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Lincoln (novel)

Lincoln: A Novel is a 1984 historical novel, part of the Narratives of Empire series by Gore Vidal. The novel describes the presidency of Abraham Lincoln and extends from the start of the American Civil War until his assassination. Rather than focus on the Civil War itself, the novel is centred on Lincoln's political and personal struggles. Though Lincoln is the focus, the book is never narrated from his point of view (with the exception of several paragraphs describing a dream Lincoln had shortly before his death); Vidal instead writes from the perspective of key historical figures. He draws from contemporary diaries, memoirs, letters, newspaper accounts, the biographical writings of John Hay and John Nicolay (Lincoln's secretaries), and the work of modern historians.

Style
The novel is part of Gore Vidal’s ‘Narratives of Empire’ series and joins his other works; Burr (1973), 1876 (1976) and Washington D.C. (1967) as chronicles of America. In the series, Vidal offers works of historical fiction that reinterpret American history starting from the American Revolution to beyond World War II. The book is never narrated from Lincoln’s perspective. Rather, the reader views Lincoln through the eyes of his enemies, friends, political rivalries and even those who sought to kill him. Significant characters include Lincoln’s cabinet secretaries; William Seward, Salmon Chase as well as Kate Sprague, John Hay, Mary Todd Lincoln and David Herold. Much of the writing is presented through dramatic, flamboyant dialogue. Vidal favours this over narration or observational writing, attempting to convey his wit and charisma through his characters. The novel is not simply a work of historical fiction, but with Lincoln's personal and political development it is also a Bildungsroman. Lincoln's development starts with the slow mobilisation and unification of his inner Cabinet, climaxes with his military victory and political restoration of the Union and is completed with his assassination

Plot
The novel commences on February 23, 1861 as Lincoln, the incumbent president, is traveling to Washington for his inauguration. It is in Washington where the majority of the novel is set. Washington is depicted as turbulent and deteriorating with infestations of pests, poor infrastructure, a Capitol building without a dome and an incomplete Washington Monument. The novel comprises Lincoln’s two terms of office through the American civil war. It offers a detailed and extensive narrative, with the book totaling over 650 pages. It focuses on Lincoln's efforts to unite and mobilize political adversaries and military strategists to win the war. It is through the various perspectives of other characters that Vidal portrays an ambitious visionary who struggles with an unstable marriage, physical ailments and the failing trust of his fellow cabinet members. The novel also explores Lincoln’s growth as he overcomes these personal and political burdens to triumph and preserve the union. Vidal completes the novel with President Lincoln’s assassination.

Themes
The central thematic development is the reinterpretation of the idealistic, sentimental ‘Honest Abe.’ Vidal depicts a politically cunning, dictatorial leader whose primary motivation was not the liberation of African American slaves nor adherence to the Constitution, but the preservation of the Union. Vidal even goes far enough to contend that Lincoln held an unshaken belief of white superiority and was willing to 'bend the Constitution,' although this has been significantly criticised. Vidal believes that it was Lincoln's willingness to act unilaterally and suspend democratic principles such as habeas corpus that allowed him to succeed in his unflinching pursuit of unification. He jailed hostile newspaper editors, political opponents and even employed the Secret Service to inspect private communications.

Vidal follows the complex politics of the cabinet and congress. Initially, Lincoln faces political opponents who constantly doubt and undermine his leadership. Indeed, many of Congressman viewed Lincoln as mild-mannered and weak. However, as the novel progresses, the reader comes to understand that Lincoln purposely and cleverly masks his true emotions. Vidal contends that Lincoln's greatest leadership quality is his introverted nature. Dealing with treacherous politicians, arrogant generals and critics, Lincoln was shrewd and cunning to masterfully navigate the United States to unification as a Republic. Despite the incompetent military strategists and petty, squabbling politicians, Lincoln was aware that his primary goal was to hold the North together for as long as possible. This was because the battle was one of attrition and Lincoln knew that the South's smaller population would be exhausted first.

Ultimately, even Lincoln's political rivalries come to respect his leadership. William Seward, once a fierce opponent and underminer of Lincoln transforms into a devoted servant.

There were also shortcomings of Lincoln. He is depicted as hopelessly naive in dealing with the remarkable costs of financing the war and dealing with the US Treasury. He also struggles as a father. His son, Robert, confides in Hay and reveals that he feels neglected. He comes to resent his father's political ambition that caused him to be so preoccupied and distant. His wife's mood swings and insatiable spending further challenge Lincoln's stoicism; whilst the marriage is turbulent, the two seem to share a strong bond.

With frequent light-hearted ‘outlandish’ anecdotes and humour, Vidal sought to also explore the human side of Lincoln. Vidal perceived Lincoln's humour as a necessity to dealing with his many great burdens.

Mary Todd Lincoln
Lincoln deeply loved his wife and struggled greatly with her mental collapse. She is depicted as a vulnerability in Lincoln's political tactics, frequently clashing with Congressman.

Nonetheless, Vidal's representation of Mary is mostly positive. She is seen as an intelligent and decent person who unfortunately succumbs to fits of insanity characterised by wild mood swings and insatiable spending.

John Hay
John Hay was Lincoln's personal secretary. He is represented as a close friend and confidant of Lincoln. He was a young man at the time of Lincoln's presidency and was energetic and high-spirited, even through the more challenging times of the war.

William Seward
Seward was the U.S Secretary of State and is depicted as a handsome, yet politically cunning rival of Lincoln. Initially Seward was a believer that the Southern States should be allowed to pursue their legal right of independence; however, under Lincoln's leadership he came to understand the importance of unification. He was an outspoken member of Lincoln's cabinet, and oversaw the war effort.

Salmon P. Chase
Chase was Lincoln's Secretary of the U.S Treasury during most of his first term in office, and is depicted as being as interested in developing his candidacy for the 1864 presidential election as he was in his cabinet role. He, like many other politicians, doubted Lincoln's leadership ability, believing that only a more radical abolitionist than Lincoln (someone like Chase himself) would be able to guide the country through its time of great peril. Lincoln shrewdly neutralized Chase's insurgent candidacy for the Republican nomination in 1864 and Chase is left humbled and with limited prospects.

David Herold and John Wilkes Booth
Herold and Booth are the coconspirators who devised and successfully executed a plan to assassinate Lincoln.

Herold despises Lincoln's attempts at unification. He is depicted as unintelligent and frequently engages in debauchery, visiting brothels in Washington. He fantasizes about being a hero of the Confederacy and even poisoning the President through his job as a pharmacy clerk. He eventually finds a group of like-minded individuals who also seek to kill Lincoln, and it is here where he meets Booth.

John Booth is the assassin of Lincoln. Booth is not as incompetent as Herold, but is also a hate-filled enemy of Lincoln. He seeks to avenge the defeat of the South, and stalks Lincoln throughout the novel, swearing revenge. His narrative climaxes with the assassination of Lincoln and subsequent daring escape.

List of named characters
The characters in Lincoln include dozens of historical as well as purely fictional figures. This list of named characters includes those that appear or are mentioned in the novel. They are listed in order of appearance or mention (mentions marked with an *).

Part 1 – Ch 1
 * Elihu Washburne – Congressman from Illinois
 * Gautier – DC caterer, rumored to be the lost Dauphin
 * William Seward – Senator from NY, Lincoln’s rival for Republican nomination
 * Pinkerton – Detective, Lincoln’s bodyguard
 * Abraham Lincoln – President elect, then President
 * Ward Hill Lamon – Lincoln’s bodyguard, later Constable of DC
 * General Winfield Scott – Commander of the US Army, victor of Mexican War
 * Mary Todd Lincoln – First lady
 * Robert Lincoln – Lincoln’s son
 * Widow Spriggs – Lincoln’s DC landlady in the 1840s
 * James Buchanan – Lame duck 15th president
 * William Dodge – NY merchant
 * Mike – porter at Willard’s Hotel
 * Stephen Douglas – Northern Democratic presidential candidate, defeated by Lincoln
 * John Breckinridge – Southern Democratic presidential candidate, defeated by Lincoln
 * John Tyler – former president
 * Zachary Taylor – former president
 * Salmon P. Chase – Abolitionist, Senator from OH, Lincoln’s Treasury Secretary
 * Edward Bates – Whig politician
 * Gideon Welles – Democrat, Lincoln’s Secretary of the Navy
 * Thurlow Weed – Publisher of the Albany Evening Journal

Ch 2
 * David Herold – Pharmacy clerk, Washington Wild Boy, former brothel handyman
 * Annie Surrat – David’s friend
 * Mrs. Surrat – Annie’s mother, owner of a Maryland truck farm
 * John Surrat – owner of a Maryland truck farm, dying
 * John Surrat – Son of Mr. and Mrs. Surrat, catholic, studying for priesthood
 * Isaac Surrat – Son of Mr. and Mrs. Surrat, engineer
 * Mrs. Herold – David’s mother, furniture store proprietress
 * Jefferson Davis – president of confederacy
 * Sarah “Sal” Austin – Madam
 * Julia – Madam

Ch 3
 * James Polk – Former president when Lincoln was in congress
 * Edward McManus – White House doorkeeper, “Old Edward”
 * Harriet Lane – President Buchanan’s niece, de facto first lady
 * the Other Edward – President Buchanan’s waiting room manager
 * Edwin Stanton – Buchanan’s Attorney General, later special counsel to Secretary of War; later Lincoln’s second Secretary of War
 * Mr Floyd – Secretary of War under Buchanan
 * Robert E Lee – Army colonel
 * Major Anderson – Union officer in charge of Ft Sumter

Ch 4
 * John Hay – Lincoln’s secretary, appointed to position at Treasury Dept
 * John George Nicolay – Lincoln’s secretary
 * William Herndon – Lincoln’s law partner in Springfield
 * Tad Lincoln – Lincoln’s son (7)
 * Willie Lincoln – Lincoln’s son (10)
 * Charles Sumner – Senator from MA, abolitionist
 * Sarah Helen Whitman – Providence poet, professor, one-time fiancée of EA Poe
 * Henry Clay – Senator from KY
 * William Cullen Bryant – Editor of New York Evening Post
 * Horace Greeley – New York editor
 * Henry Adams – Harvard student, friend of Robert Lincoln, son of Charles Francis Adams

Ch 5
 * Simon Cameron – Lincoln’s first Secretary of War
 * The Blairs – Political family from MD
 * John Brown – Abolitionist, hanged
 * Reverend Garrison – Abolitionist, imprisoned
 * Kate Chase – Chase’s daughter (20) and de facto hostess at his house
 * Nettie Chase – Chase’s daughter (13)
 * Alexander Stephens – Congressman from VA, VP of Confederacy
 * Philip Barton Key – Murder victim, son of Francis Scott Key
 * Dan Sickles – Congressman from NY, acquitted murderer of Key in a fit of jealous rage
 * Elizabeth Grimsley – Lincoln’s cousin, “Cousin Lizzie”
 * Eddie Lincoln – Lincoln’s son, deceased at 3 years of age

Ch 7
 * Henry D. Cooke – Editor of Ohio State Journal, friend of Chase
 * Jay Cooke – Wealthy Philadelphia financier
 * Philander Chase – Episcopalian bishop in Ohio
 * Miss Haines – Finishing schoolmistress
 * Francis Preston Blair – The “Old Gentleman,” former editor of the Congressional Globe, friend of Jackson, kingmaker
 * Frank Blair – Blair’s son, Republican congressman from Missouri
 * Montgomery Blair – Blair’s son, lawyer in Maryland, Lincoln’s Postmaster General

Ch 8
 * Scipione Grillo – Musician, restaurateur
 * Mr. Scala – Conductor of the Marine Band
 * William S. Thompson – Pharmacist, employer of David Herold
 * Elvira – Cleaning woman at pharmacy
 * Dr Hardinge – Jefferson Davis’s physician
 * Mr Dayton – Whig politician
 * Elmer E. Ellsworth – Drillmaster of the Zouaves
 * Hannibal Hamlin – Lincoln’s VP, Senator from Maine
 * Edwin Forest – Actor
 * Roger B. Taney – Chief Justice

Ch 9
 * James Gordon Bennett – Publisher of New York Herald
 * Chester – Butler at Sal Austin’s brothel
 * Marie-Jeanne – Prostitute

Ch 10
 * John Bright – British MP
 * William Gladstone – British PM
 * Elizabeth Keckley – Dressmaker to Mrs. Lincoln
 * Nelson – Todd family butler in KY
 * Mammy Sally – Todd family nanny in KY
 * Judge Turner – Lexington judge
 * Caroline Turner – Cruel wife of Judge Tuner, slave murderer
 * Richard – Turner slave, murderer of Caroline in self defense

Ch 11
 * Empress Eugenie – Last empress of France, wife of Napoleon III
 * Calvin Fairbanks – Abolitionist minister with slave buyback scheme
 * Eliza – Slave bought at auction by Fairbanks, freed in KY
 * Lord Lyons – British minister to USA
 * Benjamin Disraeli – British Chancellor of the Exchequer
 * Caleb B. Smith – Lincoln’s Secretary of the Interior, from KY, conservative
 * Captain Fox – Union naval officer
 * Frederick Seward – Seward’s son, Undersecretary of State

Ch 12
 * General Beauregard – Confederate general in SC
 * Mrs. Alexander – Member of founding family of Alexandria, VA
 * Doctor Breckinridge – Former VP’s uncle, unionist in KY
 * Governor Pickens – Governor of SC
 * Senator Hale – Senator from NH

Ch 13
 * Mr. Mayberry – Alexandria tavernkeeper, Confederate information monger
 * Mr. Brown – Mayor of Baltimore
 * Benjamin Butler – Union general, commander of 8th Massachusetts Regiment, commander at Ft Monroe
 * Henry Wikoff – Diplomat, memoirist, the “Chevalier,” friend of Sickles and Mrs. Lincoln
 * Queen Isabella – Queen of Spain
 * Napoleon III – Emperor of France
 * Joseph Bonaparte – Napoleon’s uncle
 * Lord Palmerston – British diplomat and intelligence agent
 * Charles Schermerhorn Schuyler – Diplomat, author
 * Victor Hugo – French novelist
 * Larmatine – French politician
 * The Misses Mentelle – Sisters, mistresses of French academy in Lexington
 * Emilie Helm – Mrs. Lincoln’s half sister, “Little Sister”
 * Ben Hardin Helm – Mrs. Lincoln’s brother in law, West Pointer

Ch 15
 * William Sprague – Governor of RI, the “boy governor”
 * Ambrose Burnside – West Point grad, Union commander, former RR man with Lincoln
 * Zach Chandler – Senator from MI
 * Senator Hale – Senator from NH
 * Bessie Hale – Senator Hale’s daughter, inamorata of John Wilkes Booth
 * Thaddeus Stevens – Congressman from PA, chair of Ways and Means Committee
 * M. Mercier – French minister to US
 * Baron Gerolt – Prussian minister to US
 * Governor Hardin – Governor of Kentucky
 * Mr. Watt – White House groundsman
 * William S. Wood – Commissioner of Public Buildings

Ch 16
 * Mrs Cuthbert – White House housekeeper
 * Mr Anderson – Virginia innkeeper, Marshall House

Ch 17
 * Mr Stevens – President of New York Bank of Commerce
 * Mr Vail – Cashier of New York Bank of Commerce
 * Morris Ketchum – Independent banker
 * William Henry Aspenwall – Independent banker
 * Mr Merryman – Prisoner of US Army in Baltimore, held without charge
 * General Cadwalder – Union leader at Ft McHenry

Ch 18
 * Irvin McDowell – General, Union Army of the Potomac
 * General Mansfield – Union commander
 * General McClellan – Union commander
 * Charles Francis Adams – US minister to England
 * John Bigelow – Former editor of NY Evening Post, US minister to France
 * General Johnston – Confederate commander at Harper’s Ferry
 * General Bates – Union commander
 * General Fremont – Union commander in West
 * John Forney – Clerk of the Senate, editor of Washington Chronicle
 * William O. Stoddard – Mrs. Lincoln’s aide

Ch 19
 * William Fessenden – Senator from ME, later Secretary of Treasury after Chase
 * LymanTrumbull – Senator from IL
 * William Howard Russell – Times of London war correspondent
 * William Sanford – Union captain, General McClellan’s aide
 * Julia Trumbull – Senator Trumbull’s wife, former friend of Mrs Lincoln
 * James Gordon Bennett, Jr. – Bennett’s son

Ch 20
 * Rose Greenhow – Great-niece of Dolly Madison, Aunt of Stephen Douglas, confederate informant
 * Bettie Duvall – Confederate informant
 * Reverend Doctor James Smith – Presbyterian minister from Springfield, friend of Mrs Lincoln, proposed as US minister to Scotland
 * Benjamin Wade – Senator from OH, radical abolitionist
 * James Grimes – Senator from IA
 * Henry Wilson – Senator from MA
 * George Washington – Headwaiter at Willard’s Hotel

Part 2 - Ch 1
 * Major French – Commissioner of Public Buildings
 * Alexander T. Stewart – NY department store magnate
 * Edward D. Baker – Former IL senator and friend of Lincoln
 * General Hunter – Union commander
 * General Henry E. Halleck – Union commander in West; protégé of Scott
 * Senator Johnson – Senator from TN, Unionist
 * Clausewitz – German political theorist
 * Judge Davis – Friend of Lincoln, appointed to the Supreme Court
 * Baron Stueckl – Russian minister to US

Ch 2
 * Prince Albert – Husband of Queen Victoria
 * Count of Paris – Prince, rightful king of France, visiting US
 * Duke of Chartres – the prince’s brother
 * Prince of Joinville – The prince’s uncle
 * Emily Glendenning – Actress
 * John T. Ford – Theater owner
 * Chicken Henderson – Poultry Merchant, informant
 * Zadoc Jenkins – Mrs. Surrat’s brother
 * Father Jenkins – President of St Charles College in MD
 * Susan Henderson – Family friend of Chase
 * Baron Schleiden – Hanseatic minister to US
 * Joseph Holt – Pro Union Democrat in Buchanan’s cabinet

Ch 3
 * Mr. Wormley – Washington restaurateur
 * Joshua Speed – Lincoln’s old friend from IL
 * Mr. Hill – Store owner in IL, Lincoln’s old friend
 * Dr. Prettyman – Brothel physician
 * Dr. Drake – Physician from Cincinnati
 * Mr. Chatterton – Herndon’s friend, office-seeker
 * General Buell – Union officer in west
 * General Franklin – Union officer
 * F. E. Spinner – US Treasurer
 * Mr. Meigs – Union quartermaster general

Ch 4
 * Mrs. Watt – John Watt’s wife, on the White House payroll as steward
 * Mr. Waterman – Rich man from NY
 * John Hickman – Congressman from PA, abolitionist, Chair of joint congressional commission on the conduct of the war
 * Mrs. Crittendon – Washington society lady
 * Mrs. Welles – Wife of Congressman Welles
 * Ulysses S. Grant – Brigadier General from IL
 * Elizabeth Edwards – Mrs. Lincoln’s sister

Ch 5
 * General Viele – Union commander
 * Commodore Goldsborough – Union naval officer
 * John E. Wool – Union commander at Ft Monroe
 * General Hooker – Union commander at Williamsburg

Ch 6
 * Joe Johnston – Confederate commander at Richmond
 * Therena Bates – Nicolay’s fiancée
 * Hole-in-the-Day – Native American leader
 * General Pope – Union commander from IL; “Old Brains”
 * James A. Garfield – Union general from OH, major-general at Chickamauga, later congressman
 * Lucretia Garfield – General Garfield’s wife
 * Mrs Laury – Spiritualist medium

Ch 7
 * Azadia – prostitute
 * E. M. Thomas – African American leader
 * Frederick Douglass – African American leader
 * Princess Alice – Daughter of Queen Victoria
 * Grand Duke of Hesse – Princess Alice’s betrothed
 * Adele Douglas – Widow of Stephen Douglas
 * Harris Hoyt – Texas cotton merchant and would-be smuggler; colleague of Sprague
 * Mr Thayer – Potential governor of East Florida
 * Governor Dayton – Corrupt governor of OH
 * Fred Ives – RI journalist and speechwriter for Sprague
 * Byron Sprague – Industrialist, Sprague’s cousin
 * Charles E Prescott – Shipfitter

Ch 8
 * James Trimble – White House steward
 * Jimmy – White House maintenance man
 * Anna Miles – Herdon’s bride
 * James Stanton – Stanton’s infant son
 * Mr. Wadsworth – Republican candidate for Governor of NY
 * Horatio Seymore – Democratic Governor of NY
 * Andrew Johnson – Republican Governor of TN
 * William S. Rosenkrans – Union commander

Ch 9
 * Charles Eames – Publisher, diplomat
 * Mrs. Eames – Eames’s wife, fashionable hostess
 * Baroness Gerolt – Gerolt’s wife
 * Carlotta Gerolt – Gerolt’s daughter
 * M. Mercier – French diplomat
 * Otto von Bismarck – Prussian chancellor
 * Manton Marble – Editor of the New York World
 * Mr. Sullivan – Saloon keeper, Confederate spy
 * ”The Colonel” – Head of Confederate intelligence in DC
 * Artemus Ward – Comic author
 * Preston King – Republican Senator from NY
 * Laurence Stern – English author
 * Jacob Collamer – Senator from VT

Ch 10
 * Mrs. Stanton – Stanton’s wife
 * Mrs Caleb Smith – Smith’s wife
 * John Usher – Appointed Secretary of the Interior, from IN
 * Sam Todd – Mrs. Lincoln’s half brother, killed at Shiloh
 * Aleck Todd – Mrs. Lincoln’s half brother, killed at Baton Rouge, “Little Aleck”
 * Clement C. Valladigham – Congressman from OH, Democratic “copperhead”
 * William O’Connor – Treasury Department clerk, novelist
 * Ralph Waldo Emerson – Poet
 * Walt Whitman – Poet, appointment seeker
 * Mr. Taylor – NY saloonkeeper
 * George Whitman – Whitman’s brother, Union soldier
 * Mrs. Whitman – Whitman’s mother

Ch 11
 * Corporal Stone – Confederate soldier, Mrs. Lincoln’s friend from KY
 * John Todd – Mrs. Lincoln’s cousin, Confederate general
 * John Hunt Morgan – Confederate commander from KY
 * Mrs. Todd – Mrs. Lincoln’s stepmother
 * Charles Hay – Hay’s brother
 * Fanny Sprague – Sprague’s mother, New England matriarch
 * Roscoe Conkling – Congressman from NY

Ch 12
 * George Meade – Union general
 * Governor Curtin – Governor of PA
 * The Biddles – Patrician family of PA
 * Mrs. Pomroy – Mrs. Lincoln’s nurse
 * Captain Rewalt – Union physician from PA
 * Mr. Chandler – War Department telegraph operator
 * Miss Hooper – Daughter of Georgetown merchant
 * P.T. Barnum – Impresario
 * Tom Thumb – Entertainer
 * Mrs. Thumb – Entertainer
 * Admiral Porter – Union naval commander
 * Mrs. Hanks – Lincoln’s mother
 * John C. Calhoun – Slavery advocate
 * Senator Morgan – Senator from NY
 * Samuel J. Tilden – Former governor of NY
 * Martin Van Buren – Former president
 * Archbishop Hughes – Catholic archbishop of NY

Part 3 - Ch 1
 * Mr. Grover – Theater owner
 * E. L. Davenport – Actor
 * J. W. Wallack – Actor
 * Miss Cushman – Actor
 * Edward Spangler – Stagehand
 * Edwin Forrest – Actor
 * Junius Brutus Booth – Actor, father of John Wilkes Booth
 * Edwin Booth – Actor, brother of John Wilkes Booth
 * J.B. Booth, Jr. – Theater manager
 * Mrs. Siddons – Actor
 * Senator Pomeroy – Senator from KS, Chase’s campaign manager
 * Whitelaw Reid – Journalist from Cincinnati Gazette
 * Ella Turner – John Wilkes Booth’s date
 * F. W. Hurtt – Henry Cooke’s partner, owner of Ohio State Journal
 * Isaac J. Allen – Editor and partner in Ohio State Journal
 * Hiram Barney – Customs collector, Port of New York
 * General Magruder – Union commander in Galveston
 * William Wheatley – Actor

Ch 2
 * Ira Harris – Senator from NY
 * Teresa Sickles – Sickles’s wife
 * Katherine Helm – Emilie’s daughter

Ch 3
 * Schuyler Colfax – Speaker of the House
 * James G. Blaine – Congressman from ME, newspaper editor
 * James A. Garfield – Congressman, Union major-general at Chickamauga
 * John T. Trowbridge – Chase’s biographer
 * Senator Sherman – Senator and pamphleteer
 * Mr. Winchell – NY journalist and pamphleteer
 * Isaac Newton – Director of Agriculture Bureau
 * Simeon Draper – Collector, Port of New York
 * Fred Grant – General Grant’s son
 * William Mortimer – Government appointee, friend of Mrs. Lincoln
 * William Tecumseh Sherman – Union general

Ch 4
 * James S. Wadsworth – Union general, friend of Lincoln
 * Governor Andrew – Governor of NY
 * Mr. Dickinson – NY politician
 * Emperor Maximillian – French ruler in Mexico
 * Julia Ward Howe – Poet
 * John Burrows – Treasury Department clerk, literary man
 * Maunsell B. Field – Chase’s aide and protégé
 * Baron Renfrew – Prince of Wales
 * Jenny Lind – Swedish soprano
 * John C. Cisco – Treasurer of NY
 * Senator Morgan – Senator from NY
 * Senator Chase – Senator from NY
 * Dave Tod – Governor of OH, nominated by Lincoln as Secretary of the Treasury
 * General Schenk – Union commander
 * Mr. Hooper – Congressman, friend of Chase
 * Senator Conness – Senator
 * Louis XVI – King of France
 * M. Necker – Louis’ finance minister

Ch 5
 * Jubal Early – Confederate general at Washington
 * Lew Wallace – Union general at Monocacy Junction
 * Horatio Wright – Union major general at Washington
 * Abram Wakeman – Candidate for Surveyor of NY
 * A.T. Stewart – NY merchant
 * Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. – Union lieutenant colonel, son of the poet

Ch 6
 * Philip Sheridan – Union general
 * Admiral Farragut – Union naval commander
 * Mr. Nichols – Union soldier in Lincoln’s guard
 * Mr. Raymond – Publisher of the New York Times

Ch 7
 * Petroleum V. Nasby – Comic author
 * John A. Dix – Union commander of the Department of the East
 * William Dennison – Postmaster General after Blair
 * Major Eckert – Union officer
 * Noah Brooks – Journalist from CA, Lincoln’s second term secretary

Ch 8
 * Mr. Walsh – Druggist in Navy Yard, Washington
 * Mr. Lloyd – The Surrat’s tenant in MD
 * Mr. and Mrs. Holohan – Surrat’s boarders in Washington
 * James Speed – Springfield attorney, brother of Joshua Speed, nominated for Attorney General
 * Charles S. Prescott – Smuggler
 * William H. Reynolds – Smuggler

Ch 9
 * Alexander H. Stevens – Confederate Vice President
 * John A. Campbell – Former Supreme Court Justice, Confederate negotiator
 * R.M.T. Hunter – Former Senator, Confederate negotiator
 * Lewis Payne – Conspirator, aka Lewis Powell of Mosby’s Raiders, “The Terrible Lew”
 * George Atzerodt – Boatman, smuggler, conspirator
 * Avonia Jones – Actress
 * Major French – Director of Lincoln’s second inauguration
 * Hugh M. McCulloch – Secretary of Treasury after Fessenden

Ch 10
 * Mr. Crook – Tad Lincoln’s bodyguard
 * James Ord – Commanding General, Union Army of the James
 * Mrs. Griffiths – Wife of Union general
 * Mrs. Ord – Ord’s wife
 * Major Seward – Seward’ nephew
 * General Weitzer – Union officer at Richmond

Ch 11
 * Laura Keene – Comic actress
 * Miss Harris – Daughter of Senator Harris
 * Major Rathbone – Miss Harris’s fiancé
 * Isaac – Lincoln’s friend from Chicago
 * Tom Pendel – White House doorkeeper
 * Emma Schuyler – Daughter of Charles Schuyler, Princess d’Agrigent
 * Prince d’Agrigent – French aristocrat, Emma’s estranged husband

Critical and Public Reception
The critical reception of the book has been widely varied. With a rating of 4.21/5 stars from 8,256 ratings on Goodreads, the wider public mostly enjoyed the narrative as a work of historical fiction. Common themes among reviewers were the novel’s entertaining style and accessibility.

The Washington Post also wrote a positive review at the time of publication, praising Vidal’s well practiced craftsmanship in skilfully creating a satisfying read. This positive praise was reflected in The New York Review of Books.

In addition, the book was subject to critical backlash, primarily from academic historians. Roy P. Basler contends that much of Lincoln’s life never happened as told by Vidal. This historical inaccuracy extends to the character’s personalities and physical attributes. Significantly, Vidal faced intense criticism for his depiction of a racist Lincoln, and a syphilitic deranged Mary Todd Lincoln. Despite the novel’s genre of historical narrative, the purported distortion in facts was seen as potentially damaging to the public.

John Alvis published a review of the novel in The Claremont Review of Books. According to Alvis, the book is ‘disappointing for being at bottom inadequate.’ It was contended that Vidal’s novel succumbed to melodrama, historical inaccuracy and sensationalism. The Dean of Lincoln Scholars Richard N. Current took great exception to his novel, starting a running feud with Vidal in the pages of The New York Review of Books.

However, within academic quarters there was also positive reception. Harold Bloom, the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University, published a review in the New York Review of Books, where he called the book ‘superb’ and ‘grand entertainment.’ Vidal was also described as an impressive writer who has helped shape popular consciousness and offer an alternative view on the dominant understanding of American society and history.

Awards
In 1985 Vidal was awarded the [https://www.cwrtnyc.org/barondess-lincoln-award.html#:~:text=The%20Benjamin%20Barondess%20Award%20was,be%20presented%20in%20his%20memory. Benjamin Barondess Award] for the novel. The recipient of the award receives a sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, specifically a bust. It is presented annually "to any person or institution and for any contribution to the greater appreciation of the life and works of Abraham Lincoln as decided upon by the award committee.”

It also was placed on the Torchlight List that recognises 200 works that equip people with concepts to help them comprehend the complexities of the modern world. The list is definitive and was devised by Jim Flynn, a professor who lectures at the University of Otago.

It was also placed on the New York Times Best Seller List in 1984.

Adaptation
Lincoln, a made-for-TV film based on the novel, first aired in 1988 in two parts on March 27 and March 28. It stars Sam Waterston as Lincoln and Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Todd Lincoln.

It differed from the book by focussing less on the personal struggle and growth of Lincoln, but more on the war itself. Both the director and lead actress were awarded Emmys for their work on the miniseries.

Writing and Publication
The book was published in 1984 by Penguin Random House LLC. Vidal claimed that the book was researched and written over a period of 5 years. It largely draws from primary sources, including newspapers, diaries, and letters of the time. Like Vidal's other historical fiction works, such as Washington D.C. and Burr: A Novel, Vidal includes an extraordinary amount of detail, and attempts to follow the documented record closely.

Vidal’s Lincoln was considered a commercial success. It was on The New York Times’ best-seller chart for 22 weeks and sold over 250 000 hard cover copies. The Afterword of the novel thanks Professor David Herbert Donald of Harvard’s History Department for fact checking the manuscript.

title: Lincoln (novel)


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Star Academy (Arabia)

Star Academy Arab World or Star Academy Arabia, is an Arab world televised talent show, which aired from December 19, 2003, to January 29, 2016. The show features a group of young male and female candidates who are selected from a pan-Arab pool of more than three-thousand and are sequestered for four months in "The Academy," a four-story building in Lebanon, where they live, train, and compete against one another every week. The show became an instant success and an everyday much-watched event across the Arab world.

The show was adapted from a French show of the same name and is produced by Dutch company Endemol, Vanilla Productions & PAC Ltd. Star Academy Arab World is based on the Spanish format Operación Triunfo.

The show centers around the 16 candidates who compete in weekly talent competitions, singing, dancing, and acting during on-stage performances. At the end of every week, one contestant is kicked off by a public vote by the viewers.

One of the show's highlights are the guest appearances of some of the Arab world's most important singers and performers such as Najwa Karam, Angham, Haifa Wahbe, Assala Nasri, Ehab Tawfik, Elissa, Myriam Fares, Nawal Al-Zoghbi, Abdallah Al Rowaished, Wael Kfoury, Latifa, Carole Samaha, Sherine, Saad Lamjarred and many more. The show has also been successful for its reinvention and continuous changes, just as, starting from the third season, the show witnessed guests from international superstars such as Julio Iglesias, Anggun, Karl Wolf, Tina Arena and Chris De Burgh.

Overview
Based in Adma, a city north of Beirut, Lebanon, the show is aired for 4 months on the Egyptian TV station CBC and on the Lebanese terrestrial channel LBC and is hosted by Hilda Khalife. The show follows 16 candidates through their weeks living in "The Academy," training with "teachers," and performing their talents in live on-stage shows. While many choose to sing, talents are not restricted to vocal performances; acting and dancing are also common talents.

The show takes on a few different formats depending on the day of the week. Every day, there is a one-hour "access" show that goes over the day's important and exciting events. On Friday, there is a live performance show where the candidates compete against each other, sometimes alongside famous domestic and international stars, and are voted off one by one. In addition, viewers can tune into "The Academy" 24/7 by watching LBC Reality, a dedicated satellite station.

The concept of the show is training the students in several disciplines: singing, acting, sports, vocalizing, theatre expression, dancing, and musical culture. Then, each Monday, the three weakest students are nominated. The nomination is done by the teaching staff after the candidates undergo an evaluation test the day before Sunday. On Friday, a special live show called "Prime" is broadcast. During the prime show, the candidates perform and sing either by themselves or with guest artists. The three nominated candidates' initial voting is through the public, done by either phone calls or text messages. The one with the highest percentage of votes returns. The two remaining candidates are then voted on by their fellow candidates, and the one with the most votes remains. The other candidate has to leave the academy immediately. When the overall number of candidates is reduced, the nomination by the professors comes down to two students. At this point, it's completely up to the public to vote who is in and who is out, as the remaining candidates do not vote.

The show proved to be immensely popular. As both the LBC and CBC stations provide satellite connections to more than two dozen Arab countries and also to Arab communities throughout the world, it became one of the most popular shows in the Arab-speaking world. In Saudi Arabia in particular, Star Academy was a media event so popular that its broadcasts achieved record ratings, emptied streets in major cities like Jedda, animated debates, inspired Mosque sermons, and widely distracted students from focusing on final exams in May 2004. (Al-Humaydan, 2005) CBC And LBCI, the networks airing the show, reaped huge profits from the show but have been unable to replicate the show's success with other reality shows.

This debate also caused the indefinite postponing of West Asian edition of Big Brother, also known as Big Brother – Al Raiss.

Conservative response
While the show is immensely popular among viewers, especially in Saudi Arabia, many conservative and religious leaders have criticized the show for promoting anti-Islamic behavior and ideals. Star Academy has sparked intense debates over the role of Islam in public life, Western cultural influence, gender relations, and political participation and has subverted Wahhabi notions of social order. In response to countless questions from religious Saudi viewers who questioned whether or not it was religiously haram (prohibited) or halal (permitted) to watch the show and participate in the voting component of Star Academy, the Permanent Committee for Scientific Research and the Issuing of Fatwas issued a related fatwa (religious ruling) that prohibited watching, discussing, voting in, or participating in Star Academy, as well as urging businessmen not to finance this or any similar show.

According to the Committee, the fatwa was issued because the show carried a number of serious issues including "free mixing of the sexes," "the wanton display and unveiling on the part of the women displaying their charms," and blatant promotion of immorality by "making Muslims get used to seeing these shameful scenes that provoke desires and by distancing them from good morals and virtues." The Committee also declared that simply not watching the show was not sufficient; it is also the duty of all practicing Muslims to advise those who watch or take part in the show that it is against religious law.

Many individuals have also spoken out against the show, citing religious reasoning as well. An Imam as Mecca’s Great Mosque called Star Academy a "weapon of mass destruction." Sahwi activists distributed a series of audiocassette sermons entitled "Satan Academy" while still others created similar sermons that compared the reality show to the virulent virus that had caused severe respiratory syndrome in the population. Religious leaders were not the only one to speak out against the show, though. Al-Riyah published a number of hostile op-eds entitled "Star Academy: A Corrupt Satellite Industry" and "Star Academy… The Other Terrorism" that harshly criticized the show.

Liberal response
While there was much criticism of the show by the area’s more conservative members of society, many liberals praised the novel approach to television media. Numerous reporters in Saudi newspapers praised Star Academy as an alternative to the extremist dogma that had taken over mass media in the nation. In their view, the show acted as an invitation to dialogue as well as an inspiring lesson in democracy. In a column entitled "Star Academy’s Democracy" a female Saudi journalist wrote that "Arabs sheid away from voting because …[of fraud]… until satellite television… corrupted us by inciting us to vote: "vote you are the referee"…"nominate your favorite candidate"…the Arab viewer has become obsessed with voting because results resemble election results in the United States, where unlike Arab elected, no body wins by 99.9 percent but rather by logical proportions."

Other liberals were exasperated by the conservatives’ excessive reaction to Star Academy. Another female journalist writing for Arab news asked "how vulnerable must we be if a TV program can ‘destroy our moral standards and teach our children bad things."

A major liberal voice hailed from within the royal family when Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal, a major stakeholder in LBC, supported Star Academy by sending his private plane to Beirut to bring the winner back to Saudi Arabia.

A "Patriot Night"
On 14 February 2005, Rula Sa'd, the Director of Marketing and Promotions at the LBC acted in her role as "Director of the Academy" to announce to the contestants that Rafiq al-Hariri had been assassinated and that Lebanon was in mourning. This was one of the only instances in the show's history that a real-life event had intruded upon The Academy. Like other Lebanese channels, LBC suspended its regular programing to focus all attention on the aftermath of the assassination, including a ten-day hiatus of Star Academy. The show resumed on Friday, 25 February with an episode that critics deemed "The Patriotic Night" during which the contestants, along with Arab celebrities and contestants from past seasons came together and sung a number of patriotic songs in solidarity with the mourning nation. Not once throughout the program was al-Hariri's name said; instead, the show was made to be a demonstration of renewed patriotism.

Major controversy began when it came time to vote off that week's losing contestant. That week, the three nominees for expulsion included a Bahraini man Ahmad Salaheddin, a Syrian woman Joey Bassous, and a Lebanese man, Samer Doumit. Per contest rules, the public votes to save one contestant, and the remaining two are voted for by the other non nominated contestants. The Bahraini man was rescued by the public, but the Syrian women, despite getting higher ratings than Doumit by the public, was ultimately voted off the show.

The ousting was said to echo the tension that already existed between Syria and Lebanon post-assassination, as there was widespread suspicion that the Syrians were implicated in the crime.

Winners
The winners for the various series were:
 * Star Academy 1 (2003–2004): 🇪🇬 Mohamed Attieh
 * Star Academy 2 (2004–2005): 🇸🇦 Hisham Abdulrahman
 * Star Academy 3 (2005–2006): 🇱🇧 Joseph Attieh
 * Star Academy 4 (2006–2007): 🇮🇶 Shatha Hassoun
 * Star Academy 5 (2008): 🇹🇳 Nader Guirat
 * Star Academy 6 (2009): 🇸🇦 Abdulaziz Abdulrahman
 * Star Academy 7 (2010): Nassif Zeitoun
 * Star Academy 8 (2011): 🇪🇬 Nesma Mahgoub
 * Star Academy 9 (2013–2014): 🇪🇬 Mahmoud Mohy
 * Star Academy 10 (2014): 🇪🇬 Mohamed Chahine
 * Star Academy 11 (2015–2016): 🇱🇧 Marwan Youssef

Teachers

 * Academy Director:Roula Saad (Seasons 1 to 8) / Claudia Marchelian (Seasons 9 to 11)
 * Contestant Supervisor: Fouad Fadel
 * Voice Instructor: Wadih Abi Raad / Khalil Abu Obeid / Hicham Boulos/ Carla Ramia
 * Music Instructor: Michel Fadel/ Amir Theyma
 * Vocalize Instructor: Mary Mahfoud/ Pierre Samia
 * Dance Instructor: Alissar Caracalla/ Hadi Awada
 * Drama Instructor: Betty Taoutel/ Gabriel Yammine/ Aida Sabra
 * Fitness Instructor: George Assaf ( change annually )

Star Academy 1
The first season of Star Academy 1 made its debut in early December 2003. The first season ended on 4 April 2004. The winner was the Egyptian candidate, Mohammad Attia.

The inaugural show quickly became popular and tickets for the show became harder to get as the show went on. The students, particularly the Top 8, became household names, and those that made the Top 8 became instant stars. The eight finalists were Mohammad Attia (Egypt), Bashar Al Shatty (Kuwait), Sophia El Mareekh (Morocco), Bahaa' El Kafy (Tunisia), Ahmed El Sherif (Tunisia), Myriam Attallah (Syria), Mohammad Khalawi (Saudi Arabia) and Cynthia Karam (Lebanon). The teachers were as follows: Wadih Abi Raad, Michael Fadel, Mary Mahfouth, Betty Taoutel, Aida Sabra, Elissar Karakalla and Rola Saad. At the end of the show, an album featuring the Top 8 was released, as well as a music video for the winner. They then went on a Pan Arab tour, performing concerts in Dubai, Kuwait, Cairo, Alexandria, Amman, Damascus, and Beirut.

Many of them released albums, ranging in various degrees of success. Bashar Al Shatty (Kuwait) has gained much success in his three albums which he released over the last five years. Also being crowned as the most successful teenage singer in the Persian Gulf region was added to his success of being the Star Academy finalist. However, the most successful was Ahmed El Sherif (Tunisia), despite coming in the 5th place. His album has been the most successful among all student from Star Academy.

 * Mohammad Attia (Winner; released one album)
 * Bashar Al Shatti (Finalist; released three albums)
 * Bahaa' El Kafy (3rd place; released one album)
 * Mohammad Khalawi (4th place; released one album)
 * Ahmed El Sherif (5th place; released two albums)
 * Sophia El Mareekh (6th place; released one album)
 * Cynthia Karam (7th place; no albums released)
 * Myriam Attallah (8th place; released multiple songs & albums)

The candidate that took the 9th place, Bruno Tabbal, participated in the "World Best" contest that englobed about 11 countries that have this reality show in their country. He took the 10th place, and the French person, Elodie Frégé, won.

Primes

Tour

Mohamad A, Bashar, Bahaa, Ahmad, Mohamad K, Sophia, Cynthia, and Myriam (the Top 8) were chosen to be part of the tour.

Star Academy 2
Hisham, from Saudi Arabia, was declared as the winner this year, even though he was not the critic's favorite. He is also the winner with the most nominations in the show's history, with a record 4 nominations. Most felt that Amani or Zizi were the better performers overall. Many also felt that this year was a step-down in the quality of students from the previous year, with only Amani, Zizi, and Ahmed being deemed good singers.

Primes

Tour

Hisham, Amani, Zizi, Ahmad H, Bashar G, Katia, Samer, and Salma (once again, the Top 8) were chosen to be part of the tour.

Star Academy 3
Joseph Attieh, who is a radio and TV production student received a trophy, $50,000 in cash and a brand new 2006 car. He was 19 years old and the first Lebanese to win the Title. This year was seen as an improvement over the previous year, and a return to the level of the first season, with many talented students. Some like Hani, Hanaa, and Shayma were deemed just as worthy of winning as Joseph. There were also many other strong performers like Fadi, Khalifa, Rakiya, Maya, and Wajdi.

This year, the show expanded the number of students from 16 contestants, in the two previous years, to 19 students.

Primes

Tour

Joseph, Hani, Hanaa, Chayma, Fady, Khalifa, Maya, Rakiya and Wajdi were chosen to be part of the tour. This was the first year 9 students instead of 8 went on tour. It was also the first time where the Top finishing students did not all go on tour. Despite finishing 8th and 9th, Rym and Mohammed I were not chosen for the tour, Rakiya and Wajdi were selected to go on tour instead.

Star Academy 4
Shada Hassoun, from Iraq, made history by being the first girl to take the title.

The fourth season (2007) was also the first season where two girls claimed the first and second place when Shada Hassoun came in first, and Marwa (from Tunisia) came in second. It was also noteworthy to feature the first female contestant from the Persian Gulf, Shoroq (from Bahrain), as well as the first contestant from Oman, Ayoub. Primes

Tour

Shada, Marwa, Mohamed, Carlo, Sally, Ali, Tina, Ahmad, and Imed were chosen to be part of the tour. Once again, 9 students were chosen for the tour. even though Amel was placed ahead of Imed, he was chosen to go on tour instead of her.

Star Academy 5
The fifth season of Star Academy began on 25 January 2008. There were several changes in the academy that included a new swimming pool, a basketball court, a trampoline, a pool and tennis table and a newly decorated building. New lessons were added this season including swimming lessons, basketball lessons and music lessons. Another change was the increase in the number of students, from 19 in the previous season to now 20.

The final prime of Star Academy 5 held on 23 May 2008, witnessed the crowning of Nader Guirat, the first winner from Tunis and the Maghreb region.

His victory was somewhat controversial, as Nader Guirat was the first winner of the program to sing primarily in non-Arabic languages (English, French, etc.). Even though he did sing in Arabic on rare occasions, many felt that his Arabic singing was nowhere near up to the standards of the other contestants, and not worthy of a variety show that is primarily in Arabic. Nader is also the first winner to be a nominee without being saved by the public, as he had received a low percentage of votes.

Primes

There were also rumors that the Saudi Arabia government advised all their citizens to leave Lebanon due to the current unrest

* at 12 may 2008 Abdullah Al-Dosari withdrew due to problems with  Muhammad Qwaider, at the academy*

Tour

Nader, Mohamad, Saad, Shahinaz, Mirhan, Diaa and Amel B were chosen to be part of the tour. This was the first time only 7 students had been chosen for the tour (previous years had 8 or 9 students). However, for unknown reasons, the tour was cancelled.

Star Academy 6
The winner of Star Academy 6 made history by being the first contestant from a country that already had a student win from it. Abdulaziz Abdulrahman from Saudi Arabia became the second Saudi Arabian, after Hisham Abdulrahman from season 2, to win the title.

Star Academy 6 has undergone some major changes, the studio was enlarged and the Academy itself went through an extreme makeover and now includes a theater for movies, a spa, and a DJ Studio.

Primes

Tour

Abdulaziz, Bassma, Ibrahim, Michel A, Lara, Mohamed B, Tania, Yehya and Nasser were chosen to be part of the tour. Once again, unlike the previous season, the tour chose to have 9 students to participate. But once again, for unknown reasons, the tour was canceled.

Star Academy 7
Star Academy 7 launched its first prime from Adma, Lebanon on 19 February 2010 on LBC.

This year's winner was Nassif Zaytoun from Syria. He made history by being the first contestant from Syria to win.

Primes : As there was a tie, Salwa had the casting vote and she saved Aline

Tour

Nassif, Rahma, Mohamed R, Ramy, Badria, Sultan, Asma, Tahra, Mahmoud, Zeina, Abdulaziz, Miral and Rayan were chosen to be part of the tour, but following the shocking and unexpected death of Ramy, the tour was cancelled.

Star Academy 8
Nesma Alaa Ali Mahgoub, a 20-year-old student from Egypt, was the winner this year. She is the second Egyptian to win in the show, after Mohamed Atieh, the second female contestant to win, after Shada Hassoun, and also the second candidate to win in the Arab show by singing mostly the western genre, after Nader Guirat. : As there was a tie, Karim had the casting vote and he saved Nina.

However, the presenter, Hilda Khalife, said that Ahmad got 96%.

Star Academy 9
Star Academy Arabia returned with a brand new name after a hiatus of over a year. The series began on 26 September 2013 and ended on 9 January 2014, and was produced by Endemol Middle East. It aired on three channels including LBCI and CBC Egypt. The contestants of this series were, in order of elimination: 1. Menna Hany 2. Marita Abi Nader 3. Issa Almarzoug 4. Taher Mostafa 5. Mayssa Mejri 6. Maria Sarkis 7. Nour Farawati 8. Lilia Ben Chikha 9. Zaki Chreif 10. Mosab Al Khateeb 11. Abdallah Abd Al Aziz 12. Rana Samaha 13. Soukaina Boukries 14. Jean Chahid 15. Zinab Oussama 16. Mahmoud Mohey (Winner)

Star Academy 10
The winner of Star Academy 10 made history by being the first contestant from a country that already had a student win from it. Mohammed Chahin from Egypt became the 4th Egyptian to win the title, and the 3rd consecutive one after Mahmoud Mohey in Season 9 and Nesma Mahgoub In Season 8.

Primes

Star Academy 11
Star Academy 11 began in 16-October- 2015 and ended in 29-January-2016 with the crowning of this season's winner Marwan Youssef from Lebanon. Marwan is the second Lebanese contestant to win the first place title after Joseph Attieh (Star Academy 3). The season was produced by Endemol Shine Middle East and broadcast on Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International aka LBC Lebanon) and Capital Broadcasting Center aka CBC (Egypt) tv networks. Among many other prizes awarded to the winner of the season, Marwan Youssef won a song produced by Endemol, and released his first single "Watan Hobi." Marwan later went on to release a second single alone with Watary Productions record label titled "Rafed Saddek," which saw great success and lead to him filming his first music video for the song. Marwan has since performed many concerts and performed in important music festivals. This also had a few noteworthy and historical things to mention for example, Ihab Amir made history as the first male Moroccan contestant since the first season and being the second male Moroccan contestant after Amine Errachidi in the first season. Also Algeria made history this season as this was the first time in the show's entire run that more than one contestant was chosen to represent the North African nation.

Marwan Youssef winner of star academy 11

 * Public's Votes:
 * Faten 6.25%% Yousef 35.08% Rapheal 58.67%
 * soukaina 26.95% Faten 7.62% Hanane 65.43%
 * Mabell 22.64% Ali 41.04% Soukaina 36.32%
 * Mohameds 23.00% Souhila 52.63% Mortada 24.37%
 * Chantal 18.21% Mohameds 14.89% Hanane 66.90%
 * Souhila ? Ali ?% Chantal ?%
 * Hanane 63.23% Dena 22.16% Chantal 14.60
 * Haidy 53.67% Ali 47.33%
 * Anis 54.30% Mabell 45.70%
 * Rapheal 70.76 Anis 29.24%
 * Ihab 48.60% Dena 51.40%
 * Dena 45.68 Rapheal 54.32%
 * Rapheal 40.57 Nassim 59.43%
 * Nassim 51.12% Hanane 48.88%
 * Haidy 19.32% Marwan 55.46% Mohameda 6.55% Nassim 18.67%

Milestones, recordholders and trivia
Finalist Contestants:

-Star Academy 1:

.Mohamed Atteya (Egypt); Winner.

.Bashar Shatii (Kuwait).

-Star Academy 2:

.Hisham Abdulrahman (KSA); Winner.

.Amani Swisy (Tunisia).

-Star Academy 3:

.Joseph Atteya (Lebanon); Winner.

.Hani Hussein (Egypt).

.Han'a Idrissy (Morocco).

-Star Academy 4:

.Shatha Hassoun (Iraq); First Female Winner.

.Marwa Bin Sughaiyer (Tunisia).

.Mohamed Kammah (Egypt).

.Carlo Nakhla (Lebanon).

-Star Academy 5:

.Nader Guirat (Tunisia); Winner.

.Mohamed Qwidar (Jordan).

.Sa'ad Ramadan (Lebanon).

-Star Academy 6:

.Abdulaziz Abdelrahman (KSA); Second Winner from KSA.

.Bassma Bousail (Morocco).

.Ibrahim Dashti (Kuwait).

.Michel Azzi (Lebanon).

-Star Academy 7:

.Nassif Zeytoun (Syria); Winner.

.Rahma Mezher (Iraq)

.Mohamed Ramadan (Jordan).

-Star Academy 8:

.Nesma Mahgoub (Egypt); Second Winner from Egypt & Second Female Winner.

.Ahmed Ezzat (Egypt);

.Sarah Farah (Syria);

-Star Academy 9:

.Mahmoud Mohey (Egypt); Third Winner from Egypt

.Zinab Oussama (Morocco)

.Jean Chahid (Lebanon)

-Star Academy 10:

.Mohammad Chahine (Egypt); Fourth Winner from Egypt

. Lea Makhoul (Lebanon)

.Ghada Jreidi (Tunisia)

-Star Academy 11

.Marwan Youssef (Lebanon); Second Winner From Lebanon

.Heidi Moussa (Egypt)

.Nassim Reissi (Tunisia)

.Mohammad Abbass (Egypt)

Semi-Finalist Contestants:

-Star Academy 1: Baha'a AlKaffy (Tunis)

-Star Academy 2: ZeeZee Adel (Egypt)

-Star Academy 3: Chayma Hilali (Tunis) & Fady Andraos (Palestine)

-Star Academy 4: Sally Ahmed (Egypt)

-Star Academy 5: Shahinaz (Egypt)

-Star Academy 6: Lara Skandar (Egypt)

-Star Academy 7: Ramy Shamali (Lebanon) & Baderia Elsayed (Tunisia)

-Star Academy 8: Oumayma Taleb (Tunisia) & Gilbert Simon (Lebanon)

-Star Academy 9: Soukaina Boukries (Morocco)

-Star Academy 10: Mina Atta (Egypt)

-Star Academy 11: Hanane El Khader (Morocco)

Contestants who have won Top 1 the most in each season:

- Star Academy 1: Myriam (Syria) – 4 wins.

- Star Academy 2: Amani (Tunisia) – 2 wins.

- Star Academy 3: Hani (Egypt) – 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 4: Mohamed Kammah (Egypt) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 4: Shatha hassoun(Iraq) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 5: Nader (Tunisia) – 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 6: Bassma (Morocco) – 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 6: Aya (Egypt) – 2wins (Tie)

- Star Academy 7: Mohammed Ramadan (Jordan) – 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 8: Nisma Mahgoub (Egypt) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 8: Sarah Farah (Syria) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 8: Gilbert Simon (Lebanon) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 8: Mohamed Daqdouq (Syria) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 9: Lilia Ben Chikha (Tunisia) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 9: Zinab Oussama (Morocco) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 9: Abdallah Abd Al Aziz (Saudi Arabia) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 10: Mina Atta (Egypt) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 11: Haidy Moussa (Egypt) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 11: Marwan Youssef (Lebanon) – 2 wins. (Tie)

Contestants who won the title without any nominations:

- Star Academy 3: Joseph Attieyh (Lebanon)

- Star Academy 7: Nassif Zeytoun (Syria)

- Star Academy 8: Nesma Mahgoub (Egypt)

- Star Academy 10: Mohammad Chahine (Egypt)

- Star Academy 11: Marwan Youssef (Lebanon)

Contestants who have never been chosen as nominees:

- Star Academy 2: Amani Swaisi (Tunisia)

- Star Academy 3: Joseph Attiyah (Lebanon)

- Star Academy 3: Hana'a Idrissy (Morocco)

- Star Academy 4: Marwa Bin Sughaiyer (Tunisia)

- Star Academy 4: Carlo Nakhla (Lebanon)

- Star Academy 5: Sa'ad Ramadhan (Lebanon)

- Star Academy 6: Basma Boussil (Morocco)

- Star Academy 6: Michel Azzi (Lebanon)

- Star Academy 7: Nassif Zeytoun (Syria)

- Star Academy 7: Mohamed Ramadan (Jordan)

- Star Academy 8: Nesma Mahgoub (Egypt)

- Star Academy 8: Sarah Farah (Syria)

- Star Academy 10: Mohammed Shahin (Egypt)

- Star Academy 11: Mohammed Abass (Egypt)

- Star Academy 11: Marwan Youssef (Lebanon)

Most nominated contestants in Star Academy in each season:

- Star Academy 1: Sophia (Morocco) – 4 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 1: Mira (Lebanon) – 4 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 1: Soumaya (Tunisia) – 4 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 2: Hisham (KSA) – 4 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 2: Ahmed S (Bahrain) – 4 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 3: Rym Ghazali (Algeria) – 6 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 4: Sally (Egypt) – 5 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 4: Ali (KSA) – 5 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 5: Dia'a Taybi (Morocco) – 6 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 6: Yehya Swiss (Jordan) – 6 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 7: Tahra (Morocco)- 7 nominations; More than any contestant in Star Academy history.

- Star Academy 8: Abdelsalam Mohamed (Kuwait) – 5 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 8: Ahmed Ezzat (Egypt) – 5 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 9: Nour Farawati (Syria) – 4 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 10: Abdelsalam Alzayid (Kuwait) – 5 nominations. (Tie)

- Star Academy 11: Raphael Jabbour (Lebanon) – 4 nominations (Tie)

- Star Academy 11: Hanane El Khader (Morocco) – 4 nominations (Tie)

Most nominated contestants' wins by Public votes:

- Star Academy 1: Mohammad Attia (Egypt)- 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 2: Hisham Abdulrahman (KSA) – 4 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 3: Rym Ghazali (Algeria) – 5 wins; More than any contestant in Star Academy history. (Tie)

- Star Academy 4: Ali Al-Saad (KSA)- 4 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 4:Maisoun Sedaki (Egypt)- 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 4:Sally Ahmed (Egypt)- 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 4:Ahmed Dawoud (Kuwait) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 5:Dia'a Taybi (Morocco)- 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 5:Amal Bouchoha (Algeria) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 5:Mirhan Hussien (Egypt)- 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 6: Lara Scandar (Egypt)- 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 6: Mohammad Serag (Egypt)- 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 7: Tahra (Morocco)- 5 wins; More than any contestant in Star Academy history. (Tie)

- Star Academy 8: Abdelsalam Mohamed (Kuwait) – 4 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 8: Ahmed Ezzat (Egypt) – 4 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 8: Karim Kamel (Egypt) – 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 9: Taher Mostafa (Egypt) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 9: Rana Samaha (Egypt) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 9: Soukaina Boukries (Morocco) – 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 10: Abdelsalam Alzayid (Kuwait) – 4 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 11: Hanane El Khader (Morocco) – 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 11: Raphael Jabbour (Lebanon) – 3 wins. (Tie)

Most nominated contestants' wins by Students votes:

- Star Academy 1: Mira Mikhail (Lebanon)- 2 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 4: Nelly Ma3to2 (Lebanon)- 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 5: Zaher Saleh (Palestine)- 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 5: Amal el Ma7lawy (Tunisia)- 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 6: Yehia Soweis (Jordan)- 4 wins; More than any contestant in Star Academy history.

- Star Academy 8: Layan Bazlamit (Palestine)- 3 wins. (Tie)

- Star Academy 9: Nour Farawati (Syria)- 3 wins. (Tie)

Highest percentage of public votes ever achieved by each season:

Star Academy 1: Bashar Shatti (Kuwait): 78.20%

Star Academy 2: Hisham Abdulrahman (KSA): 85.04%

Star Academy 3: Fady Andraos (Palestine): 67.08%

Star Academy 4: Abdul Aziz-Alaswad (Kuwait): 64.25%

Star Academy 5: Mohamed Qwidar (Jordan) : 73.91%

Star Academy 6: Lara scandar (Egypt): 64.91%

Star Academy 7: Rahma Mezher (Iraq): 69.96%

Star Academy 8: Ahmed Ezzat (Egypt): 81.88%

Star Academy 9: Soukaina Boukries (Morocco): 77.31%

Star Academy 10: Ibtissam Tiskat (Morocco): 75.84%

Star Academy 11: Raphael Jabbour (Lebanon): 70.76%

Contestants that left from first nomination:

-Star Academy 1:

. Nisrine (Lebanon)

. Youssef (UAE)

. Leila (Lebanon)

. Myriam (Syria)

. Cynthia (Lebanon)

. Baha2 (Tunisia)

-Star Academy 2:

. Randa (Egypt)

. Hanan (Morocco)

. Joy (Syria)

. ZeeZee Adel (Egypt)

-Star Academy 3:

. Jihan (Morocco)

. Shadya (Morocco)

. Marwa (Egypt)

. Rokaya (Egypt)

-Star Academy 4:

. Khaled (Bahrain)

. Entesar (Tunisia)

. Tina (Lebanon)

-Star Academy 5:

. Omar (Iraq)

. Fawaz (Kuwait)

. Mostafa (Lebanon)

. Shahinaz (Egypt)

-Star Academy 6:

. Jaber (Bahrain)

. Meteb (Saudi Arabia)

. Diala (Palestine)

. Aya (Egypt)

-Star Academy 7:

. Jack (Lebanon)

. Haitham (Saudi Arabia)

. Rayan (Lebanon)

. Ramy (Lebanon)

-Star Academy 8:

. Mohamed Q. (Jordan)

. Lamya (Tunisia)

. Yasmine (Morocco)

. Mohamed Raf. (Jordan)

. Efram (Lebanon)

. Oumayma (Tunisia)

-Star Academy 9:

. Marita (Lebanon)

. Menna (Egypt)

-Star Academy 10:

. Ichraq Qamar (Tunisia)

. Rita (Lebanon)

-Star Academy 11:

. Youssef (Syria)

. Murtada (Iraq)

. Ihab (Morocco)

Contestants that eventually signed with Rotana:
 * Star Academy 1: 5th place: Ahmad Al Sharief Tunisia : Released two albums with Rotana, the first being in 2005 and the second in 2009.
 * Star Academy 1: 2nd place: Bashar Al Shatti Kuwait : After his second studio album, he withdrew from the company, due to the lack of care and promotion on his claim. He is currently with ARM.
 * Star Academy 2: Winner: Hisham Abdulrahman Saudi Arabia, He had a movie produced by the company titled Kaif Al Hal, and a duet released with Mais Hamdan.
 * Star Academy 2: 2nd place: Amani Swaissi Tunisia, Left Rotana in 2009 and joined Melody.
 * Star Academy 2: 3rd place: ZeeZee Adel Egypt : The most successful candidate from all the graduates, she has signed the most valuable contract which included 5 albums, 3–4 music videos each and a single release anytime she chooses, ZeeZee's debut album and her second album have enjoyed high commercial success.
 * Star Academy 2: 4th place: Ahmad Hussain Kuwait : His debut album hasn't enjoyed much success, as he focused on his acting career, even though he just released his second album.
 * Star Academy 2: 5th place: Bashar Ghazawi Jordan : Had signed a contract in which he and 3 other candidates from the same season would share an album with each of them having 2 singles in it.
 * Star Academy 2: 6th place: Katya Haraky Lebanon :Had signed a contract in which she and 3 other candidates from the same season would share an album with each of them having 2 singles in it.
 * Star Academy 2: 7th place: Samer Domat Lebanon : Had signed a contract in which he and 3 other candidates from the same season would share an album with each of them having 2 singles in it.
 * Star Academy 2: 8th place: Salma Ghazali Algeria : Had signed a contract in which she and 3 other candidates from the same season would share an album with each of them having 2 singles in it. She's the only one out of the 4 that shared an album altogether, that eventually got signed by the company for a solo album.
 * Star Academy 2: 12th place: Bashar Kaisi Iraq : He was signed as a presenter of Khaleeji chart show that ran for a year in 2007.
 * Star Academy 3: 3rd place: Hana'a Idresy Morocco : She announced on various interviews that she signed a contract with the company which she's currently preparing for, as part of a series of albums.
 * Star Academy 3: 4th place: Chayma Hilali Tunisia : She released a duet with Lebanese singer Assi Hilani which was produced by the company, though her current status with the company is unknown.
 * Star Academy 5: 5th place: Abdullah Al-Dosery Saudi Arabia : He announced, in January 2009, that he signed a contract with the company to produce 5 albums.
 * Star Academy 5: 9th place: Amel Bshousha Algeria : Amal has agreed to host the most important chart show in the Arab World which aired for 3 consecutive months then stopped. Her current status is unknown.
 * Star Academy 5: 11th place: Bader Saudi Arabia : He signed a contract in which he only had one single produced by the company without a music video to promote it.
 * Star Academy 5: 15th place: Khalid Bu Sakher Kuwait : He signed a contract which only had one single produced by the company without a music video to promote it.

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

title: Star Academy (Arabia)


text:
Arbelos

In geometry, an arbelos is a plane region bounded by three semicircles with three apexes such that each corner of each semicircle is shared with one of the others (connected), all on the same side of a straight line (the baseline) that contains their diameters.

The earliest known reference to this figure is in Archimedes's Book of Lemmas, where some of its mathematical properties are stated as Propositions 4 through 8. The word arbelos is Greek for 'shoemaker's knife'. The figure is closely related to the Pappus chain.

Properties
Two of the semicircles are necessarily concave, with arbitrary diameters $a$ and $b$; the third semicircle is convex, with diameter $a+b.$

Area
The area of the arbelos is equal to the area of a circle with diameter $A$.

Proof: For the proof, reflect the arbelos over the line through the points $B$ and $C$, and observe that twice the area of the arbelos is what remains when the areas of the two smaller circles (with diameters $BC$, $AB$) are subtracted from the area of the large circle (with diameter $AC$). Since the area of a circle is proportional to the square of the diameter (Euclid's Elements, Book XII, Proposition 2; we do not need to know that the constant of proportionality is $\pi⁄4$), the problem reduces to showing that $$2|AH|^2 = |BC|^2 - |AC|^2 - |BA|^2$$. The length $H$ equals the sum of the lengths $BC$ and $A$, so this equation simplifies algebraically to the statement that $$|AH|^2 = |BA||AC|$$. Thus the claim is that the length of the segment $\overline{HA}$ is the geometric mean of the lengths of the segments $B$ and $C$. Now (see Figure) the triangle $\overline{BA}$, being inscribed in the semicircle, has a right angle at the point $\overline{AC}$ (Euclid, Book III, Proposition 31), and consequently $\overline{BC}$ is indeed a "mean proportional" between $|BC|$ and $|BA|$ (Euclid, Book VI, Proposition 8, Porism). This proof approximates the ancient Greek argument; Harold P. Boas cites a paper of Roger B. Nelsen who implemented the idea as the following proof without words.

Rectangle
Let $|AC|$ and $\overline{AH}$ be the points where the segments $\overline{BA}$ and $\overline{AC}$ intersect the semicircles $BHC$ and $H$, respectively. The quadrilateral $|HA|$ is actually a rectangle.
 * Proof: $|BA|$, $|AC|$, and $D$ are right angles because they are inscribed in semicircles (by Thales's theorem). The quadrilateral $E$ therefore has three right angles, so it is a rectangle. Q.E.D.

Tangents
The line $\overline{BH}$ is tangent to semicircle $\overline{CH}$ at $AB$ and semicircle $AC$ at $ADHE$.
 * Proof: Since $∠BDA$ is a right angle, $∠BHC$ equals $π⁄2$ minus $∠AEC$. However, $ADHE$ also equals $π⁄2$ minus $DE$ (since $BA$ is a right angle). Therefore triangles $D$ and $AC$ are similar. Therefore $E$ equals $∠BDA$, where $∠DBA$ is the midpoint of $∠DAB$ and $∠DAH$ is the midpoint of $∠DAB$. But $∠HAB$ is a straight line, so $DBA$ and $DAH$ are supplementary angles. Therefore the sum of $∠DIA$ and $∠DOH$ is π. $I$ is a right angle. The sum of the angles in any quadrilateral is 2π, so in quadrilateral $\overline{BA}$, $O$ must be a right angle. But $\overline{AH}$ is a rectangle, so the midpoint $∠AOH$ of $∠DOH$ (the rectangle's diagonal) is also the midpoint of $∠DOA$ (the rectangle's other diagonal). As $∠DIA$ (defined as the midpoint of $∠DOA$) is the center of semicircle $∠IAO$, and angle $IDOA$ is a right angle, then $∠IDO$ is tangent to semicircle $ADHE$ at $O$. By analogous reasoning $\overline{AH}$ is tangent to semicircle $\overline{DE}$ at $I$. Q.E.D.

Archimedes' circles
The altitude $\overline{BA}$ divides the arbelos into two regions, each bounded by a semicircle, a straight line segment, and an arc of the outer semicircle. The circles inscribed in each of these regions, known as the Archimedes' circles of the arbelos, have the same size.

Variations and generalisations
The parbelos is a figure similar to the arbelos, that uses parabola segments instead of half circles. A generalisation comprising both arbelos and parbelos is the f-belos, which uses a certain type of similar differentiable functions.

In the Poincaré half-plane model of the hyperbolic plane, an arbelos models an ideal triangle.

Etymology
The name arbelos comes from Greek ἡ ἄρβηλος he árbēlos or ἄρβυλος árbylos, meaning "shoemaker's knife", a knife used by cobblers from antiquity to the current day, whose blade is said to resemble the geometric figure.

title: Arbelos


text:
Mount Joffre

Mount Joffre is a mountain located on the Continental Divide, in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Alberta, and Elk Lakes and Height of the Rockies Provincial Parks in British Columbia. The mountain was named in 1918 by the Interprovincial Boundary Survey after Marshal Joseph Joffre, commander-in-chief of the French Army during World War I.

The normal climbing route (UIAA class II) is via the north face, which is covered by the Mangin Glacier.

title: Mount Joffre


text:
Ultimatum (game show)

Ultimatum is a Canadian French language television game show, broadcast from 2001 to 2004 on the TVA network. The show, produced in Montreal, Quebec and is hosted by Yvan Ponton. Its visual style and lighting were largely inspired by the success of the British/American game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. The rules of the game are, however, different.

Standard game
The game was played with five contestants, including a returning champion who was the first "controller". The controller picked a question category from a set list, then read the question and directed it to another contestant. If the contestant answered correctly, they became the new controller and the outgoing controller lost a "life". If the contestant answered incorrectly, the controller retained control and the contestant lost a life. Each contestant began the game with three lives, and if they were reduced to zero, were eliminated from the game.

However, each player also had access to a number of "tools" to encourage strategic play. Each tool could be invoked only once by each player over the course of the game. They were:
 * Ricochet, which could be used by a player who was asked to answer a question to redirect the question to any other contestant (except the controller) as if the controller had asked them directly.
 * Miroir (mirror), which could also be used by a player who was asked a question, but would instead direct the question back on the controller, reversing the roles.
 * Piege (trap), which was used by the controller. If a controller found a question they were sure they knew the answer to, they could "trap" another contestant of their choice, answer the question themselves, and, if correct, cost the trapped player a life. If wrong, the trapped player assumed control and the outgoing controller lost a life.

When any of these tools was invoked, or if the contestant had no tools left to use, the host would declare a question to be an "ultimatum", with more dramatic lighting and more tense background music was played.

After all contestants but one had been eliminated, the remaining contestant was declared the winner, and went on to play the bonus round. At one point during the series the contestant who won the game received CA$500.

Bonus round
The bonus round pitted the winner of the standard game against the collective brain power of the eliminated contestants, with a bit of a twist: for each life the winner had remaining at the end of the game, they could eliminate an opponent, meaning they would not be allowed to help the rest answer the question. In this fashion, if a winner had all three lives left, the bonus round would effectively be one-on-one.

Later in the run, the bonus round was altered; the contestant chose a category, and was read a question. They had 10 seconds to think and, if they answered correctly, won CA$1,000.

Tournament play
On several occasions during the run, a multi-week tournament would be held. The five contestants played every day from Monday through Friday, with the player who won the most money invited back for the finals. Then four additional weeks would be played each with five new contestants. When five finalists had been crowned, those finalists played an additional week against each other, with the winner of the finals receiving CA$40,000.

title: Ultimatum (game show)


text:
Jewish Brigade

The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, more commonly known as the Jewish Brigade Group or Jewish Brigade, was a military formation of the British Army in the Second World War. It was formed in late 1944 and was recruited among Yishuv Jews from Mandatory Palestine and commanded by Anglo-Jewish officers. It served in the latter stages of the Italian Campaign, and was disbanded in 1946.

After the war, some members of the Brigade assisted Holocaust survivors to illegally emigrate to Mandatory Palestine as part of Aliyah Bet, in defiance of British restrictions. Other members formed the vigilante groups Gmul and the Tilhas Tizig Gesheften, which assassinated hundreds of German, Austrian, and Italian war criminals. There were also at least two instances in which Brigade veterans were implicated in the assassinations of Jewish Kapos.

Anglo-Zionist relations
After the First World War, the British and the French empires replaced the Ottoman Empire as the preeminent powers in the Middle East. This change brought closer the Zionist Movement's goal of creating a Jewish state. The Balfour Declaration indicated that the British Government supported the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine in principle, marking the first official support for Zionist aims. It led to a surge of Jewish emigration in 1918–1921, known as the "Third Aliyah".

The League of Nations incorporated the Declaration in the British Mandate for Palestine in 1922. Jewish immigration continued through the 1920s and 1930s, and the Jewish population expanded by over 400,000 before the beginning of the Second World War.

In 1939, the British Government of Neville Chamberlain appeared to reject the Balfour Declaration in the White Paper of 1939, abandoning the idea of establishing a Jewish Dominion. When the United Kingdom declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, stated: "We will fight the White Paper as if there is no war, and fight the war as if there is no White Paper."

Origins of the Jewish Brigade
Chaim Weizmann, the President of the Zionist Organization (ZO), offered the British government full cooperation of the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine. Weizmann sought to establish an identifiably Jewish fighting formation within the British Army. His request for a separate formation was rejected, but the British authorized the enlistment of Palestinian volunteers in the Royal Army Service Corps and in the Pioneer Corps, on condition that an equal number of Jews and Arabs was to be accepted. The Jewish Agency promptly scoured the local Labour Exchange offices to recruit enough Arab unemployed as "volunteers" to match the number of Jewish volunteers, and others were recruited from the lower strata of the Arab population, offering cash bounties for enlistment.

The quality of the recruits was, not surprisingly, abysmally low, with a very high desertion rate particularly among the Arab component, so that at the end, most units ended up formed largely by Jews. The volunteers were formed in a RASC muleteers unit and a RASC Port Operating Company, and in the Pioneers Companies 601 to 609. All but two were lost during the Greece Campaign, with the last two returned to Palestine and disbanded there.

From 1942, a large number of further Palestinian Arab/Jew mixed units were formed, with the same mixed ethnic composition and the same quality problems encountered in the Pioneers Companies. These included six RASC (Jewish) Transport Units, a women's Auxiliary Territorial Service and a Woman Territorial Air Force Service and several auxiliaries in local units of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Royal Engineers and Royal Army Medical Corps.

Nine non-combat infantry companies were raised as part of the Royal East Kent Regiment ("the Buffs"), to be used as guards for prisoners-of-war camps in Egypt. In August 1942 the Palestine Regiment was formed, again plagued by the same mixed recruiting and its associated low quality problems. The regiment was derisively called the "Five Piastre Regiments", due to the large number of Arab "volunteers" that had enlisted just for the cash bonus provided by the Jewish Agency.

There was no designated all-Jewish, combat-worthy formation. Jewish groups petitioned the British government to create such a force, but the British refused. At that time, the White Paper was in effect, limiting Jewish immigration and land purchases.

Some British officials opposed creating a Jewish fighting force, fearing that it could become the basis for Jewish rebellion against British rule. In August 1944, Winston Churchill agreed to the formation of a "Jewish Brigade". According to Rafael Medoff, Churchill consented because he was "moved by the slaughter of Hungarian Jewry [and] was hoping to impress American public opinion."

Creation
After early reports of the Nazi atrocities of the Holocaust were made public by the Allied powers in the spring and early summer of 1942, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent a personal telegram to the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt suggesting that "the Jews... of all races have the right to strike at the Germans as a recognizable body." The president replied five days later saying: "I perceive no objection..."

After much hesitation, on July 3, 1944, the British government consented to the establishment of a Jewish Brigade with hand-picked Jewish and also non-Jewish senior officers. On 20 September 1944, an official communique by the War Office announced the formation of the Jewish Brigade Group of the British Army. The Jewish Brigade Group headquarters was established in Egypt at the end of September 1944. The formation was styled a brigade group because of the inclusion under command of an artillery regiment.

The Zionist flag was approved as its standard. It included more than 5,000 Jewish volunteers from Mandatory Palestine, organized into three infantry battalions of the Palestine Regiment and several supporting units.
 * 1st Battalion, Palestine Regiment
 * 2nd Battalion, Palestine Regiment
 * 3rd Battalion, Palestine Regiment
 * 200th Field Regiment (Royal Artillery)

The New York Times quoted The Rev. Dr. Israel Goldstein that the British announcement of the creation of a Jewish Brigade "is a belated but nevertheless welcome token of recognition of the Jewish part in the war effort, particularly the contribution of Jewish Palestine." The Manchester Guardian lamented, "The announcement that a Jewish Brigade will fight with the British Army is welcome, if five years late. One regrets that the British Government has been so slow to seize a great opportunity."

Military engagements

In October 1944, under the leadership of Brigadier Ernest F. Benjamin, the brigade group was shipped to Italy. It joined the British Eighth Army in November, which was engaged in the Italian Campaign under the 15th Army Group.

The Jewish Brigade took part in the Spring Offensive of 1945. It took positions on the front line for the first time on March 3, 1945 along the south bank of the Senio River, and immediately began engaging in small-scale actions against German forces, facing the 42nd Jäger Division and the 362nd Infantry Division. The brigade carried out aggressive patrolling during which it engaged in numerous firefights in order to improve its positions, clear the south bank of German troops, and take prisoners, and carried out small-scale raids against German positions across the river to test the enemy's strength and map out enemy defensive positions.

In one notable raid, it was supported by tanks of the North Irish Horse and South African Air Force fighter aircraft. The South African pilots, many of whom were Jewish, flew in a Star of David formation during their attack run as a tribute to the brigade. During the raid, the brigade's infantrymen ran ahead of the tanks and mopped up the German positions, returning with prisoners and greatly impressing the seasoned troops of the North Irish Horse.

The brigade first entered into major combat operations on March 19–20, 1945 at Alfonsine. In its first sustained action on March 19, the brigade killed 19 German soldiers and took 11 prisoner for the loss of 2 dead and 3 wounded in a series of clashes. The brigade then moved to the Senio River sector, where on March 27 it fought against elements of the German 4th Parachute Division commanded by Generalleutnant Heinrich Trettner.

From April 1-9, the brigade again engaged the Germans in a series of small-scale clashes. It returned to offensive operations during the "Three Rivers Battle", crossing the Senio River on April 10 and capturing the two positions allocated to it, establishing a bridgehead and widening it the following day. It was assigned to clear out a German redoubt to the left of its position that another Allied unit had failed to capture. The brigade managed to complete the mission in a fierce battle, wiping out all enemy positions in fifteen minutes.

It engaged in a series of small-scale clashes and captured Monte Ghebbio in a battle with German paratroopers. The brigade was then removed from the frontline for rest and refit before the liberation of Bologna (April 21, 1945). The brigade's engineering units assisted in bridging the Po River to enable Allied forces to cross it. The Jewish Brigade spent 48 days on the frontline in Italy - March 3 to April 20, 1945.

The commander of the British 10th Corps praised the Jewish Brigade's performance:

"The Jewish Brigade fought well and its men were eager to make contact with the enemy by any means available to them. Their staff work, their commands and their assessments were good. If they get enough help they certainly deserve to be part of any field force whatsoever."

There are indications that brigade members summarily executed surrendering German soldiers, particularly SS soldiers, in order to take revenge for the Holocaust. Although Brigadier Benjamin urged his troops not to kill surrendering Germans, emphasizing that intelligence gleaned from interrogation of prisoners would hasten the end of the war, he and his staff understood the desire for vengeance among the soldiers, and no Jewish Brigade soldier was ever punished for killing or otherwise mistreating surrendering enemy troops.

The Jewish Brigade was represented among the liberating Allied units at a papal audience. The Jewish Brigade was then stationed in Tarvisio, near the border triangle of Italy, Yugoslavia, and Austria. They searched for Holocaust survivors, provided survivors with aid, and assisted in their immigration to Palestine. They played a key role in the Berihah's efforts to help Jews escape Europe for British Mandatory Palestine, a role many of its members were to continue after the Brigade disbanded. Among its projects was the education and care of the Selvino children. In July 1945, the Brigade moved to Belgium and the Netherlands.

During the course of the Second World War, the Jewish Brigade suffered 83 killed in action or died of wounds and 200 wounded. Its dead are buried in the Commonwealth's Ravenna War Cemetery at Piangipane.

Post-war deployment and disbandment
Tilhas Tizig Gesheften, commonly known by its initials TTG, loosely translated as "kiss [literally, lick] my arse business", was the name of a group of Jewish Brigade members formed immediately following the Second World War. Under the guise of British military activity, this group engaged in the assassination of Nazis, facilitated the illegal immigration of Holocaust survivors to Mandatory Palestine, and smuggled weaponry to the Haganah.

The Jewish Brigade also joined groups of Holocaust survivors in forming assassination squads known as the Nakam, for the purpose of tracking down and killing former SS and Wehrmacht officers who had participated in atrocities against European Jews. Information regarding the whereabouts of these fugitives was gathered either by torturing imprisoned Nazis or by way of military connections. The British uniforms, military documentation, equipment, and vehicles used by Jewish Brigade veterans greatly contributed to the success of the TTG. The number of Nazis the TTG killed is unknown, but may have been as high as 1,500. There were also at least two instances in which Brigade veterans were implicated in the assassinations of Jewish Kapos. Kangaroo courts executed two Kapos, one by gunshot and another by drowning him in a river.

After assignment to the VIII Corps District of the British Army of the Rhine (Schleswig-Holstein), the Jewish Brigade was disbanded in the summer of 1946.

Involvement in the Bricha
Many members of the Jewish Brigade assisted and encouraged the implementation of the Bricha. In the vital, chaotic months immediately before and after the German surrender, members of the Jewish Brigade supplied British Army uniforms and documents to Jewish civilians who were facilitating the illegal immigration of Holocaust survivors to Mandatory Palestine. The most notable example was Yehuda Arazi, code name "Alon," who had been wanted for two years by the British authorities in Palestine for stealing rifles from the British police and giving them to the Haganah.

In 1945, Arazi and his partner Yitzhak Levy travelled from Mandatory Palestine to Egypt by train, dressed as sergeants from the Royal Engineers. From Egypt, the pair travelled through North Africa to Italy and, using false names, joined the Jewish Brigade, where Arazi secretly became responsible for organising illegal immigration. This included purchasing boats, establishing hachsharot, supplying food, and compiling lists of survivors.

When Arazi reached the Jewish Brigade in Tarvisio in June 1945, he informed some of the Haganah members serving in the Brigade that other units had made contact with Jewish survivors. Arazi impressed upon the Brigade their importance in Europe and urged the soldiers to find 5,000 Jewish survivors to bring to Mandatory Palestine. Jewish Brigade officer Aharon Hoter-Yishai recalled that he doubted the existence of 5,000 Jewish survivors. Regardless, the Jewish Brigade accepted Arazi's challenge without question. For many Jewish soldiers, this new mission justified their previous service in the British forces that had preceded the creation of the Jewish Brigade.

Another Jewish Brigade soldier actively involved in the Bricha was Israel Carmi, who was discharged from the Jewish Brigade in the autumn of 1945. After a few months, the Secretariat of Kibbutz HaMeuchad approached Carmi about returning to Europe to assist with the Bricha. Carmi's previous experience working with survivors made him an important asset for the Bricha movement. He returned to Italy in 1946 and attended the 22nd Zionist Congress in Basel, where he gained insight into how the Berihah operated throughout Europe.

Carmi proposed establishing a second Berihah route across Europe in case the existing route collapsed. He proposed dividing the Bricha leadership into parts: Mordechai Surkis, working from Paris, would be responsible for the financial workings. Ephraim Dekel in Prague would run the administrative element, and oversee the Berihah in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Germany. Carmi, working from Prague, would oversee activities in Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Romania.

Jewish Brigade soldiers, assisting with the Bricha, specifically took advantage of the chaotic situation in post-war Europe to move Holocaust survivors between countries and across borders. Soldiers were intentionally placed by Merkaz Lagolah at transfer points and border crossings to assist the Jewish DPs (displaced persons). For example, Judenberg, a sub-camp of the Mauthausen concentration camp, acted as a Berihah point where Brigade soldiers and partisans worked together to assist DPs. Similarly, in the city of Graz, a Bricha point was centred in a hotel where a legendary Bricha figure, Pinchas Zeitag, also known as Pini the Red or "Gingi," organised transports westwards to Italy.

One of the Jewish Brigade's greatest contributions to the Bricha was the use of their British Army vehicles to transport survivors, up to a thousand people at a time, in truck convoys to Pontebba, the brigade's motor depot. These secret transports generally arrived at 2 or 3 a.m., and the Brigade always ensured that DPs were greeted by a soldier or an officer and welcomed into a dining hall with food and tea. Everyone was given a medical examination, a place to sleep, and clean clothing. Within a few days the group was moved to hachsharot in Bari, Bologna and Modena. After recuperating and completing their hachshara training, the DPs were taken to ports where boats would illegally set sail for Mandatory Palestine. Historians estimate that the Jewish Brigade assisted in the transfer, between 1945 and 1948, of 15,000–22,000 Jewish DPs as part of the Bricha and the illegal immigration movement.

Military legacy

In 1948, after the Israeli Declaration of Independence, many Jewish Brigade veterans served with distinction in the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Many veterans served as high-ranking officers in the Israeli military, with 35 becoming generals.

Medals and awards

Among the brigade's soldiers, 78 were mentioned in dispatches, and 20 received military decorations (7 Military Medals, 7 Order of the British Empire medals, 4 Military Crosses, and 2 US awards). Veterans of the Brigade were later entitled to the Volunteer Ribbon and the Fighters against Nazis Medal of the State of Israel.

In October 2018, after a unanimous support vote by the Italian Parliament, the war flag of the Jewish Brigade Group was awarded the Italian "Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare" for its contribution to the liberation of Italy during WW2. The medal was attached to the warflag of the Israeli 7th Armored Brigade, heirs of the Jewish Brigade Group, in a celebration at the Bet Hagdudim (Battalions Museum) in Avihayil.

Legacy
The Jewish Brigade inspired numerous memoires, books and films. In 1998, filmmakers Chuck Olin (Director) and Matthew Palm (co-producer) released their award-winning documentary, In Our Own Hands. The film aired on PBS in the United States and played in numerous film festivals around the world.

In popular culture
In Leon Uris novel Exodus, and the subsequent film, protagonist Ari Ben Canaan of the Haganah succeeds in organising the movement of refugees to Palestine, through his experience of action and use of procedures gained during the war as an officer of the Jewish Brigade.

Partial list of notable veterans of the Jewish Brigade

 * British Jews

 * Ernest Benjamin
 * Bernard M. Casper
 * Edmund Leopold de Rothschild
 * Palestinian Jews

 * Yehuda Amichai
 * Meir Argov
 * Ted Arison
 * Yehoshua Bar-Hillel
 * Hanoch Bartov
 * Haim Ben-Asher
 * Gideon Ben-Yisrael
 * Zvi Brenner
 * Israel Carmi
 * Reuven Dafni
 * Yehiel Duvdevani
 * Mordechai Gichon
 * Amir Gilboa
 * Elazar Granot
 * Dov Gruner
 * Shraga Har-Gil
 * Yehoshafat Harkabi
 * Aharon Hoter-Yishai
 * Yigal Hurvitz
 * Hans Jonas
 * Haim Laskov
 * Guenter Lewy
 * Mordechai Maklef
 * Danny Matt
 * Shimon Mazeh
 * Nissan Nativ
 * Yitzhak Orpaz
 * David Rubinger
 * Gideon Schocken
 * Shlomo Shamir
 * Chaim Sheba
 * Mordechai Surkis
 * Israel Tal
 * Adin Talbar
 * Moshe Tavor
 * Yitzhak Orpaz
 * Meir Zorea
 * Amram Zur
 * Shalom Zysman

title: Jewish Brigade