments include movies, books, stage plays, television programs, as well as recordings of popular music, jazz, and classical music. The program also features commentary and interviews from a range of regular contributors, including Maureen Corrigan, David Bianculli, Dave Davies, Ken Tucker, Kevin Whitehead, John Powers, Lloyd Schwartz, Geoffrey Nunberg, Justin Chang, and Nick Quah. Past contributors include Geoff Nunberg, Milo Miles, and Ed Ward. Tonya Mosley, who co-hosted WBUR's Here & Now, was named co-host of Fresh Air in 2023. The show was formerly titled "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" but is now simply branded "Fresh Air".

David Edelstein was let go from his position as film critic for the show on November 27, 2018, for comments made in the wake of Bernardo Bertolucci's death.

The executive producer of Fresh Air is Danny Miller. The program is produced and edited by Amy Salit, Phyllis Myers, Ann Marie Baldonado, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Therese Madden, Seth Kelley, Thea Chaloner, and Susan Nyakundi. The show is directed by Roberta Shorrock. Audrey Bentham is the engineer. Molly Seavy-Nesper is the producer of Digital Media.

Background
The program's interviews are pre-recorded and edited, not broadcast live. As with many such radio programs, guests are often not in the studio during recording, and often speak remotely from a local affiliate station, or a home studio. When pressing news requires, the show has gone live, such as during the Soviet coup attempt of 1991, and in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing on April 19, 2013.

Fresh Air interviews are generally first aired on the Monday through Thursday shows. The Friday shows are rebroadcasts of past interviews.

The show's theme song, a jazz piece called "Fresh Air", was composed for the program by Joel Forrester of The Microscopic Septet.

Controversial interviews

In February 2002, when Gross interviewed Gene Simmons of Kiss, Simmons discussed his sexual experimentation with women of all age groups and propositioned Gross in demonstration; according to NPR's website, Simmons withheld permission to supply transcripts or audio of the interview on their website.

In July 2010, Fresh Air was removed from Mississippi Public Broadcasting radio because of "recurring inappropriate content", shortly after the broadcast of an interview with comedian Louis C.K. in which he discussed his sex life. By mid-2011, it had returned to the state network's evening line-up.

Awards
In 1993, NPR, Fresh Air, and Gross were presented with the George Foster Peabody Award with praise for her "probing questions, revelatory interviews, and unusual insights". The show was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2012. The show also won an institutional Peabody in 2022.

In 2004, Gross published a book of her favorite interviews from the show under the title All I Did Was Ask.

In 2016, Gross received the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama, "For her artful probing of the human experience. Her patient, persistent questioning in thousands of interviews over four decades has pushed public figures to reveal personal motivations behind extraordinary lives—revealing simple truths that affirm our common humanity."

title: Fresh Air


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Weapons of Mass Deception

Weapons of Mass Deception is pejorative expression used by some people to describe U.S. President George W. Bush's claim that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction as justification for the war on Iraq.

The variation Weapons of Mass Distraction has also been used by pundits and satirists. This punning alteration accuses the Bush administration of using the war in Iraq to draw the nation's attention away from other problems, such as the economic recession of 2002. The meaning was later inverted to describe Bush's alleged attempts to divert attention away from the war following a drop in public support for the war.

Book
Weapons of Mass Deception was used as the title of a nonfiction book by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber. This book focused specifically on the PR tactics and techniques of the Bush administration after the September 11th terrorist attacks.

 * Publisher: Tarcher (July 28, 2003)
 * ISBN 978-1-58542-276-0

Other media
Weapons of Mass Deception was also used as the title of a documentary produced by Danny Schechter which originally aired on HBO.

It is also the name of the fourth album by the British band Dissident Prophet.

Also, a popular NPR commentator Connie Rice read her Top Ten Weapons of Mass Distraction on The Tavis Smiley Show, July 14, 2004.

title: Weapons of Mass Deception


text:
Flight (military unit)

A flight is a small military unit within the larger structure of an air force, naval air service, or army air corps; and is usually subordinate to a larger squadron. A military aircraft flight is typically composed of four aircraft, though two to six aircraft may also form an aircraft flight; along with their aircrews and ground staff. In some very specific examples, typically involving historic aircraft, a flight may contain as many as twelve aircraft, as is the case with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) of the British Royal Air Force (RAF). In most usages, two or more flights make up a squadron. Foreign languages equivalents include escadrille (French), escuadrilla (Spanish), esquadrilha (Portuguese), patrulă (Romanian), zveno (Russian), and Schwarm (German).

In the case of a non-flying, or "ground flight", such as Mechanical Transport Flight (MTF), Supply Flight, Accounts Flight, etc; no aircraft, and a roughly equivalent number of support personnel may be utilised.

The term "flight" is also a basic unit for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

Origins
The use of the term "flight" originated in the United Kingdom to describe a collection of aircraft (typically four in the early days of aviation), and dates back to around 1912. It has been suggested that the term was coined by technical sub-committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence, which was examining the British air arrangements around the same time.

Aircraft flight
In the United Kingdom Royal Air Force (RAF), and the other air forces of the British Commonwealth, from where much air force terminology emanated, an aircraft flight, in the first decades of air forces, was commanded by a flight lieutenant (FltLt), a rank equivalent to captain in armies and other air forces, or a naval lieutenant. More recently, however, it has become common for a flight to be led by a squadron leader (SqnLdr); a formal rank distinct from a squadron commander; equivalent to an army major or naval lieutenant commander.

On rare occasions, a flight may further be sub-divided into two sections, each containing two to three aircraft, which share ground staff with the other section, and are usually commanded by a flight lieutenant.

The Royal Navy's (RN) Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the Army Air Corps (AAC), and other Commonwealth naval and army aviation arms also have flights. In the Fleet Air Arm, a flight could be as few as a single helicopter operating from a smaller ship.

Ground flight
A ground flight within an air force is roughly equivalent to a platoon in an army, and may be commanded by a flight lieutenant, flying officer, pilot officer, or warrant officer. These ground flights may carry out operational roles (such as air traffic control, airfield defence, or firefighting), engineering roles (such as aircraft maintenance, ground-based mechanical engineering, or other ground systems maintenance), support roles (including medical, dental, physical training, supply and logistics, training and education, and legal units), or purely administrative roles (such as finance, infrastructure, or human resource management).

A flight is also a basic unit of guided missiles, such as surface-to-air missiles (SAMs).

American flights
The United States Air Force (USAF) has three types of flights: numbered, alphabetic, and aircraft (which may be designated by alpha-numerics or name).

A numbered flight is a unit with a unique base, wing, group, or Numbered Air Force mission; such as training or finance, though not large enough to warrant designation as a squadron. Numbered flights are uncommon, and are usually only found in basic training facilities.

An alphabetic flight is an operational component of a flying or ground squadron, not an independent unit; alphabetic flights within a squadron normally have identical or similar functions, and are normally designated A, B, C, and so, on within the squadron. Flights in the USAF are generally authorised to have between 20 and 100 personnel, and are normally commanded by a company-grade officer (lieutenant or captain), and/or a flight chief, usually a senior non-commissioned officer with the rank of master sergeant or senior master sergeant.

In USAF flying squadrons, the term flight also designates a tactical sub-unit of a squadron consisting of two or three elements (designated "sections" in U.S. Army and U.S. Naval Aviation), with each element consisting of two or three aircraft. The flight operates under the command of a designated flight leader. In U.S. Army Aviation, the equivalent organisational level of a flight is called a "platoon", while in U.S. Naval Aviation the flight is known as a "division".

In Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile units of the U.S. Air Force, a flight is composed of ten unstaffed launch facilities, remotely controlled by a staffed launch control center, containing two personnel. Five of these flights make up one missile squadron. The Air Force has a total of 45 ICBM missile flights.

Under U.S. military and FAA common usage, for air traffic control and separation purposes, a "flight" of aircraft is simply two or more aircraft intentionally operating in close proximity to each other (typically in formation) under a designated "flight leader", without regard to military organisational hierarchy.

French flights
An escadrille (literal translations: "squad" or "small squadron") is the label given to flights in the air forces and navies of some French-speaking countries. While the term is frequently translated into English as "squadron", an escadrille was originally a smaller unit (whereas the French escadron, also translated as "squadron", in the context of aviation is a much larger unit, comparable in status to a naval squadron).

The first air escadrilles were formed in France before World War I, in 1912. They were initially a loosely defined group of aircraft capable of similar tasks, in most cases not more than six aeroplanes in each. During the war, the escadrille became the basic independent unit of aviation within the French armed forces. An escadrille was a homogeneous unit, armed with a single type of aeroplane, with permanent flying and ground personnel attached, motorised transport and tent hangars. By mid-1915, the Armee de l'Air had grown to 119 escadrilles of 10 aircraft each: 14 of fighters, 50 of bombers and the rest reconnaissance, spotter and communications units. While escadrilles initially operated independently, during the Battle of Verdun (1916), chasseur (fighter) escadrilles were formed into larger formations, for easier coordination.

During World War II, French escadrilles usually fielded between 10 and 12 aircraft. Hence they were roughly equivalent to a German Staffel, Italian gruppo or Polish eskadra (10 aircraft in 1939). This was in contrast to air squadrons of the British Commonwealth or United States, which usually had 12–18 aircraft, divided into two to four flights.

Until 1949, between one and four French escadrilles formed a groupe. Since then, however, escadrilles have been subordinate to escadrons. As such, groupes and escadrons are the equivalent of the German language terms Gruppe and Geschwader; and the English language terms "wing" and "group" (the definitions of which also vary from one nation to another).

German flights
A Schwarm (meaning swarm) as part of a Staffel (squadron) comprises four aircraft and can be further subdivided into twoships called Rotte (meaning rout, two aircraft). The tactical formation, however, is the twoship with hot spare (the English term is used), the third aircraft being released before reaching the target if none of the others had to be sent back earlier. The Kette (meaning chain) of three aircraft is a historic term. These terms refer to groups of aircraft only and are not used for ground units.

title: Flight (military unit)