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Gene family

A gene family is a set of several similar genes, formed by duplication of a single original gene, and generally with similar biochemical functions. One such family are the genes for human hemoglobin subunits; the ten genes are in two clusters on different chromosomes, called the α-globin and β-globin loci. These two gene clusters are thought to have arisen as a result of a precursor gene being duplicated approximately 500 million years ago.

Genes are categorized into families based on shared nucleotide or protein sequences. Phylogenetic techniques can be used as a more rigorous test. The positions of exons within the coding sequence can be used to infer common ancestry. Knowing the sequence of the protein encoded by a gene can allow researchers to apply methods that find similarities among protein sequences that provide more information than similarities or differences among DNA sequences.

If the genes of a gene family encode proteins, the term protein family is often used in an analogous manner to gene family.

The expansion or contraction of gene families along a specific lineage can be due to chance, or can be the result of natural selection. To distinguish between these two cases is often difficult in practice. Recent work uses a combination of statistical models and algorithmic techniques to detect gene families that are under the effect of natural selection.

The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) creates nomenclature schemes using a "stem" (or "root") symbol for members of a gene family (by homology or function), with a hierarchical numbering system to distinguish the individual members. For example, for the peroxiredoxin family, PRDX is the root symbol, and the family members are PRDX1, PRDX2, PRDX3, PRDX4, PRDX5, and PRDX6.

Basic structure
One level of genome organization is the grouping of genes into several gene families. Gene families are groups of related genes that share a common ancestor. Members of gene families may be paralogs or orthologs. Gene paralogs are genes with similar sequences from within the same species while gene orthologs are genes with similar sequences in different species. Gene families are highly variable in size, sequence diversity, and arrangement. Depending on the diversity and functions of the genes within the family, families can be classified as multigene families or superfamilies.

Multigene families typically consist of members with similar sequences and functions, though a high degree of divergence (at the sequence and/or functional level) does not lead to the removal of a gene from a gene family. Individual genes in the family may be arranged close together on the same chromosome or dispersed throughout the genome on different chromosomes. Due to the similarity of their sequences and their overlapping functions, individual genes in the family often share regulatory control elements. In some instances, gene members have identical (or nearly identical) sequences. Such families allow for massive amounts of gene product to be expressed in a short time as needed. Other families allow for similar but specific products to be expressed in different cell types or at different stages of an organism's development.

Superfamilies are much larger than single multigene families. Superfamilies contain up to hundreds of genes, including multiple multigene families as well as single, individual gene members. The large number of members allows superfamilies to be widely dispersed with some genes clustered and some spread far apart. The genes are diverse in sequence and function displaying various levels of expression and separate regulation controls.

Some gene families also contain pseudogenes, sequences of DNA that closely resemble established gene sequences but are non-functional. Different types of pseudogenes exist. Non-processed pseudogenes are genes that acquired mutations over time becoming non-functional. Processed pseudogenes are genes that have lost their function after being moved around the genome by retrotransposition. Pseudogenes that have become isolated from the gene family they originated in, are referred to as orphans.

Formation
Gene families arose from multiple duplications of an ancestral gene, followed by mutation and divergence. Duplications can occur within a lineage (e.g., humans might have two copies of a gene that is found only once in chimpanzees) or they are the result of speciation. For example, a single gene in the ancestor of humans and chimpanzees now occurs in both species and can be thought of as having been 'duplicated' via speciation. As a result of duplication by speciation, a gene family might include 15 genes, one copy in each of 15 different species.

Duplication
In the formation of gene families, four levels of duplication exist: 1) exon duplication and shuffling, 2) entire gene duplication, 3) multigene family duplication, and 4) whole genome duplication. Exon duplication and shuffling gives rise to variation and new genes. Genes are then duplicated to form multigene families which duplicate to form superfamilies spanning multiple chromosomes. Whole genome duplication doubles the number of copies of every gene and gene family. Whole genome duplication or polyploidization can be either autopolyploidization or alloploidization. Autopolyploidization is the duplication of the same genome and allopolyploidization is the duplication of two closely related genomes or hybridized genomes from different species.

Duplication occurs primarily through uneven crossing over events in meiosis of germ cells. (1,2) When two chromosomes misalign, crossing over - the exchange of gene alleles - results in one chromosome expanding or increasing in gene number and the other contracting or decreasing in gene number. The expansion of a gene cluster is the duplication of genes that leads to larger gene families.

Relocation
Gene members of a multigene family or multigene families within superfamilies exist on different chromosomes due to relocation of those genes after duplication of the ancestral gene. Transposable elements play a role in the movement of genes. Transposable elements are recognized by inverted repeats at their 5' and 3' ends. When two transposable elements are close enough in the same region on a chromosome, they can form a composite transposon. The protein transposase recognizes the outermost inverted repeats, cutting the DNA segment. Any genes between the two transposable elements are relocated as the composite transposon jumps to a new area of the genome.

Reverse transcription is another method of gene movement. An mRNA transcript of a gene is reversed transcribed, or copied, back into DNA. This new DNA copy of the mRNA is integrated into another part of the genome, resulting in gene family members being dispersed.

A special type of multigene family is implicated in the movement of gene families and gene family members. LINE (Long INterspersed Elements) and SINE (Short INterspersed Elements) families are highly repetitive DNA sequences spread all throughout the genome. The LINEs contain a sequence that encodes a reverse transcriptase protein. This protein aids in copying the RNA transcripts of LINEs and SINEs back into DNA, and integrates them into different areas of the genome. This self-perpetuates the growth of LINE and SINE families. Due to the highly repetitive nature of these elements, LINEs and SINEs when close together also trigger unequal crossing over events which result in single-gene duplications and the formation of gene families.

Divergence
Non-synonymous mutations resulting in the substitution of amino acids, increase in duplicate gene copies. Duplication gives rise to multiple copies of the same gene, giving a level of redundancy where mutations are tolerated. With one functioning copy of the gene, other copies are able to acquire mutations without being extremely detrimental to the organisms. Mutations allow duplicate genes to acquire new or different functions.

Concerted evolution
Some multigene families are extremely homogenous, with individual genes members sharing identical or almost identical sequences. The process by which gene families maintain high homogeneity is Concerted evolution. Concerted evolution occurs through repeated cycles of unequal crossing over events and repeated cycles of gene transfer and conversion. Unequal crossing over leads to the expansion and contraction of gene families. Gene families have an optimal size range that natural selection acts towards. Contraction deletes divergent gene copies and keeps gene families from becoming too large. Expansion replaces lost gene copies and prevents gene families from becoming too small. Repeat cycles of gene transfer and conversion increasingly make gene family members more similar.

In the process of gene transfer, allelic gene conversion is biased. Mutant alleles spreading in a gene family towards homogeneity is the same process of an advantageous allele spreading in a population towards fixation. Gene conversion also aids in creating genetic variation in some cases.

Evolution
Gene families, part of a hierarchy of information storage in a genome, play a large role in the evolution and diversity of multicellular organisms. Gene families are large units of information and genetic variability. Over evolutionary time, gene families have expanded and contracted with genes within a family duplicating and diversifying into new genes, and genes being lost. An entire gene family may also be lost, or gained through de novo gene birth, by such extensive divergence such that a gene is considered part of a new family, or by horizontal gene transfer. When the number of genes per genome remains relatively constant, this implies that genes are gained and lost at relatively same rates. There are some patterns in which genes are more likely to be lost vs. which are more likely to duplicate and diversify into multiple copies.

An adaptive expansion of a single gene into many initially identical copies occurs when natural selection would favour additional gene copies. This is the case when an environmental stressor acts on a species. Gene amplification is more common in bacteria and is a reversible process. Contraction of gene families commonly results from accumulation of loss of function mutations. A nonsense mutation which prematurely halts gene transcription becomes fixed in the population, leading to the loss of genes. This process occurs when changes in the environment render a gene redundant.

Functional family
In addition to classification by evolution (structural gene family), the HGNC also makes "gene families" by function in their stem nomenclature. As a result, a stem can also refer to genes that have the same function, often part of the same protein complex. For example, BRCA1 and BRCA2 are unrelated genes that are both named for their role in breast cancer and RPS2 and RPS3 are unrelated ribosomal proteins found in the same small subunit.

The HGNC also maintains a "gene group" (formerly "gene family") classification. A gene can be a member of multiple groups, and all groups form a hierarchy. As with the stem classification, both structural and functional groups exist.

title: Gene family


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Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien

Louis Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien (duc d'Enghien pronounced ) (Louis Antoine Henri; 2 August 1772 – 21 March 1804) was a member of the House of Bourbon of France. More famous for his death than his life, he was executed by order of Napoleon Bonaparte, who brought charges against him of aiding Britain and plotting against Napoleon.

Biography

The Duke of Enghien was the only son of Louis Henri de Bourbon and Bathilde d'Orléans. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a prince du sang. He was born at the Château de Chantilly, the country residence of the Princes of Condé – a title he was born to inherit. He was given the title duc d'Enghien from birth, his father already being the Duke of Bourbon and the heir of the Prince of Condé, the Duke of Bourbon being the Heir apparent of Condé.

His mother's full name was Louise Marie Thérèse Bathilde d'Orléans; she was the only surviving daughter of Louis Philippe d'Orléans (grandson of the Regent Philippe d'Orléans) and Louise Henriette de Bourbon. His uncle was the future Philippe Égalité and he was thus a first cousin of the future Louis-Philippe I, King of the French. He was also doubly descended from Louis XIV through his legitimated daughters, Mademoiselle de Blois and Mademoiselle de Nantes.

He was an only child, his parents separating in 1778 after his father's romantic involvement with one Marguerite Catherine Michelot, a Paris Opera singer, was discovered; it was his mother who was blamed for her husband's infidelity. Michelot was the mother of Enghien's two illegitimate sisters.

He was educated privately by the Abbé Millot, and in military matters by Commodore de Vinieux. He early on showed the warlike spirit of the House of Condé, and began his military career in 1788. At the outbreak of the French Revolution, he emigrated with his father and grandfather a few days after the Storming of the Bastille, and in exile he would seek to raise forces for the invasion of France and restoration of the monarchy to its pre-revolutionary status.

In 1792, at the outbreak of French Revolutionary Wars, he held a command in the corps of émigrés organized and commanded by his grandfather, the Prince of Condé. This Army of Condé shared in the Duke of Brunswick's unsuccessful invasion of France.

After this, the young duke continued to serve under his father and grandfather in the Condé army, and, on several occasions, distinguished himself by his bravery and ardour in the vanguard. On the dissolution of that force after the peace of Lunéville (February 1801), he privately married Princess Charlotte de Rohan, niece of the Cardinal de Rohan, and took up his residence at Ettenheim in Baden, near the Rhine.

Seizure, trial and death
Early in 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul of France, heard news which seemed to connect the young duke with the Cadoudal Affair, a conspiracy which was being tracked by the French police at the time. It involved royalists Jean-Charles Pichegru and Georges Cadoudal who wished to overthrow Bonaparte's regime and reinstate the monarchy. The news ran that the duke was in company with Charles François Dumouriez and had made secret journeys into France. This was false; there is no evidence that the duke had dealings with either Cadoudal or Pichegru. However, the duke had previously been condemned in absentia for having fought against the French Republic in the Armée des Émigrés. Napoleon gave orders for the seizure of the duke.

French dragoons crossed the Rhine secretly, surrounded his house and brought him to Strasbourg (15 March 1804), and thence to the Château de Vincennes, near Paris, where a military commission of French colonels presided over by General Pierre-Augustin Hulin was hastily convened to try him. The duke was charged chiefly with bearing arms against France in the late war, and with intending to take part in the new coalition then proposed against France.

The military commission, presided over by Hulin, drew up the act of condemnation, being incited thereto by orders from Anne Jean Marie René Savary, who had come charged with instructions to kill the duke. Savary prevented any chance of an interview between the condemned and the First Consul, and, on 21 March, the duke was shot in the moat of the castle, near a grave which had already been prepared. A platoon of the Gendarmes d'élite was in charge of the execution. His last words were "I must die then at the hands of Frenchmen!"

In 1816, his remains were exhumed and placed in the Holy Chapel of the Château de Vincennes.

Impact of death
Royalty across Europe were shocked and dismayed at the duke's death. Tsar Alexander I of Russia was especially alarmed, and decided to curb Napoleon's power. "Baden was the territory of the tsar's father-in-law, and the German principalities were part of the Holy Roman Empire of which Russia was a guarantor."

Enghien was the last descendant of the House of Condé; his grandfather and father survived him, but died without producing further heirs. It is now known that Joséphine and Madame de Rémusat had begged Bonaparte to spare the duke, but nothing would bend his will. Whether Talleyrand, Fouché or Savary bore responsibility for the seizure of the duke is debatable, as at times Napoleon was known to claim Talleyrand conceived the idea, while at other times he took full responsibility himself. On his way to St. Helena and at Longwood, Napoleon asserted that, in the same circumstances, he would do the same again; he inserted a similar declaration in his will, stating that "[I]t was necessary for the safety, interest, and the honour of the French people when the Comte d'Artois, by his own confession, was supporting sixty assassins at Paris."

The execution shocked the aristocracy of Europe, who still remembered the bloodletting of the Revolution. Either Antoine Boulay, comte de la Meurthe (deputy from Meurthe in the Corps législatif) or Napoleon's chief of police, Fouché, said about his execution "C'est pire qu'un crime, c'est une faute", a statement often rendered in English as "It was worse than a crime; it was a blunder." The statement is also sometimes attributed to Talleyrand. In the 1844 essay, "Experience", Emerson misattributes the line to Napoleon himself.

In contrast, in France the execution appeared to quiet domestic resistance to Napoleon, who soon set up a military dictatorship by crowning himself Emperor of the French. Cadoudal, dismayed at the news of Napoleon's proclamation, reputedly exclaimed, "We wanted to make a king, but we made an emperor".

Tolstoy
The killing of d'Enghien is discussed in the opening book of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. The vicomte de Mortemart, a French émigré who supposedly knew the duke personally, is the focus of attention of the Russian aristocrats gathered at Anna Pavlovna Sherer's home:

"The group about Mortemart immediately began discussing the murder of the duc d'Enghien. 'After the murder of the Duc, even the most partial ceased to regard [Buonaparte] as a hero. If to some people he ever was a hero, after the murder of the duc there was one martyr more in heaven and one hero less on earth.' The vicomte said that the duc d'Enghien had perished by his own magnanimity, and that there were particular reasons for Buonaparte's hatred of him.(...)"

"It was an anecdote, then current, to the effect that the duc d'Enghien had gone secretly to Paris to visit Mademoiselle George; that at her house he came upon Bonaparte, who also enjoyed the famous actress' favors, and that in his presence Napoleon happened to fall into one of the fainting fits to which he was subject, and was thus at the Duc's mercy. The latter spared him, and this magnanimity Bonaparte subsequently repaid by death. The story was very pretty and interesting, especially at the point where the rivals suddenly recognized one another; and the ladies looked agitated."

The actress Marguerite-Joséphine Wiemer, known as "Mademoiselle George", was indeed Napoleon's mistress, but there is no evidence that Enghien had anything to do with her, or that the story preserved to posterity by Tolstoy's masterpiece was anything more than one of the pieces of gossip and conspiracy theories current around Europe at the time.

Dumas
The killing is treated in The Last Cavalier by Alexandre Dumas. For example:

"[T]he dominant sentiment in Bonaparte's mind at that moment was neither fear nor vengeance, but rather the desire for all of France to realise that Bourbon blood, so sacred to Royalist partisans, was no more sacred to him than the blood of any other citizen in the Republic."

"'Well, then', asked Cambacérès, 'what have you decided?'"

"'It's simple', said Bonaparte. 'We shall kidnap the Duc d'Enghien and be done with it.'"His death was also briefly mentioned in The Count of Monte Cristo:

"'There wasn't any trouble over treaties when it was a question of shooting the poor Duc d'Enghien' '"

Film
La mort du duc d'Enghien en 1804 (1909) was a one-reel silent film directed by Albert Capellani.

References and notes

 * Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics 1763-1848 (1996), pp 248–51
 * Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics 1763-1848 (1996), pp 248–51
 * Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics 1763-1848 (1996), pp 248–51
 * Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics 1763-1848 (1996), pp 248–51

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

title: Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien


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Marquess of Cambridge

Marquess of Cambridge was a title that was created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

The first creation was for Prince George Augustus in 1706, when he was created Duke of Cambridge, Marquess of Cambridge, Earl of Milford Haven, Viscount Northallerton and Baron of Tewkesbury. He succeeded to the Dukedoms of Cornwall and Rothesay on his father's accession to the throne on 1 August 1714. His titles merged with the Crown when he succeeded to the throne as King George II in 1727.

The second creation (along with the subsidiary titles Earl of Eltham and Viscount Northallerton) was in 1917 for Adolphus, Duke of Teck, brother of Queen Mary and brother-in-law of King George V, when he gave up his German titles and took the surname "Cambridge". Adolphus Cambridge was a grandson of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge through his daughter Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge.

Upon the death of the second Marquess without any male heirs, the marquessate became extinct.

Marquess of Cambridge (1706-1727)

 * Prince George Augustus, Duke of Cambridge (1683-1760), Succeeded to the throne in 1727 as King George II

For further details see Duke of Cambridge

Marquesses of Cambridge (1917–1981)

 * Adolphus Charles Alexander Albert Edward George Philip Louis Ladislaus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge (1868–1927), grandson of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, was created Marquess when George V relinquished his family's German titles
 * George Francis Hugh Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge (1895–1981), only son of the 1st Marquess, died without male issue and his honours became extinct

title: Marquess of Cambridge


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Johnny Marks

John David Marks (November 10, 1909 – September 3, 1985) was an American songwriter. He specialized in Christmas songs and wrote many holiday standards, including "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (a hit for Gene Autry and others), "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (a hit for Brenda Lee), "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (recorded by the Quinto Sisters and later by Burl Ives), "Silver and Gold" (for Burl Ives), and "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" (introduced by Bing Crosby).

Personal life
Marks was born in Mount Vernon, New York. A graduate of McBurney School in New York, NY, and Colgate University and Columbia University, Marks later studied in Paris. He earned a Bronze Star and four Battle Stars as an Army Captain in the 26th Special Service Company during World War II. Marks had three children: Michael, Laura (d.2008) and David (d.2009). Marks, who was Jewish, was the great-uncle of economist Steven Levitt.

Marks was the nephew of Marcus M. Marks (1858–1934), a business figure who served as Borough President of Manhattan. Johnny Marks's father, Louis B. Marks, was a lighting engineer. His wife, Margaret May Marks, was the sister of Robert L. May who wrote the original story of Rudolph.

He lived on West 11th Street in Greenwich Village and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. He died on September 3, 1985, of complications from diabetes.

Career
Among Marks' many works is "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer", which was based on a poem of the same name, written by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May, Rudolph's creator. A television film based on the story and song first aired in 1964, with Marks composing the score.

In addition to his songwriting, he founded St. Nicholas Music in 1949, and served as director of ASCAP from 1957 to 1961. In 1981, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Marks appeared as an imposter on the December 11, 1961 episode of the game show To Tell The Truth. Impersonating the owner of a herd of reindeer, he received two of the four votes. After the true contestant was revealed, Marks identified himself as the composer of "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer".

Christmas songs

 * Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer – 1949 (inspired by a poem by Robert L. May, Marks's brother-in-law)
 * I Don't Want a Lot for Christmas - 1950
 * When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter – 1952
 * The Night Before Christmas Song – 1952
 * An Old-Fashioned Christmas – 1952
 * Everyone's a Child at Christmas – 1956
 * I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day – 1956 (words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, adapted by Marks)
 * Run Rudolph Run - 1958 (words and music were written solely by Chuck Berry, Marks received the writing credit due to his trademark of the Rudolph character)
 * Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree – 1958
 * A Merry, Merry Christmas to You – 1959
 * The Santa Claus Parade – 1959
 * A Caroling We Go - 1966
 * Joyous Christmas - 1969

** Burl Ives released "A Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Silver and Gold," two songs he sang as his character Sam the Snowman, as singles for the 1965 holiday season, the year after the TV production.
 * From the 1964 NBC/Rankin-Bass TV Production Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
 * A Holly Jolly Christmas – 1965 (separate single release), 1964-65**
 * Jingle, Jingle, Jingle – 1964
 * The Most Wonderful Day of the Year – 1964
 * Silver and Gold – 1964-65**
 * We Are Santa's Elves – 1964
 * There's Always Tomorrow - 1964
 * The Island of Misfit Toys - 1964
 * We're a Couple of Misfits - 1964

 * From the 1975 DePatie-Freling TV Production The Tiny Tree
 * To Love And Be Loved - 1975
 * When Autumn Comes - 1975
 * Tell It to a Turtle - 1975
 * A Caroling We Go - 1966
 * A Merry Merry Christmas To You - 1959
 * Joyous Christmas - 1969

 * From the 1976 ABC/Rankin-Bass TV Production Rudolph's Shiny New Year
 * The Moving Finger Writes – 1976
 * Turn Back The Years – 1976
 * It's Raining Sunshine – 1976
 * What A Wonderful World We Live In - 1976
 * Fourth Of July Parade - 1976
 * Have A Little Faith In Me - 1976
 * Have a Happy New Year - 1976

Other

 * Happy New Year Darling – 1946 (with J. Carmen Lombardo)
 * Address Unknown
 * Chicken Today and Feathers Tomorrow
 * Don't Cross Your Fingers, Cross Your Heart
 * Free
 * How Long Is Forever?
 * I Guess There's an End to Everything
 * Neglected
 * She'll Always Remember
 * Summer Holiday
 * We Speak of You Often
 * What've You Got to Lose But Your Heart
 * Who Calls?

title: Johnny Marks


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Aubrey Huff

Aubrey Lewis Huff III (born December 20, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Huff played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and San Francisco Giants; he was a member of two World Series championship teams for the Giants. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Huff attended Vernon College and the University of Miami, where he finished his career second in school batting average. He was drafted by the Devil Rays in the sixth round in 1998, and debuted with them in 2000. In 2002, he finished tenth in the American League (AL) in batting average. He set a career high in 2003 with 34 home runs and batted .311 with 107 runs batted in (RBI), while tying for the lead in errors among AL right fielders with six. Next season, he batted .297 with 24 home runs and 104 RBI. In 2005, he batted .261 with 22 home runs and 92 RBI. During the 2006 season, he was traded to the Astros.

In 2007, Huff signed a three-year contract with the Orioles. He hit 15 home runs his first season with the Orioles, his lowest total since 2001. In 2008, he won the Silver Slugger Award for the designated hitter position after batting .304 with 32 home runs and a career-high 108 RBI. During the 2009 season, he was traded to the Tigers. He became a free agent after the season and signed a one-year deal with the Giants. He batted .290 with 26 home runs in 2010, reached the playoffs for the first time, and won his first World Series. He signed a two-year deal with the Giants in 2011, and batted .246 and hit 12 home runs, his lowest total since 2001. In 2012, he batted .192, was used mostly as a pinch hitter, and appeared in a career-low 52 games but won his second World Series with the Giants. The team paid a $2 million buyout to release him.

In January 2014, Huff announced his retirement from baseball, and took a position as a baseball color commentator for eight months.

Early life
Huff was born in Marion, Ohio, and grew up in Mineral Wells, Texas. In 1983, when he was six years old, his father, Aubrey II, was shot and killed as an innocent bystander in a domestic dispute while working as an electrician. When his mother told him that his father had been killed, Huff later wrote: "I went back to watching The Transformers on television. I remember thinking, ‘He was never here anyway.’" Huff's mother Fonda then raised him and his sister Angela.

Growing up, Huff regularly practiced baseball in his yard, which had a batting cage with lights and a pitching machine. He said, "[My mother bought] it more to keep me out of trouble." He grew up rooting for the Texas Rangers, and frequently attended their games. One of his favorite players was Nolan Ryan. Huff initially attended Mineral Wells High School, but transferred to Brewer High School when his family moved to Fort Worth. While he was selected to the All-District baseball team in high school, he was better known as a basketball player. He graduated in 1995.

College career
Huff attended Vernon College for two years and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of its baseball team in 1996. He transferred to the University of Miami for his final two years of college baseball. As a junior, he tied team single-game records for runs in a game (five against Harvard University on March 28) and most doubles in a game (four on May 16 against Georgia Tech).

As a senior, Huff hit for a .412 batting average, the fourth highest single-season average in school history. His .768 slugging percentage was the second highest in school history. He also hit 21 home runs (fifth in school history) and a school record of 95 runs batted in (RBI). Baseball America, The Sporting News, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named him a first-team All-American.

Huff finished his UM college career with a .400 batting average (second in school history) and a .719 slugging percentage (third in school history). In 2009, he was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.

Draft and minor leagues
Huff was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' fifth-round selection (162nd overall) in the 1998 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. He spent 1998 with the Charleston RiverDogs of the single-A South Atlantic League, where he batted .321 with 85 hits, 19 doubles, 13 home runs, and 54 RBI in 69 games.

In 1999, Huff played for the Orlando Rays of the Double-A Southern League and was named a Southern League postseason All-Star. In 133 games with the Rays (tied with three players for fourth in the league behind Brady Clark's 138, Brent Abernathy's 136, and Kurt Airoso's 134), Huff batted .301 (eighth) with 148 hits (fourth, behind Abernathy's 168, Clark's 165, and Tim Giles's 157), 40 doubles (third, behind Scott Vieira's 44 and Abernathy's 42), 22 home runs (tied with John Curl for second behind Javier Cardona's 26), and 78 RBI (tied with Bry Nelson for ninth in the league).

Huff began 2000 with the Durham Bulls of the Triple-A International League. In 108 games, he batted .316 (fifth) with 129 hits, 36 doubles (fourth, behind Clark's 41, Ryan Jackson's 38, and José Fernández's 37), 20 home runs, and 76 RBI. He was named the International League Rookie of the Year and was named to the postseason All-Star team.

2000
Huff was called up by the Devil Rays at the beginning of August to be the starting third baseman after Vinny Castilla suffered an injury. He had an RBI in his debut on August 2, a 5–3 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Two days later, he got his first career hit against José Mercedes in a 10–9 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. On August 10, he had a season-high three RBI by hitting his first career home run, a game-winning three-run hit against Jason Ryan in a 10–4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. In 39 games, Huff hit .287 with 35 hits, seven doubles, four home runs, and 14 RBI.

2001
Huff began the 2001 season with Durham, but was called up on April 13 when Ariel Prieto was sent to the minors. He became the starting third baseman on May 11 when Castilla was released. Huff was moved from third base to first base on August 6 following an injury to Steve Cox. After batting .243 with six home runs and 33 RBI in his first 92 games, he was optioned to Durham on August 23 when Cox came off the disabled list (DL). In September, he was called up to replace Greg Vaughn as the Devil Rays' designated hitter (DH). On September 19, he had three hits and five RBI, including a game-winning single against David Cone, in a 12–2 victory over the Boston Red Sox. He finished the season batting .248 with 102 hits, 25 doubles, eight home runs, and 45 RBI in 111 games. In 17 games at Durham, he batted .288 with 19 hits, six doubles, three home runs, and 10 RBI.

2002
Huff missed the first month of 2002 with a broken cheekbone and began the season in the minor leagues before getting called up on May 28 to replace the struggling Jason Tyner on the roster. He started for the rest of the season as a first baseman, a third baseman, or a DH. On July 19, he had four hits, including a home run against Esteban Loaiza, and three RBI in an 11–8 loss to the Blue Jays. He had a 17-game hitting streak from August 23 to September 10, the second-longest streak in franchise history at the time (behind Quinton McCracken's 18-game streak in 1998). In 113 games, Huff finished tenth in the American League (AL) with a .313 batting average and had 142 hits, 25 doubles, 23 home runs, and 59 RBI. He led the Devil Rays in home runs, marking the first time a player led his team in home runs after starting the season in the minors since 1996, when Tony Clark led the Detroit Tigers. In 32 games with Durham, he batted .325 with 41 hits, nine doubles, three home runs, and 20 RBI.

2003
On April 26, 2003, Huff had four hits in a 10–7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. After playing mostly first and third base in April, he took over from George Lombard as the Devil Rays' right fielder for the remainder of the season on April 29. On May 3, he had the first multi-homer game of his career by hitting two two-run home runs against Adam Bernero in an 8–6 victory over the Tigers. He had four hits on June 4 in a 5–2 victory over the Chicago Cubs. On September 6, he stole home plate in a 7–4 victory over the Oakland Athletics. On September 23, he had four hits and hit a home run against Josh Towers in an 8–5 loss to the Blue Jays.

In 162 games (tied for second in the AL with Miguel Tejada behind Hideki Matsui's 163), he batted .311 (ninth) with 47 doubles (third behind Garret Anderson's and Vernon Wells's 49), 34 home runs (ninth), and 107 RBI (tied for eighth with Jason Giambi). Huff's single-season totals in hits, doubles, home runs, and RBI had been matched by 11 players in major league history as of 2012. He was tied for 24th in AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting along with Esteban Loaiza and Jason Varitek. Defensively, he tied with Tim Salmon for the lead in errors by AL right fielders with six.

2004
In 2004, Huff spent most of the season playing third base. On May 12, he had five RBI, including a three-run home run against Chan Ho Park, in a 9–8 loss against the Texas Rangers. He saw a streak of 398 consecutive games played snapped on August 22 when he was forced to miss a few games with a minor back injury. On August 27, he had four hits in an 8–7 loss to the Athletics. He would have four hits again on September 23 in a 7–3 loss to the Yankees.

Huff finished the season batting .297 with 178 hits, 27 doubles, 29 home runs, and 104 RBI in 157 games. His average, home runs, and RBI were the highest totals among Devil Rays' players.

2005
In 2005, Huff spent most of the year in right field. On April 18, Huff had four RBI and hit the 100th home run of his career, a three-run shot against Jaret Wright in a 19–8 loss to the Yankees. After hitting five home runs in the first three months, Huff hit 17 home runs through the rest of the season. On July 22, he hit the first grand slam of his career, a game-winning home run against Bruce Chen in a 7–5 victory over the Orioles. He was named the AL Player of the Week from July 25 to 31 after he batted .409 with two home runs and 10 RBI. In 148 games, Huff batted .261 with 150 hits, 26 doubles, 22 home runs, and 92 RBI.

2006
For 2006, Huff was moved back to third base. He was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career on April 12 with a sprained left knee suffered in a collision with Nick Green the day before. On May 4, he was activated from the DL. On May 19, he hit his first career walk-off home run against Yusmeiro Petit in a 10-inning, 5–4 win over the Marlins. Through July 9, Huff batted .283 with 65 hits, 15 doubles, eight home runs, and 28 RBI in 63 games.

Huff ranked among the top ten in several career and single-season records in the history of the Tampa Bay Rays (Devil Rays from 1998 to 2007) as of 2019. Through 2019, he ranked fifth in games played (799), at bats (3,028), plate appearances (3,322), hits (870), doubles (172), RBI (449), and batting average (.287). His 128 home runs ranked third (behind Carlos Peña's 163, and Evan Longoria's 261), and his 400 runs scored ranked sixth. He, Longoria and Delmon Young were the only Devil Rays to appear in 162 games in a season. He held Devil Rays' record for hits in a season and doubles in a season, both set in 2003. His batting averages in 2002 and 2003 ranked sixth and seventh, respectively; his home run total in 2003 tied for fifth; and his RBI totals in 2003 and 2004 were fourth and tied for sixth, respectively.

Houston Astros (2006)
On July 12, 2006, the Houston Astros acquired Huff from Tampa Bay for minor leaguers Mitch Talbot and Ben Zobrist. Huff was used at third base for the Astros until August 1, when he was moved to right field following regular third baseman Morgan Ensberg's return from the DL. In his debut with the Astros on July 13, the first game after the All-Star break, Huff had two hits, including a three-run home run against Randy Messenger in a 5–1 victory over the Marlins. On August 9, he had three hits, two home runs, and six RBI in a 14–1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 68 games with Houston, Huff batted .250 with 56 hits, 10 doubles, 13 home runs, and 38 RBI. He combined to bat .267 with 121 hits, 25 doubles, 21 home runs, and 66 RBI in 131 games in 2006. On October 31, he filed for free agency.

2007
On January 3, 2007, Huff officially signed a three-year, $20 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles. He began the year getting most of the starts at first base, but in mid-May he became the Orioles regular DH as Kevin Millar was moved to first base. In a 9–7 loss to the Angels on June 29, he hit for the cycle and got his 1,000th hit and 200th double (both against Kelvim Escobar). He was one of four Orioles to hit for the cycle (along with Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken Jr., and Félix Pie) and the first player to do so at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. On August 14, Huff had two hits and five RBI, including a grand slam against Jeff Karstens in a 12–0 victory over the Yankees. In 151 games, Huff batted .280 with 154 hits, 34 doubles, 15 home runs, and 72 RBI.

2008
Before the 2008 season, Huff switched his uniform number from 19 to 17 in honor of his former teammate Joe Kennedy, who died during the offseason. He angered fans in the offseason when he called Baltimore a "horse" town when compared to Tampa, but he regained fan support by the end of the year by posting one of his best seasons. He was the Orioles' designated hitter for most of the season, although he was moved to third base at the end of August following an injury to Melvin Mora. On April 8, he had four hits and four RBI in an 8–1 victory over the Rangers. He was named AL Player of the Week from June 30 to July 6 after hitting .345 with three home runs and nine RBIs. He was named the Player of the Week again from August 25–31 after batting .478 with two home runs and seven RBI. In 154 games, Huff batted .304 with 182 hits (tied with Nick Markakis for 10th in the league), 48 doubles (tied with Markakis for third in the league behind Dustin Pedroia's 54 and Brian Roberts's 51), 33 home runs (tied for eighth with Jason Giambi and Josh Hamilton), and 108 RBI (sixth). He also led the American League with 82 extra-base hits. He finished 16th in AL MVP voting and was named "Most Valuable Oriole" by Baltimore sportswriters. He won the Silver Slugger Award for DH and the Edgar Martínez Award, becoming the first Oriole to win the award since Tommy Davis in 1974.

2009
Huff moved to first base in 2009 following the departure of Millar. Through August 17, Huff batted .253 with 109 hits, 24 doubles, 13 home runs, and 72 RBI in 110 games.

Detroit Tigers (2009)
On August 17, 2009, Huff cleared waivers and was traded to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitching prospect Brett Jacobson. He began his time with the Tigers as the team's DH, but in September he only played against right-handed pitchers as Marcus Thames began playing against left-handed pitchers. He hit his first career pinch-hit home run against Jason Frasor on September 14, a game-tying three-run hit in a 10-inning, 6–5 victory over Toronto.

In 40 games with the Tigers, Huff batted .189/.265/.302 with 20 hits, six doubles, two home runs, and 13 RBI. His season totals were a .241 batting average, 129 hits, 30 doubles, 15 home runs, and 85 RBI in 150 games. Following the season, Huff filed for free agency.

2010
On January 13, 2010, Huff signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. He spent most of the season playing first base for the Giants, although he played left field and right field when Buster Posey played first base from May 29 – June 30 and Travis Ishikawa made most of the starts at first base from July 3 – August 14. On April 14, Huff hit his first career inside-the-park home run (his first home run with the Giants), a game-winning hit against Charlie Morton in a 6–0 victory over the Pirates. On August 28, he got his 1,500th career hit against Alex Sanabia in a 10-inning, 10–9 victory over the Marlins. In 157 games, Huff batted .290 with 165 hits, 35 doubles, 26 home runs, and 86 RBI while scoring 100 runs (tied for seventh in the league with Brandon Phillips, Martín Prado, and Dan Uggla) for the first time in his career. Huff finished seventh in the voting for the NL MVP award.

Huff, in the 11th year of his career, reached the playoffs for the first time as the Giants won the NL West. In Game 4 of the NL Division Series (NLDS) against the Atlanta Braves, he had a ninth-inning, two-out, game-tying RBI single against Mike Dunn in a 3–2 Giants' victory. He batted .267 with four hits and one RBI in the series as the Giants defeated the Braves in four games. He batted .250 with six hits and three RBI in the series as the Giants defeated the Phillies in six games. In Game 4 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers on October 31, he hit a game-winning two-run home run against Tommy Hunter in a 4–0 Giants' victory. He batted .294 with five hits, a home run, and four RBI in the series, winning his first World Series as the Giants defeated the Rangers in five games to win their first World Series in 56 years.

2011
Huff filed for free agency after the 2010 season, but on November 23, 2010, he re-signed with the Giants on a two-year, $22 million contract with a club option for 2013. Coming off the team's 2010 World Series success and his new contract, Huff arrived at 2011 spring training out of shape. He began 2011 in right field due to an injury to Cody Ross, but he returned to first base when Ross was activated from the disabled list on April 20. He drew a pinch-hit, game-winning, bases loaded walk on April 30 against John Lannan in a 2–1 victory over the Washington Nationals. On June 2, his wife's birthday, Huff hit three home runs and drove in a career-high six runs in the Giants' 12–7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. He said after the game, "[My wife] wanted me to hit her a homer. I hit three. Brownie points." Those home runs accounted for a quarter of his season total, as his overall production dropped from the previous season.

For the season, he batted .246/.306/.370. Compared to 2010, his batting average dropped 44 points, his homers fell from 26 to 12, and his walks went from 83 to 47 as he grew impatient. His On-base plus slugging (OPS) dropped 215 points to .676, last among Major League first baseman in 2011. Giants' manager Bruce Bochy said, "[Huff's] struggles helped cause our struggles"; the Giants failed to return to the playoffs in 2011.

2012
In 2012 spring training, Huff competed with Brandon Belt and Brett Pill for the Giants' first base job. Belt won the job, and Huff opened the season as the Giants' left fielder. On April 21, because the Giants did not have any infielders available, Huff was positioned at second base for the first time in his career in the ninth inning of a tied game against the Mets. He failed to cover second base in a potential double play situation, and the Mets went on to win the first game of the doubleheader 5–4. After the game, on April 25, Huff was placed on the 15-day disabled list with anxiety issues.

He returned from the disabled list on May 7, but was used mainly as a pinch hitter for the rest of the season. On June 15, he was placed on the DL with a sprained right knee that he suffered jumping over a dugout railing to celebrate Matt Cain's perfect game. He returned from the DL on July 28 but was placed on it four days later with right knee tendinitis, which kept him out until August 31.

In 52 games, Huff batted .192/.326/.282 with 15 hits, four doubles, one home run, and seven RBI. In the playoffs, Huff was used exclusively as a pinch hitter. In 10 games, he had one hit in nine at-bats but won his second career World Series as the Giants swept the Tigers in four games. On November 1, Huff's $10 million club option was declined, making him a free agent. He instead was paid a $2 million buyout.

Huff hit 242 career home runs, which as of May 16, 2022, ties him for 257th all-time with a number of players. In addition to being used as a designated hitter, he played at five different positions in his career: first base, third base, left field, right field, and second base.

Post-playing career
On January 4, 2014, Huff announced his retirement from baseball and took a position as a baseball color commentator for the Pac-12 Network. On March 31, 2014, Huff started co-hosting a morning radio show on Bay Area sports radio station 95.7 The Game with Chris Townsend and Ric Bucher titled Bucher, Towny and Huff. Huff left the show in August 2014.

Huff was an assistant baseball coach at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, California in 2015. In late 2015, Huff announced he was attempting a comeback three years after playing his final Major League game. In February 2017, he released a book, co-written by Stephen Cassar, entitled Baseball Junkie, in which he opens up about his "battle with anxiety and the pressure of playing in the Major Leagues".

Personal life
On January 27, 2007, Huff married Barbara "Baubi" Heaton. The couple have two sons. During Huff's playing days, they resided in Tampa, Florida, in the off-season. Baubi Huff filed for divorce on January 31, 2012. Although the couple briefly reconciled, they eventually divorced and Huff claimed that a woman could only marry him for money.

Huff has several tattoos. A Transformers fan, he has the logos of the Autobots and Decepticons tattooed on his shoulder blades. On his left shoulder, he also has a tattoo of a guitar with his father's name under it in memory of his father.

Huff said he began taking Adderall in 2009, and was high on it "every game, pretty much" thereafter. He said: "I was crushing 20, sometimes 50, 60, almost 100 milligrams daily". He said he was “high as a kite” during the team's 2010 victory parade, as he struggled with the drug, which he views as a performance-enhancing drug. He said he then developed a dependency on alcohol to help him sleep, drinking 12–15 beers after games.

During the Giants' 2010 playoff race and postseason, Huff became known for wearing a red "rally thong", which he joked would help the team win. When he was slumping in 2011, fans sent him thongs throughout the season in hopes of improving his performance.

In 2014, Huff says he contemplated suicide as he held a .357 Magnum to his head, with its hammer cocked, "ready to pull the trigger".

Politics
Huff has supported the policies of former President Donald Trump, and has made controversial statements considered sexist, transphobic, and violent in nature. In November 2019, a comment Huff posted on Twitter went viral. He stated: "Getting my boys trained up on how to use a gun in the unlikely event @BernieSanders beats @realDonaldTrump in 2020. In which case knowing how to effectively use a gun under socialism will be a must." The tweet was accompanied by a photo of a smiling Huff wearing a pro-Trump T-shirt at a shooting range, holding a used target with many bullet holes in it, and accompanied by two children (presumed to be his sons) whose faces were out of the frame of the picture.

In early January 2020, Huff was criticized after tweeting in response to a comment on the site which talked about invading Iran and kidnapping women from the country. He wrote: "Let's get a flight over and kidnap about 10 each. We can bring them back here as they fan us and feed us grapes, amongst other things." Huff later claimed the tweets were satirical, and continued to post similar tweets.

In mid-January 2020, when the Giants promoted Alyssa Nakken to be an assistant coach, making her the first full-time female assistant coach in the history of MLB, Huff tweeted: "I got in trouble for wearing a thong in my own clubhouse when female reporters were present. Can't imagine how it will play out with a full time female coach running around. This has #metoo & #BelieveAllWomen written all over it. Only in @SFGiants." And then: "Couldn't imagine taking baseball instruction from an ex female softball player. Have fun with that @bcraw35 @bbelt9 @BusterPosey."

His behavior eventually prompted the Giants to ban Huff from a 2020 ceremony honoring their 2010 World Series championship. The team wrote that its reason was: "Aubrey has made multiple comments on social media that are unacceptable and run counter to the values of our organization." Huff claimed that he was banned because of his support for President Trump saying "If you look at my Twitter account, I'd say about 75 percent of my support [is for] President Trump. So, yeah, absolutely. I have every reason to believe in my heart of hearts it was all about President Trump."

In June 2020, Huff criticized people who wear masks to avoid spreading the COVID-19 virus, saying "If you want to wear a mask and live in fear for the rest of your lives, that's certainly your prerogative. But the vast majority of well-adjusted, sane, common sense people that aren't sheep and can reason for themselves agree with me. I understand that coronavirus is real. If you have pre-existing conditions, or you're an old person or—and this is going to sound insensitive, but someone has to say it—you're morbidly obese, then stay the fuck home. Just because that is your plight in life, doesn't mean the whole world has to shut down. If I God forbid get the coronavirus, here's what I do: I go home, I get well and I get back and live my life. I would rather die from coronavirus than live the rest of my life in fear and wear a mask."

Huff has stated that he is not anti-vaccination, rather "anti you telling me I need to get vaxxed." However, his other social media posts and his Twitter bio state that he is an anti-vaxxer.

On August 9, 2021, his Twitter account was permanently suspended, or banned, for what was called "spreading COVID misinformation." On December 16, 2022, Huff's Twitter account was reinstated.

In 2022, Huff ran for the school board in the Solana Beach school district and lost to his opponent, incumbent candidate Debra Schade, garnering just 17.5% of the vote to Schade's 82.5%.

title: Aubrey Huff


text:
Marquess of Hamilton

The title of Marquess of Hamilton has been created twice in British history.

 * For the creation of 1599, see Duke of Hamilton
 * For the creation of 1868, see Duke of Abercorn

title: Marquess of Hamilton