A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given.

The term General is used in two ways: as the generic title for all grades of general officer; and as a specific rank. Since the late twentieth century, the rank of General is usually the highest active rank of a military not at war.

All general officer ranks

The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers are known as field officers or field-grade officers, and below them are company-grade officers. All officers who commanded more than a single regiment came to be known as "general officers". The word "general" is used in its ordinary sense in English (and other languages) as relating to larger, general, military units, rather than smaller units in particular.

Common systems

There are two common systems of general ranks.

Variations of one form, the old European system, were once used throughout Europe. It is used in the United Kingdom (although it did not originate there), from which it eventually spread to the Commonwealth and the United States of America. The General Officer ranks are named by prefixing General, as an adjective, with field officer ranks, although in some countries the highest general officers are titled Field Marshal or Marshal.

The other is derived from the French Revolution, where generals' ranks are named according to the unit they (theoretically) command.

Old European system {| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;" |align="center"| Field Marshal or General Field Marshal |- |align="center"| ''Colonel General'' |- |align="center"| General or Captain General |- |align="center"| Lieutenant General |- |align="center"| Sergeant Major General or Major General |- |align="center"| ''Brigadier (General)'' |}

The system used either a ''brigadier general'' rank, or a ''colonel general'' rank (i.e. exclude one of the italicised ranks.)

The rank of field marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank, while in other countries it was used as a divisional or brigade rank. Many countries (notably pre-revolutionary France and eventually much of Latin America) actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia. (Mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks.)

In some nations (particularly in the Commonwealth), the equivalent to Brigadier General is Brigadier, which is not always considered by these armies to be a general officer rank, although it is always treated as equivalent to the rank of Brigadier General for comparative purposes. Unlike other general officers, the brigadier general rank is not derived from a ''field'' rank of brigadier.

The rank of ''major general'' is a shorter form of ''sergeant major general'', and is lower than lieutenant general as a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, although outranked by a major.

French (Revolutionary) system {| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;" |align="center"| Marshal |- |align="center"| Army General |- |align="center"| Corps General |- |align="center"| Divisional General |- |align="center"| Brigade General |} More information about this system can be found on the page: Général.

Other variations

Other nomenclatures for general officers include the titles and ranks:

Adjutant General

Commandant-General

Inspector General

Captain General

General-in-Chief

General of the Army (which is distinct from the title Army General)

General of the Air Force (USA only)

General of the Armies of the United States (of America), a title created for General John J. Pershing, and subsequently granted posthumously to George Washington.

General Admiral (German Navy)

Air General and Aviation General (Chilean Air Force; roughly equivalent to Air Chief Marshal and Air Vice-Marshal respectively)

Wing General and Group General (Mexican Air Force; roughly equivalent to Air Commodore and Acting Air Commodore respectively)

Lieutenant-Colonel General (A Serb rank immediately inferior to Colonel General, and roughly equivalent to Commonwealth/US Major General)

Director General (a common administrative term sometimes used as an appointment in military services)

Director General of National Defence (most senior rank in the Mexican Armed Forces)

Director of Intelligence Bureau (senior most 4 star Indian Police Service post in India)

Controller General (general officer rank in the French National Police)

Prefect General (the most senior rank of the Argentine Naval Prefecture)

Master-General of the Ordnance

In addition to militarily educated generals, there are also generals in medicine and engineering. The rank of most senior chaplain, Chaplain General, is also considered to be a general officer rank.

The specific General rank

In the Old European system, a General, without prefix or suffix (and sometimes referred to informally as a "full general"), is usually the most senior type of general, above Lieutenant General and directly below Field Marshal. Usually it is the most senior peace-time rank, with more senior ranks (for example, Field Marshal) being used only in wartime, or as honorary titles.

In some armies, however, the rank of Captain General, General of the Army, Army General or Colonel General occupied or occupies this position. Depending on circumstances and the army in question, these ranks may be considered to be equivalent to a full General or to a Field Marshal.

The rank of General came about as a "Captain-General", the captain of an army in general (i.e., the whole army). The rank of Captain-General began appearing around the time of the organization of professional armies in the 17th century. In most countries "Captain-General" contracted to just "General".

General ranks by country

The following articles deal with the rank of General, or its equivalent, as it is or was employed in the militaries of those countries.

General (Australia)

General (Canada)

Shang Jiang (China) - People's Republic of China (PRC) and Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan)

Kenraali (Finland)

Kindral (Estonia)

Général (France)

General (Germany)

Obergruppenführer (Nazi Germany, SS rank)

Strategos (Greece)

Aluf (Israel)

Generale (Italy)

Daejang (Korea - DPRK and ROK)

General (Mexico)

Generał (Poland)

Army General (Philippines)

Army General (Russia)

General (Sri Lanka)

General (Sweden)

General (Switzerland)

General (United Kingdom)

General (United States)

Army generals' insignia

Air force generals' insignia

Generals' insignia of disbanded armies

Air Force and Navy equivalents

Some countries (such as the United States) use the General Officer ranks for both the army and the air force; others only use the General Officer ranks for the army, while in the air force they use Air Officers as the equivalent of General Officers. They use the air force rank of Air Chief Marshal as the equivalent of the specific army rank of General. This latter group includes the British Royal Air Force and those based on it (e.g., India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Nigeria, etc.).

In most navies, Flag Officers are the equivalent of General Officers, and the naval rank of Admiral is equivalent to the specific army rank of General. A noteworthy historical exception was the Cromwellian naval rank ''General at sea''. In recent years in the American service there is a tendency to use ''Flag Officer'' and ''Flag Rank'' to refer to generals and admirals of the services collectively.

See also

Général

Generalissimo

List of comparative military ranks

List of Roman generals

Shogun

References

External links

Generals of World War II

Schema-root.org: US Generals News feeds for US Generals in the news

Marines.mil: General Officer Biographies Biographies of US Marine Corps General Officers

Bios & Information on Generals of Western History Information on 10 Generals who influenced Western History

Category:Generals Category:Military ranks

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Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Name	Donnie Yen
Tradchinesename	甄子丹
Simpchinesename	甄子丹
Pinyinchinesename	Zhēn Zǐdān
Jyutpingchinesename	Jan1 Zi2daan1
Ancestry	Taishan, Guangdong, China
Origin	Hong Kong
Birth date	July 27, 1963
Birth place	Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Occupation	Actor, martial artist, film director and producer, action choreographer
Yearsactive	1983 - present
Spouse	Cecilia Cissy Wang (2003 - present)
Website	http://www.DonnieYen.asia
Goldenbauhiniaawards	Best Action Choreography2006 ''Dragon Tiger Gate''
Goldenhorseawards	Best Action Choreography2003 ''The Twins Effect''2007 ''Flash Point''
Hongkongfilmwards	Best Action Choreography2003 ''The Twins Effect''2005 ''SPL: Sha Po Lang''2008 ''Flash Point''
Awards	Iron Elephant AwardsBest Actor 2009 (''Ip Man) }}

height
weight lb	165
weight class	Lightweight Weltereight| height
style	Wushu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo, Boxing, Muay Thai, Amateur Wrestling, Wing Chun, Judo, Kickboxing
stance	Orthodox stance
rank	6th degree black belt in Taekwondo Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Medalist at world Wushu tournament
website	http://www.donnieyen.asia/ }}

Donnie Yen (born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director and producer, action choreographer, and world wushu tournament medalist. Apart from being a well-known film and television actor in Hong Kong, Yen has also gained international recognition for appearing in many films together with other prominent and internationally-known actors such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh.

Yen is widely credited by many as the person responsible for popularizing the traditional martial arts style known as Wing Chun. He played the role of Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man in the 2008 film ''Ip Man'', which was a box office success. This has led to an increase in the number of people taking up Wing Chun, leading to hundreds of new Wing Chun schools to be opened up in mainland China and other parts of Asia. Ip Chun, the eldest son of Ip Man, even mentioned that he is grateful to Yen for making his family art popular and allowing his father's legacy to be remembered.

Yen is considered to be Hong Kong's top action star; director Peter Chan mentioned that he "is the 'it' action person right now" and "has built himself into a bona fide leading man, who happens to be an action star." Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream of Asian culture, by choreographing MMA in many of his recent films. Yen has displayed notable skills in MMA, being well-versed in Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Seen as one of the most popular film stars in Asia in recent years, Yen is currently the highest paid actor in the whole of Asia.

Early life

Yen's mother, Bow-sim Mark (麥寶嬋), is a Wudangquan (internal martial arts) grandmaster, while his father, Klyster Yen (甄雲龍), is a newspaper editor. When Yen was two years old, his family moved to Hong Kong, and then to Boston, Massachusetts, United States when he was 11. His younger sister, Chris Yen, is also a martial artist and actress, and appeared in the 2007 film ''Adventures of Johnny Tao: Rock Around the Dragon''.

At a young age, under influence from his mother, Yen developed an interest in martial arts and began experimenting with various styles, including tai-chi and other traditional Chinese martial arts. Yen focused on practicing wushu after dropping out of school. His parents were concerned that he was spending too much time in the Boston Combat Zone, that they sent him to Beijing on a two-year training program with the Beijing Wushu Team. When Yen decided to return to the United States, he made a side-trip to Hong Kong and met action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping there.

Yen also came from a family of musicians. His mother is a soprano, in addition to being a martial arts teacher in Boston, while his father is a violinist. Since young, he was taught by his parents to play musical instruments, including the piano. He also knows hip-hop dancing and breakdancing.

Career

Yen took on the role of a stuntman in his earliest films, ''Shaolin Drunkard'' (1983) and ''Taoism Drunkard'' (1984). At the age of 20, he took on his first acting role in the 1984 film ''Drunken Tai Chi'', and the film helped to make Yen more notable, even though it was not a critical success.

After filming ''Drunken Tai Chi'' and ''Tiger Cage'' (1988), Yen made his breakthrough role as General Nap-lan in ''Once Upon a Time in China II'' (1992), which included a dramatic fight scene between his character and Wong Fei-hung (played by Jet Li). Yen and Li appeared together again in the 2002 film ''Hero'', where Yen played a spear (or qiang) fighter who fought with Li's character, an unnamed swordsman. The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar at the 2003 Academy Awards but lost to the German film ''Nowhere in Africa''.

In 1995, Yen starred as Chen Zhen (Cantonese: Chan Zan) in the television series ''Fist of Fury'' produced by ATV, which is adapted from the 1972 film of the same title that starred Bruce Lee as Chen Zhen. Yen reprised his role as Chen Zhen in the 2010 film ''Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen''.

In 1997, Yen started a production company called Bullet Films, and made his directorial debut in ''Legend of the Wolf'' (1997) and ''Ballistic Kiss'' (1998), in which he played the lead character. Yen went on to choreograph fight scenes and appeared in minor roles in some Hollywood films, such as ''Highlander: Endgame'' (2000) and ''Blade II'' (2002).

In 2003, Yen co-starred with Jackie Chan in ''Shanghai Knights''. His role of the antagonist, Wu Chow, was originally offered to Robin Shou, who played his on-screen nemesis in ''Tiger Cage 2'' (1990), but Shou turned down the offer due to scheduling conflicts and Yen took the role.

Yen choreographed most of the fight animation in the 2004 video game ''Onimusha 3'', which featured actors Takeshi Kaneshiro and Jean Reno. Yen continued to be active in the Hong Kong cinema in the 2000s, starring as Chu Zhaonan in Tsui Hark's wuxia epic film ''Seven Swords'', and as Ma Kwun in Wilson Yip's brutal crime drama film ''SPL: Sha Po Lang'' in 2005. Both films were featured at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. Later that year, Yen co-starred with Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue in Wilson Yip's ''Dragon Tiger Gate'', an adaptation of Wong Yuk-long's manhua series ''Oriental Heroes''. Yen also worked as action choreographer in ''Stormbreaker'', starring Alex Pettyfer. Yen's continued to work with Wilson Yip in ''Flash Point'' (2007) in which he starred as the lead character and served as producer and action choreographer for the film. He won the Best Action Choreography at the Golden Horse Film Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards for his performance in ''Flash Point''.

In 2008, Yen starred in ''Ip Man'', a semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the Wing Chun master of Bruce Lee. ''Ip Man'' marked Yen's fourth collaboration with director Wilson Yip, reuniting him with his co-stars in ''SPL: Sha Po Lang'', Sammo Hung and Simon Yam. ''Ip Man'' became the biggest box office hit to date which featured Yen in the leading role, grossing HK$25 million in Hong Kong and 100 million yuan in China. In July 2011 it was announced that Yen and Cecilia Cheung would be cast in a Hong Kong remake of ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'', titled ''Assassin Couple'', with a reported pay of 30 million yuan.

In August 2011, while Yen was on a vacation with his family in the United States, he reportedly received an invitation by producer Avi Lerner to star in ''The Expendables 2''. It was stated that Yen is considering the offer, and have many films at hand, and will not decide until he sees if the script appeals to him or not.

Action choreography

Apart from being an acclaimed martial artist and actor, Yen is also a world class action choreographer, and his on-screen choreography has been recognized through the numerous awards he has attained.

In recent years, Yen was successful in including mixed martial arts (MMA) into his action choreography in various films, a feat most other action directors have been unsuccessful at accomplishing so far. ''Flash Point'', a film fully choreographed by Yen using MMA was a huge success. His work as a choreographer won him "Best Action Choreography" awards at the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards and the 2008 Golden Horse Film Awards. Another notable MMA film involving Yen is ''SPL: Sha Po Lang''.

Yen was the fight choreographer for the 2010 film ''Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen''. For this film, Yen mentioned that he included Jeet Kune Do elements as a tribute to Bruce Lee, who played Chen Zhen in the 1972 film ''Fist of Fury''. Furthermore he incorporated many MMA elements in the film, coupled with the utilisation of Wing Chun. MMA is an interdisciplinary form of fighting utilising elements of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, judo, karate, boxing, kickboxing and wrestling, which is evident in the film. Yen also stated that the concept behind Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do is similar to that of MMA, hence the incorporation of many forms of martial arts is a necessity in this film.

Due to his notable success in action choreography, he is invited to choreograph most of his latest and upcoming films such as ''The Lost Bladesman'', ''Wu Xia'' and ''The Monkey King''.

Martial arts history, style and philosophy

Yen describes himself as a mixed martial artist, and this is evident from his style. He has learnt wushu since young, under his mother's teachings. He then went on to learn taekwondo in his teenage years, and currently holds a 6th degree black belt in taekwondo. When he was a teenager, he obtained a medal in a wushu competition held in the United States, known as Boston Combat Zone. The Beijing wushu team had a scouting in the United States at the same time, inviting Yen over to Beijing, China, where he began training at the Beijing Sports Institute, the same facility where champion-turned actor Jet Li trained, this is where the two of them crossed-path for the first time.

Yen later went on to discover and to seek knowledge on other martial arts style, he would later obtain belts from judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and went on to study the art of parkour, wrestling, Muay Thai, kickboxing and boxing under various trainers. His exposure of mixed martial arts (MMA) was heightened when he went back to the United States from 2000 to 2003, while making his Hollywood debut, he also took time off to learn the various martial arts form. The progress was evident when he returned back to Asia, where he implemented his new found knowledge of MMA showcased in films such as ''SPL: Sha Po Lang'' (2005) and ''Flash Point'' (2007).

Near the end of 2007, Yen added a new arsenal to his martial arts system. He was offered the role of Wing Chun grandmaster and Bruce Lee's mentor, Ip Man, in a 2008 film named after the grandmaster. He worked hard and studied Wing Chun under Ip Man's eldest son, Ip Chun for 9 months before tackling the role.Ip Chun has since praised Yen for his effort, and complimented that Yen is a great martial artist and a fast learner, and has managed to grasp the full concept of Wing Chun much faster than anyone he has taught.

Yen believes in practical combat, and in his opinion, MMA is the most authentic type of practical combat. He has particular interest in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has obtained a purple belt. He has mentioned that he would have entered the Octagon, joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship if he did not have a recurring shoulder injury.

Yen's philosophy is that, even though there are many technical aspects of the various martial arts form, however the most effective form of combat is when the strength of the martial arts are added together, when various martial arts work together harmoniously. The essence of martial arts is the flow, the flow or images, the flow of music, the flow of communication between an artist and the audience. Martial art is a form of expression, an expression from your inner self to your hands and legs. Yen has a famous quote, "When you watch my films, you're feeling my heart."

Personal life

Yen married Cecilia Cissy Wang in Toronto in 2003. Wang was the winner of the 2000 Miss Chinese Toronto Pageant, including the "Miss Vitality" and "Miss Perfect Figure" awards. They have a daughter, Jasmine, born in 2004, and a son, James, born in 2007. In April 2010 his wife reportedly had a miscarriage.

Yen has stated that he is a big fan of the MMA organization Ultimate Fighting Championship, and has watched almost every UFC event available.

See also

Donnie Yen filmography

Cinema of Hong Kong

Cinema of China

References

External links

Donnie Yen's Sina blog site

"An Action Star Moves to the Lead," New York Times article

Donnie Yen profile page at Hong Kong Cinemagic

Category:1963 births Category:People from Guangzhou Category:Chinese choreographers Category:Hong Kong actors Category:Hong Kong film directors Category:Hong Kong film producers Category:Hong Kong kung fu practitioners Category:Hong Kong wushu practitioners Category:Chinese practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Category:Chinese Muay Thai practitioners Category:Living people Category:Taishanese people Category:Cantonese people Category:Best Action Choreographer HKFA Category:American film directors of Hong Kong descent Category:American people of Chinese descent Category:Hong Kong emigrants to the United States Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States

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Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Juan Williams
birth date
birth place	Colón, Panama
occupation	Author, journalist
education	Haverford College
credits	CNN ''Crossfire''''Fox News Sunday''National Public Radio
url	}}

Juan Williams (born April 10, 1954) is an American journalist and political analyst for Fox News Channel. He also writes for several newspapers including ''The Washington Post'', ''The New York Times'', and ''The Wall Street Journal'' and has been published in magazines such as ''The Atlantic Monthly'' and ''Time''. He was a senior news analyst for National Public Radio (NPR) from 1999 until October 2010. At ''The Washington Post'' for 23 years, Williams has worked as an editorial writer, op-ed columnist, White House correspondent and national correspondent.

Williams is the author of ''Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965'' (1988), a companion to the documentary series of the same name about the African-American Civil Rights Movement;''Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary'' (2000), a biography of Thurgood Marshall, the first black American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States; and ''Enough'' (2006), which was inspired by Bill Cosby's speech at the NAACP gala, and deals with Williams' critique of black leaders in America, and as he puts it the "culture of failure." Williams has received an Emmy Award and critical praise for his television documentary work and he has won several awards for investigative journalism and his opinion columns.

Early years

Williams was born in Colon, Panama, near the Canal Zone. His father, Roger, a boxing trainer, and his mother, Alma, a seamstress, raised him in the Episcopal Church. When he was four years old, his family immigrated to the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. In high school, Williams earned a scholarship to attend Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he became clerk of the student body, editor of the student paper and was captain of the baseball, cross-country and championship basketball teams. Williams then received a scholarship to Haverford College, where he graduated with a B.A. in philosophy in 1976.

Career

During college, Williams worked for three years as a reporter intern for the ''Philadelphia Bulletin''. He also earned a Dow-Jones Newspaper Fund Award for outstanding young journalists and worked for a summer as an editor at the ''Providence Journal'' before returning to finish college.

Washington Post

After graduation, he won an internship at ''The Washington Post'' and worked at the paper from 1976 to 2000. During his tenure at the ''Post'', he held several positions, including metropolitan staff writer. While on the local staff he wrote a prize winning 6 part series on the problems in the DC public schools that was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. His investigative reporting on corruption in Mayor Marion Barry’s administration also won several awards. He later served on the Post’s national staff as a political analyst covering every major political campaign from 1980 to 2000. Additionally, Williams also wrote as the paper’s White House correspondent, as an editorial writer, op-ed columnist and for the ''Post Sunday Magazine''.

While at the ''Post'' he became a regular panelist on ''Inside Washington'', a weekly Washington political affairs program. From 1990 until 1996, he occasionally filled in as a substitute co-host on the CNN program ''Crossfire''. He also regularly appeared on ''Capital Gang Sunday''. In 1996, Williams became host of the syndicated television program ''America's Black Forum'' which included regular panelists Julian Bond, Niger Innis, Deborah Mathis and Armstrong Williams.

Some days after Williams wrote a column defending Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas against sworn testimony by Professor Anita Hill about sexual harassment by Thomas, it was revealed that multiple female employees of the ''Post'' had filed sexual harassment charges against Williams. The paper took disciplinary action against Williams and published an apology by him. On November 2, 1991, Williams wrote: "It pained me to learn during the investigation that I had offended some of you. I have said so repeatedly in the last few weeks, and repeat here: some of my verbal conduct was wrong, I now know that, and I extend my sincerest apology to those whom I offended."

National Public Radio

Williams joined NPR in 2000 as host of the daily afternoon talk show ''Talk of the Nation''. He then served as senior national correspondent for NPR, interviewing newsmakers as well as providing analysis of major events in interviews with the anchors for the newsmagazines ''Morning Edition'', ''All Things Considered'' and ''Weekend Edition'' Saturday and Sunday. As a result of Williams' commentary on the Fox News Channel, NPR's President and CEO Vivian Schiller requested that Fox stop identifying him as an NPR host in 2009. NPR Ombudsman Alicia Shepard maintained that: "Williams tends to speak one way on NPR and another on Fox." Williams' comment on January 26, 2009, to Bill O’Reilly and Mary Katharine Ham, while appearing on Fox News' O'Reilly Factor, triggered the move.

NPR terminated his contract on Wednesday, October 20, 2010, two days after he made remarks on ''The O'Reilly Factor''. He had commented, "Look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous." According to NPR, the remarks were "inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR." As to the reason for the termination of Williams' contract, NPR’s President and CEO Vivian Schiller offered the following comment: "News analysts may not take personal public positions on controversial issues; doing so undermines their credibility as analysts..." On October 21, 2010, Schiller told an audience at the Atlanta Press Club that Williams' feelings about Muslims should be between him and "his psychiatrist or his publicist—take your pick." Schiller later apologized stating, "I spoke hastily and I apologize to Juan and others for my thoughtless remark."

Some observers have questioned whether NPR actually fired Williams for making the comments on Fox News, as opposed to making them in another forum. William Saletan of Slate.com compared the Williams situation to that of Shirley Sherrod, saying that both Sherrod and Williams had their words taken out of context in a way that made them appear racist and led to the loss of their jobs, except that Williams was victimized by liberals, rather than conservatives as in Sherrod's case. Saletan said that while Williams' confessed fears of Muslims were "unsettling", the context was Williams' argument that such fears should not be used to curtail the rights of Muslims or anyone else, and that Williams consistently argued that Muslims in general should not be blamed for the terrorist activities of Muslim extremists. NPR has been criticized by Williams and others for practicing a double standard in the firing, compared to their not firing Cokie Roberts, Nina Totenberg and other NPR reporters and analysts for their opinionated statements.

On January 6, 2011, the same day NPR's Board concluded the investigation of Williams' firing, NPR's senior vice-president, Ellen Weiss, who according to Williams had fired him over the phone, resigned from her post. Additionally, the NPR Board decided to cancel the 2010 bonus of CEO Vivian Schiller for her poor handling of the Williams case.

Juan Williams commented: "It's good news for NPR if they can get someone who is the keeper of the flame of liberal orthodoxy out of NPR." "She had an executioner's knife for anybody who didn't abide by her way of thinking," he said. "And I think she represented a very ingrown, incestuous culture in that institution that's not open to not only different ways of thinking, but angry at the fact that I would even talk or be on Fox."

Fox News Channel

He has been a Fox News Contributor since 1997. He has appeared on ''Special Report with Bret Baier'' and ''FOX News Sunday with Chris Wallace''. He also regularly appears on ''The O'Reilly Factor'' and has served as a guest host in O'Reilly's absence. After NPR announced his termination from their network in October 2010, Fox News offered him a new $2 million (a "considerable" raise), three-year contract and an expanded role at their network that includes a regular guest-host role Friday nights on ''The O'Reilly Factor''.

Following his firing from NPR, Williams appeared on ''The O'Reilly Factor'' and discussed his thoughts on how his role at Fox played into NPR's decision: "I don't fit in their box. I'm not predictable black liberal. You [O'Reilly] were exactly right when you said you know what this comes down to. They were looking for a reason to get rid of me because I'm appearing on Fox News. They don't want me talking to you."

Television

Williams is the recipient of an Emmy Award for his work in television documentary writing and has earned critical praise for a series of television documentaries including ''Politics: The New Black Power'', ''A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom'', ''Civil Rights and The Press'', ''Riot to Recovery'' and ''Dying for Healthcare''.

He was the scriptwriter for Oprah Winfrey’s primetime special ''No One Dies Alone''.

Williams' 1988 book, ''Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954–65'', was written with the Blackside production team as a companion to the first season of the PBS series ''Eyes on the Prize''. His 2003 book, ''This Far by Faith'', is also a companion to a PBS series.

Williams is a contributor to a number of national magazines, including ''Fortune'', ''The New Republic'', ''The Atlantic Monthly'', ''Ebony magazine'', ''TIME'' and ''GQ'' and frequents a wide range of television programs including ABC's ''Nightline'', ''Washington Week'' on PBS, and ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''.

Williams has spoken at the Smithsonian’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ''Brown v. Board of Education'' decision, which ended legal segregation in public schools, and was selected by the United States Census Bureau as moderator of its first program beginning its 2010 effort. He has received honorary doctorates from Lafayette College, Wittenberg University, and Long Island University, among other institutions.

Personal life

Williams married Susan Delise in July 1978 and they have a daughter, Rae, and two sons, Antonio (Tony) and Raphael. Their son, Tony, who was a Senate page and intern for GOP Senator Strom Thurmond from 1996 to 1997, was a speechwriter and legislative correspondent for GOP Senator Norm Coleman from 2004 to 2006, and in 2006 ran for Council of the District of Columbia, losing to Tommy Wells. Their younger son, Raffi, is currently studying anthropology and playing lacrosse at Haverford College in Pennsylvania.

Williams has previously been active on the Haverford College Board of Trustees, the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program, the Washington Journalism Center and the New York Civil Rights Coalition.

Awards

Williams has received many awards, including honorary doctorates from Haverford College and State University of New York.

Front Page Award, Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild (1979)

Education Writers of America (1979)

Columnist of the Year, Washingtonian (1982)

Emmy Award (1989)

Outstanding Memorial Book, Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in the United States

Best National Book, ''Time''

Political commentary award, American Association of University Women

Selected bibliography

References

External links

Juan Williams: Fox News Biography

A Conversation with Juan Williams — Video from researchchannel.org

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:African American journalists Category:African American television personalities Category:African American writers Category:American columnists Category:American Episcopalians Category:American people of Panamanian descent Category:American political pundits Category:American political writers Category:American radio journalists Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Haverford College alumni Category:The Washington Post journalists Category:Fox News Channel people

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
death date	(aged 83)
occupation	Poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights campaigner
movement	Romanticism
influences	François-René de Chateaubriand, Walter Scott, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, Alphonse de Lamartine, William Shakespeare
influenced	Louis-Honoré Fréchette, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Ayn Rand, Irvine Welsh, Albert Camus, Gérard de Nerval, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Oscar Wilde, Jean Cocteau, Gustave Flaubert, Jorge Luis Borges, Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle,
signature	Victor Hugo Signature.svg
birth place	Besançon, France
death place	Paris, France }}

Victor-Marie Hugo () (26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France.

In France, Hugo's literary fame comes first from his poetry but also rests upon his novels and his dramatic achievements. Among many volumes of poetry, ''Les Contemplations'' and ''La Légende des siècles'' stand particularly high in critical esteem, and Hugo is sometimes identified as the greatest French poet. Outside France, his best-known works are the novels ''Les Misérables'' and ''Notre-Dame de Paris'' (also known in English as ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'').

Though a committed royalist when he was young, Hugo's views refined as the decades passed; he became a passionate supporter of republicanism, and his work touches upon most of the political and social issues and artistic trends of his time. He is buried in the Panthéon.

Life

Hugo was the third, illegitimate, son of Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo (1774–1828) and Sophie Trébuchet (1772–1821); his brothers were Abel Joseph Hugo (1798–1855) and Eugène Hugo (1800–1837). He was born in 1802 in Besançon (in the region of Franche-Comté) and lived in France for the majority of his life. However, he decided exile as a result of Napoleon III's Coup d'état at the end of 1851. Hugo lived briefly in Brussels (1851) then moved to the Channel Islands, firstly to Jersey (1852–55) and then to the smaller island of Guernsey (1855–1870). Although a general amnesty was proclaimed by Napoleon III in 1859; Hugo stayed in exile, only ending it when Napoleon III was forced from power as a result of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. Hugo returned again to Guernsey (1872–73), after suffering through the Siege of Paris, before finally returning to France for the remainder of his life.

Hugo's early childhood was marked by great events. Napoléon was proclaimed Emperor two years after Hugo's birth, and the Bourbon Monarchy was restored before his thirteenth birthday. The opposing political and religious views of Hugo's parents reflected the forces that would battle for supremacy in France throughout his life: Hugo's father was an officer who ranked very high in Napoleon's army until he failed in Spain (one of the reasons why his name is not present on the ''Arc de Triomphe''). He was an atheist republican who considered Napoléon a hero; his mother was an extreme Catholic Royalist who is believed to have taken as her lover General Victor Lahorie, executed in 1812 for plotting against Napoléon. Since Hugo's father, Joseph, was an officer, they moved frequently and Hugo learned much from these travels. On his family's journey to Naples, he saw the vast Alpine passes and the snowy peaks, the magnificently blue Mediterranean, and Rome during its festivities. Though he was only nearly six at the time, he remembered the half-year-long trip vividly. They stayed in Naples for a few months and then headed back to Paris.

Sophie followed her husband to posts in Italy (where Léopold served as a governor of a province near Naples) and Spain (where he took charge of three Spanish provinces). Weary of the constant moving required by military life, and at odds with her husband's lack of Catholic beliefs, Sophie separated temporarily from Léopold in 1803 and settled in Paris. Thereafter she dominated Hugo's education and upbringing. As a result, Hugo's early work in poetry and fiction reflect a passionate devotion to both King and Faith. It was only later, during the events leading up to France's 1848 Revolution, that he would begin to rebel against his Catholic Royalist education and instead champion Republicanism and Freethought.

Young Victor fell in love and against his mother's wishes, became secretly engaged to his childhood friend Adèle Foucher (1803–1868).

Unusually close to his mother, he married Adèle (in 1822) only after his mother's death in 1821. They had their first child Léopold in 1823, but the boy died in infancy. Hugo's other children were Léopoldine (28 August 1824), Charles (4 November 1826), François-Victor (28 October 1828) and Adèle (24 August 1830). Hugo published his first novel the following year (''Han d'Islande'', 1823), and his second three years later (''Bug-Jargal'', 1826). Between 1829 and 1840 he would publish five more volumes of poetry (''Les Orientales'', 1829; ''Les Feuilles d'automne'', 1831; ''Les Chants du crépuscule'', 1835; ''Les Voix intérieures'', 1837; and ''Les Rayons et les ombres'', 1840), cementing his reputation as one of the greatest elegiac and lyric poets of his time.

Victor Hugo was devastated when his oldest and favorite daughter, Léopoldine, died at age 19 in 1843, shortly after her marriage. She drowned in the Seine at Villequier, pulled down by her heavy skirts, when a boat overturned. Her young husband Charles Vacquerie also died trying to save her. Victor Hugo was traveling with his mistress at the time in the south of France, and learned about Léopoldine's death from a newspaper as he sat in a cafe. He describes his shock and grief in his poem ''À Villequier'':

''Hélas ! vers le passé tournant un oeil d'envie,'' ''Sans que rien ici-bas puisse m'en consoler,'' ''Je regarde toujours ce moment de ma vie'' ''Où je l'ai vue ouvrir son aile et s'envoler !''

''Je verrai cet instant jusqu'à ce que je meure,'' ''L'instant, pleurs superflus !'' ''Où je criai : L'enfant que j'avais tout à l'heure,'' ''Quoi donc ! je ne l'ai plus !''

''

Alas! turning an envious eye towards the past, unconsolable by anything on earth, I keep looking at that moment of my life when I saw her open her wings and fly away!

I will see that instant until I die, that instant—too much for tears! when I cried out: "The child that I had just now-- what! I don't have her any more!"

He wrote many poems afterwards about his daughter's life and death, and at least one biographer claims he never completely recovered from it. His most famous poem is probably ''Demain, dès l'aube'', in which he describes visiting her grave.

Writings

Like many young writers of his generation, Hugo was profoundly influenced by François-René de Chateaubriand, the famous figure in the literary movement of Romanticism and France's preëminent literary figure during the early 19th century. In his youth, Hugo resolved to be "Chateaubriand or nothing," and his life would come to parallel that of his predecessor in many ways. Like Chateaubriand, Hugo would further the cause of Romanticism, become involved in politics as a champion of Republicanism, and be forced into exile due to his political stances. The precocious passion and eloquence of Hugo's early work brought success and fame at an early age. His first collection of poetry (''Odes et poésies diverses'') was published in 1822, when Hugo was only twenty years old, and earned him a royal pension from Louis XVIII. Though the poems were admired for their spontaneous fervor and fluency, it was the collection that followed four years later in 1826 (''Odes et Ballades'') that revealed Hugo to be a great poet, a natural master of lyric and creative song.

Victor Hugo's first mature work of fiction appeared in 1829, and reflected the acute social conscience that would infuse his later work. ''Le Dernier jour d'un condamné'' (''The Last Day of a Condemned Man'') would have a profound influence on later writers such as Albert Camus, Charles Dickens, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. ''Claude Gueux'', a documentary short story about a real-life murderer who had been executed in France, appeared in 1834, and was later considered by Hugo himself to be a precursor to his great work on social injustice, ''Les Misérables''. But Hugo's first full-length novel would be the enormously successful ''Notre-Dame de Paris'' (''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame''), which was published in 1831 and quickly translated into other languages across Europe. One of the effects of the novel was to shame the City of Paris into restoring the much-neglected Cathedral of Notre Dame, which was attracting thousands of tourists who had read the popular novel. The book also inspired a renewed appreciation for pre-renaissance buildings, which thereafter began to be actively preserved.

Hugo began planning a major novel about social misery and injustice as early as the 1830s, but it would take a full 17 years for ''Les Misérables'', to be realized and finally published in 1862. Hugo was acutely aware of the quality of the novel and publication of the work went to the highest bidder. The Belgian publishing house Lacroix and Verboeckhoven undertook a marketing campaign unusual for the time, issuing press releases about the work a full six months before the launch. It also initially published only the first part of the novel ("Fantine"), which was launched simultaneously in major cities. Installments of the book sold out within hours, and had enormous impact on French society. The critical establishment was generally hostile to the novel; Taine found it insincere, Barbey d'Aurevilly complained of its vulgarity, Flaubert found within it "neither truth nor greatness", the Goncourts lambasted its artificiality, and Baudelaire – despite giving favorable reviews in newspapers – castigated it in private as "tasteless and inept." ''Les Misérables'' proved popular enough with the masses that the issues it highlighted were soon on the agenda of the French National Assembly. Today the novel remains his most enduringly popular work. It is popular worldwide, has been adapted for cinema, television and stage shows.

The shortest correspondence in history is said to have been between Hugo and his publisher Hurst & Blackett in 1862. It is said Hugo was on vacation when ''Les Misérables'' (which is over 1200 pages) was published. He sent a letter containing the single-character message '?' to his publisher, who replied with a single '!'.

Hugo turned away from social/political issues in his next novel, ''Les Travailleurs de la Mer'' (''Toilers of the Sea''), published in 1866. Nonetheless, the book was well received, perhaps due to the previous success of ''Les Misérables''. Dedicated to the channel island of Guernsey where he spent 15 years of exile, Hugo's depiction of Man's battle with the sea and the horrible creatures lurking beneath its depths spawned an unusual fad in Paris: Squids. From squid dishes and exhibitions, to squid hats and parties, Parisians became fascinated by these unusual sea creatures, which at the time were still considered by many to be mythical. The word used in Guernsey to refer to squid (''pieuvre'', also sometimes applied to octopus) was to enter the French language as a result of its use in the book. Hugo returned to political and social issues in his next novel, ''L'Homme Qui Rit'' (''The Man Who Laughs''), which was published in 1869 and painted a critical picture of the aristocracy. However, the novel was not as successful as his previous efforts, and Hugo himself began to comment on the growing distance between himself and literary contemporaries such as Flaubert and Émile Zola, whose realist and naturalist novels were now exceeding the popularity of his own work. His last novel, ''Quatre-vingt-treize'' (''Ninety-Three''), published in 1874, dealt with a subject that Hugo had previously avoided: the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. Though Hugo's popularity was on the decline at the time of its publication, many now consider ''Ninety-Three'' to be a work on par with Hugo's better-known novels.

Political life and exile

After three unsuccessful attempts, Hugo was finally elected to the Académie française in 1841, solidifying his position in the world of French arts and letters. A group of French academiciens, particularly Etienne de Jouy, were fighting against the "romantic evolution" and had managed to delay Victor Hugo's election. Thereafter he became increasingly involved in French politics. He was elevated to the peerage by King Louis-Philippe in 1841 and entered the Higher Chamber as a ''pair de France'', where he spoke against the death penalty and social injustice, and in favour of freedom of the press and self-government for Poland. However, he was also becoming more supportive of the Republican form of government and, following the 1848 Revolution and the formation of the Second Republic, was elected to the Constitutional Assembly and the Legislative Assembly.

When Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) seized complete power in 1851, establishing an anti-parliamentary constitution, Hugo openly declared him a traitor to France. He relocated to Brussels, then Jersey, and finally settled with his family at Hauteville House in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, where he would live in exile until 1870.

While in exile, Hugo published his famous political pamphlets against Napoleon III, ''Napoléon le Petit'' and ''Histoire d'un crime''. The pamphlets were banned in France, but nonetheless had a strong impact there. He also composed or published some of his best work during his period in Guernsey, including ''Les Misérables'', and three widely praised collections of poetry (''Les Châtiments'', 1853; ''Les Contemplations'', 1856; and ''La Légende des siècles'', 1859).

He convinced the government of Queen Victoria to spare the lives of six Irish people convicted of terrorist activities and his influence was credited in the removal of the death penalty from the constitutions of Geneva, Portugal and Colombia. He had also pleaded for Benito Juárez to spare the recently captured emperor Maximilian I of Mexico but to no avail. His complete archives (published by Pauvert) show also that he wrote a letter asking the USA, for the sake of their own reputation in the future, to spare John Brown's life, but the letter arrived after Brown was executed.

Although Napoleon III granted an amnesty to all political exiles in 1859, Hugo declined, as it meant he would have to curtail his criticisms of the government. It was only after Napoleon III fell from power and the Third Republic was proclaimed that Hugo finally returned to his homeland in 1870, where he was promptly elected to the National Assembly and the Senate.

He was in Paris during the siege by the Prussian army in 1870, famously eating animals given to him by the Paris zoo. As the siege continued, and food became ever more scarce, he wrote in his diary that he was reduced to "eating the unknown."

Because of his concern for the rights of artists and copyright, he was a founding member of the Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale, which led to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. However, in Pauvert's published archives, he states strongly that "any work of art has two authors : the people who confusely feels something, a creator who translates these feelings, and the people again who consecrates his vision of that feeling. When one of the authors dies, the rights should totally be granted back to the other, the people".

Religious views

Hugo's religious views changed radically over the course of his life. In his youth, he identified himself as a Catholic and professed respect for Church hierarchy and authority. From there he became a non-practicing Catholic, and increasingly expressed anti-Catholic and anti-clerical views. He frequented Spiritism during his exile (where he participated also in many séances conducted by Madame Delphine de Girardin), and in later years settled into a Rationalist Deism similar to that espoused by Voltaire. A census-taker asked Hugo in 1872 if he was a Catholic, and he replied, "No. A Freethinker".

After that point, Hugo never lost his antipathy towards the Catholic Church, due largely to what he saw as the Church's indifference to the plight of the working class under the oppression of the monarchy; and perhaps also due to the frequency with which Hugo's work appeared on the Church's Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Hugo counted 740 attacks on ''Les Misérables'' in the Catholic press). On the deaths of his sons Charles and François-Victor, he insisted that they be buried without a crucifix or priest, and in his will made the same stipulation about his own death and funeral. However, although Hugo believed Catholic dogma to be outdated and dying, he never directly attacked the actual doctrines of the Church.

Hugo's Rationalism can be found in poems such as ''Torquemada'' (1869, about religious fanaticism), ''The Pope'' (1878, anti-clerical), ''Religions and Religion'' (1880, denying the usefulness of churches) and, published posthumously, ''The End of Satan'' and ''God'' (1886 and 1891 respectively, in which he represents Christianity as a griffin and Rationalism as an angel). "Religions pass away, but God remains", Hugo declared. Christianity would eventually disappear, he predicted, but people would still believe in "God, Soul, and the Power."

Victor Hugo and music

Although Hugo's many talents did not include exceptional musical ability, he nevertheless had a great impact on the music world through the inspiration that his works provided for composers of the 19th and 20th century. Hugo himself particularly enjoyed the music of Gluck and Weber and greatly admired Beethoven, and rather unusually for his time, he also appreciated works by composers from earlier centuries such as Palestrina and Monteverdi. Two famous musicians of the 19th century were friends of Hugo: Berlioz and Liszt. The latter played Beethoven in Hugo's home, and Hugo joked in a letter to a friend that thanks to Liszt's piano lessons, he learned how to play a favourite song on the piano – even though only with one finger! Hugo also worked with composer Louise Bertin, writing the libretto for her 1836 opera ''La Esmeralda'' which was based on the character in ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame''. Although for various reasons the opera closed soon after its fifth performance and is little known today, it has been recently enjoying a revival, both in a piano/song concert version by Liszt at the Festival international Victor Hugo et Égaux 2007 and in a full orchestral version presented in July 2008 at Le Festival de Radio France et Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon.

Well over one thousand musical compositions have been inspired by Hugo's works from the 19th century until the present day. In particular, Hugo's plays, in which he rejected the rules of classical theatre in favour of romantic drama, attracted the interest of many composers who adapted them into operas. More than one hundred operas are based on Hugo's works and among them are Donizetti's ''Lucrezia Borgia'' (1833), Verdi's ''Rigoletto'' (1851) and Ernani (1844), and Ponchielli's ''La Gioconda'' (1876). Hugo's novels as well as his plays have been a great source of inspiration for musicians, stirring them to create not only opera and ballet but musical theatre such as Notre-Dame de Paris and the ever-popular Les Misérables, London West End's longest running musical. Additionally, Hugo's beautiful poems have attracted an exceptional amount of interest from musicians, and numerous melodies have been based on his poetry by composers such as Berlioz, Bizet, Fauré, Franck, Lalo, Liszt, Massenet, Saint-Saëns, Rachmaninov and Wagner.

Today, Hugo's work continues to stimulate musicians to create new compositions. For example, Hugo's novel against capital punishment, The Last Day of a Condemned Man, has recently been adapted into an opera by David Alagna (libretto by Frédérico Alagna). Their brother, tenor Roberto Alagna, performed in the opera's premiere in Paris in the summer of 2007 and again in February 2008 in Valencia with Erwin Schrott as part of the Festival international Victor Hugo et Égaux 2008. In Guernsey, every two years the Victor Hugo International Music Festival attracts a wide range of musicians and the premiere of songs specially commissioned from such composers as Guillaume Connesson, Richard Dubugnon, Olivier Kaspar and Thierry Escaich and based on Hugo's poetry.

Declining years and death

When Hugo returned to Paris in 1870, the country hailed him as a national hero. Despite his popularity Hugo lost his bid for reelection to the National Assembly in 1872. Within a brief period, he suffered a mild stroke, his daughter Adèle's internment in an insane asylum, and the death of his two sons. (Adèle's biography inspired the movie ''The Story of Adele H.'') His wife Adèle had died in 1868. His faithful mistress, Juliette Drouet, died in 1883, only two years before his own death. Despite his personal loss, Hugo remained committed to the cause of political change. On 30 January 1876 Hugo was elected to the newly created Senate. The last phase of his political career is considered a failure. Hugo took on the role of a maverick and got little done in the Senate.

In February 1881 Hugo celebrated his 79th birthday. To honor the fact that he was entering his eightieth year, one of the greatest tributes to a living writer was held. The celebrations began on the 25th when Hugo was presented with a Sèvres vase, the traditional gift for sovereigns. On the 27th one of the largest parades in French history was held. Marchers stretched from Avenue d'Eylau, down the Champs-Élysées, and all the way to the center of Paris. The paraders marched for six hours to pass Hugo as he sat in the window at his house. Every inch and detail of the event was for Hugo; the official guides even wore cornflowers as an allusion to Fantine's song in ''Les Misérables.''

Victor Hugo's death on 22 May 1885, at the age of 83, generated intense national mourning. He was not only revered as a towering figure in literature, he was a statesman who shaped the Third Republic and democracy in France. More than two million people joined his funeral procession in Paris from the Arc de Triomphe to the Panthéon, where he was buried. He shares a crypt within the Panthéon with Alexandre Dumas and Émile Zola. Most large French towns and cities have a street named for him. The avenue where he died, in Paris, now bears his name.

His last will

He left a set of five sentences as his last will to be officially published :

« Je donne cinquante mille francs aux pauvres. Je veux être enterré dans leur corbillard.

Je refuse l'oraison de toutes les Eglises. Je demande une prière à toutes les âmes.

Je crois en Dieu. »

(I leave 50 000 francs to the poor. I want to be buried in their hearse.

I refuse [funeral] orations of all churches. I beg a prayer to all souls.

I believe in God.)

Drawings

Victor Hugo was a prolific visual artist, producing more than 4,000 drawings in his lifetime. Originally pursued as a casual hobby, drawing became more important to Hugo shortly before his exile, when he made the decision to stop writing in order to devote himself to politics. Drawing became his exclusive creative outlet during the period 1848–1851.

Hugo worked only on paper, and on a small scale; usually in dark brown or black pen-and-ink wash, sometimes with touches of white, and rarely with color. The surviving drawings are surprisingly accomplished and "modern" in their style and execution, foreshadowing the experimental techniques of Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism.

He would not hesitate to use his children's stencils, ink blots, puddles and stains, lace impressions, "pliage" or folding (i.e. Rorschach blots), "grattage" or rubbing, often using the charcoal from match sticks or his fingers instead of pen or brush. Sometimes he would even toss in coffee or soot to get the effects he wanted. It is reported that Hugo often drew with his left hand or without looking at the page, or during Spiritualist séances, in order to access his unconscious mind, a concept only later popularized by Sigmund Freud.

Hugo kept his artwork out of the public eye, fearing it would overshadow his literary work. However, he enjoyed sharing his drawings with his family and friends, often in the form of ornately handmade calling cards, many of which were given as gifts to visitors when he was in political exile. Some of his work was shown to, and appreciated by, contemporary artists such as Van Gogh and Delacroix; the latter expressed the opinion that if Hugo had decided to become a painter instead of a writer, he would have outshone the artists of their century.

Gallery:

Memorials

The people of Guernsey erected a statue in Candie Gardens (St. Peter Port) to commemorate his stay in the islands. The City of Paris has preserved his residences Hauteville House, Guernsey and 6, Place des Vosges, Paris as museums. The house where he stayed in Vianden, Luxembourg, in 1871 has also become a commemorative museum.

Hugo is venerated as a saint in the Vietnamese religion of Cao Dai.

The Avenue Victor-Hugo in the XVIème arrondissement of Paris bears Hugo's name, and links the Place de l'Étoile to the vicinity of the Bois de Boulogne by way of the Place Victor-Hugo. This square is served by a Paris Métro stop also named in his honor. A number of streets and avenues throughout France are likewise named after him. The school Lycée Victor Hugo was founded in his town of birth, Besançon in France. Avenue Victor-Hugo, located in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada, was named to honor him.

In the city of Avellino, Italy, Victor Hugo lived briefly stayed in what is now known as Il Palazzo Culturale, when reuniting with his father, Leopold Sigisbert Hugo, in 1808. Victor would later write about his brief stay here quoting "C’était un palais de marbre...".

In Havana, Cuba there is a park named after him.

Works

Published during Hugo's lifetime

''Cromwell'' preface only (1819)

''Odes et poésies diverses'' (1822)

''Odes (Hugo)'' (1823)

''Han d'Islande'' (1823) (''Hans of Iceland'')

''Nouvelles Odes'' (1824)

''Bug-Jargal'' (1826)

''Nils Gunnar Lie's history'' (1826)

''Odes et Ballades'' (1826)

''Cromwell'' (1827)

''Les Orientales'' (1829)

''Le Dernier jour d'un condamné'' (1829) (''The Last Day of a Condemned Man'')

''Hernani'' (1830)

''Notre-Dame de Paris'' (1831), (''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'')

''Marion Delorme'' (1831)

''Les Feuilles d'automne'' (1831)

''Le roi s'amuse'' (1832)

''Lucrèce Borgia'' (1833) (''Lucretia Borgia'')

''Marie Tudor'' (1833)

''Littérature et philosophie mêlées'' (1834)

''Claude Gueux'' (1834)

''Angelo, tyran de padoue'' (1835)

''Les Chants du crépuscule'' (1835)

''La Esmeralda (only libretto of an opera written by Victor Hugo himself)'' (1836)

''Les Voix intérieures'' (1837)

''Ruy Blas'' (1838)

''Les Rayons et les ombres'' (1840)

''Le Rhin'' (1842)

''Les Burgraves'' (1843)

''Napoléon le Petit'' (1852)

''Les Châtiments'' (1853)

''Les Contemplations'' (1856)

''Les TRYNE'' (1856)

''La Légende des siècles'' (1859)

''Les Misérables'' (1862)

''William Shakespeare'' (1864)

''Les Chansons des rues et des bois'' (1865)

''Les Travailleurs de la Mer'' (1866), (''Toilers of the Sea'')

''La voix de Guernsey'' (1867)

''L'Homme qui rit'' (1869), (''The Man Who Laughs'')

''L'Année terrible'' (1872)

''Quatrevingt-treize'' (''Ninety-Three'') (1874)

''Mes Fils'' (1874)

''Actes et paroles – Avant l'exil'' (1875)

''Actes et paroles – Pendant l'exil'' (1875)

''Actes et paroles – Depuis l'exil'' (1876)

''La Légende des Siècles 2e série'' (1877)

''L'Art d'être grand-père'' (1877)

''Histoire d'un crime'' 1re partie (1877)

''Histoire d'un crime'' 2e partie (1878)

''Le Pape'' (1878)

''La pitié suprême'' (1879)

''Religions et religion'' (1880)

''L'Âne'' (1880)

''Les Quatres vents de l'esprit'' (1881)

''Torquemada'' (1882)

''La Légende des siècles'' Tome III (1883)

''L'Archipel de la Manche'' (1883)

Poems of Victor Hugo

Published posthumously

''Théâtre en liberté'' (1886)

''La Fin de Satan'' (1886)

''Choses vues'' (1887)

''Toute la lyre'' (1888)

''Amy Robsart'' (1889)

''Les Jumeaux'' (1889)

''Actes et Paroles'' Depuis l'exil, 1876–1885 (1889)

''Alpes et Pyrénées'' (1890)

''Dieu'' (1891)

''France et Belgique'' (1892)

''Toute la lyre – dernière série'' (1893)

''Les fromages'' (1895)

''Correspondences – Tome I'' (1896)

''Correspondences – Tome II'' (1898)

''Les années funestes'' (1898)

''Choses vues – nouvelle série'' (1900)

''Post-scriptum de ma vie'' (1901)

''Dernière Gerbe'' (1902)

''Mille francs de récompense'' (1934)

''Océan. Tas de pierres'' (1942)

''L'Intervention'' (1951)

''Conversations with Eternity'' (1998)

Online texts

Works by Victor Hugo at Internet Archive

Works by Victor Hugo at The Online Books Page

Political speeches by Victor Hugo: Victor Hugo, My Revenge is Fraternity!

Selected Poetry

Biography and speech from 1851

Obituary in ''The Times''

References

Online references

Afran, Charles (1997). “Victor Hugo: French Dramatist”. Website: Discover France. (Originally published in ''Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia'', 1997, v.9.0.1.) Retrieved November 2005.

Bates, Alfred (1906). “Victor Hugo”. Website: Theatre History. (Originally published in ''The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization'', vol. 9. ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 11–13.) Retrieved November 2005.

Bates, Alfred (1906). “Hernani”. Website: Theatre History. (Originally published in ''The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization'', vol. 9. ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 20–23.) Retrieved November 2005.

Bates, Alfred (1906). “Hugo’s Cromwell”. Website: Theatre History. (Originally published in ''The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization'', vol. 9. ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 18–19.) Retrieved November 2005.

Bittleston, Misha (uncited date). "Drawings of Victor Hugo". Website: Misha Bittleston. Retrieved November 2005.

Burnham, I.G. (1896). “Amy Robsart”. Website: Theatre History. (Originally published in ''Victor Hugo: Dramas''. Philadelphia: The Rittenhouse Press, 1896. pp. 203–6, 401–2.) Retrieved November 2005.

Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2001–05). “Hugo, Victor Marie, Vicomte”. Website: Bartleby, Great Books Online. Retrieved November 2005. Retrieved November 2005.

Haine, W. Scott (1997). “Victor Hugo”. Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions. Website: Ohio University. Retrieved November 2005.

Illi, Peter (2001–2004). “Victor Hugo: Plays”. Website: The Victor Hugo Website. Retrieved November 2005.

Karlins, N.F. (1998). "Octopus With the Initials V.H." Website: ArtNet. Retrieved November 2005.

Liukkonen, Petri (2000). “Victor Hugo (1802–1885)”. Books and Writers. Website: Pegasos: A Literature Related Resource Site. Retrieved November 2005.

Meyer, Ronald Bruce (2004). “Victor Hugo”. Website: Ronald Bruce Meyer. Retrieved November 2005.

Portasio, Manoel (2009). “Victor Hugo e o Espiritismo”. Website: Sir William Crookes Spiritist Society. (Portuguese) Retrieved August 2010.

Robb, Graham (1997). “A Sabre in the Night”. Website: New York Times (Books). (Excerpt from Graham, Robb (1997). ''Victor Hugo: A Biography''. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.) Retrieved November 2005.

Roche, Isabel (2005). “Victor Hugo: Biography”. Meet the Writers. Website: Barnes & Noble. (From the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'', 2005.) Retrieved November 2005.

Schneider, Maria do Carmo M (2010). “Victor Hugo, gênio sem fronteiras”. Website: MiniWeb Educacao. (Portuguese) Retrieved August 2010.

Uncited Author. “Victor Hugo”. Website: Spartacus Educational. Retrieved November 2005.

Uncited Author. “Timeline of Victor Hugo”. Website: BBC. Retrieved November 2005.

Uncited Author. (2000–2005). “Victor Hugo”. Website: The Literature Network. Retrieved November 2005.

Uncited Author. "Hugo Caricature". Website: Présence de la Littérature a l'école. Retrieved November 2005.

Further reading

Barbou, Alfred (1882). ''Victor Hugo and His Times''. University Press of the Pacific: 2001 paper back edition. Book sources

Barnett, Marva A., ed. (2009). ''Victor Hugo on Things That Matter: A Reader''. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. Book sources

Brombert, Victor H. (1984). ''Victor Hugo and the Visionary Novel''. Boston: Harvard University Press. Book sources

Davidson, A.F. (1912). ''Victor Hugo: His Life and Work''. University Press of the Pacific: 2003 paperback edition. Book sources

Dow, Leslie Smith (1993). ''Adele Hugo: La Miserable''. Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions. Book sources

Falkayn, David (2001). ''Guide to the Life, Times, and Works of Victor Hugo''. University Press of the Pacific. Book sources

Feller, Martin, ''Der Dichter in der Politik. Victor Hugo und der deutsch-französische Krieg von 1870/71. Untersuchungen zum französischen Deutschlandbild und zu Hugos Rezeption in Deutschland.'' Doctoral Dissertation, Marburg 1988.

Frey, John Andrew (1999). ''A Victor Hugo Encyclopedia''. Greenwood Press. Book sources

Grant, Elliot (1946). ''The Career of Victor Hugo''. Harvard University Press. Out of print.

Halsall, A.W. et al. (1998). ''Victor Hugo and the Romantic Drama''. University of Toronto Press.Book sources

Hart, Simon Allen (2004). ''Lady in the Shadows: The Life and Times of Julie Drouet, Mistress, Companion and Muse to Victor Hugo.'' Publish American. Book sources

Houston, John Porter (1975). ''Victor Hugo''. New York: Twayne Publishers. Book sources

Hovasse, Jean-Marc (2001), ''Victor Hugo: Avant l'exil''. Paris: Fayard. Book sources

Hovasse, Jean-Marc (2008), ''Victor Hugo: Pendant l'exil I''. Paris: Fayard. Book sources

Ireson, J.C. (1997). ''Victor Hugo: A Companion to His Poetry''. Clarendon Press. Book sources

Laster, Arnaud (2002). ''Hugo à l'Opéra''. Paris: L'Avant-Scène Opéra, no. 208.

Maurois, Andre (1956). ''Olympio: The Life of Victor Hugo''. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Maurois, Andre (1966). ''Victor Hugo and His World''. London: Thames and Hudson. Out of print.

Pouchain, Gérard and Robert Sabourin (1992). ''Juliette Drouet, ou, La dépaysée''. Paris: Fayard. Book sources

Robb, Graham (1997). ''Victor Hugo: A Biography''. W.W. Norton & Company: 1999 paperback edition. Book sources, (description/reviews at wwnorton.com)

Tonazzi, Pascal (2007) ''Florilège de Notre-Dame de Paris (anthologie)'' Paris, Editions Arléa ISBN 2-86959-795-9

External links

France of Victor Hugo

Guernsey’s Official Victor Hugo Website

Guernsey’s Victor Hugo International Music Festival

Victor Hugo Central

Victor Hugo's works: text, concordances and frequency lists

1867 Caricature of Victor Hugo by André Gill

Victor Hugo le dessinateur

Translation of Victor Hugo note found in "Hunchback of Notre Dame," french edition

English translation of Hugo's ''At Dawn Tomorrow'' (''Demain, dès l'aube'')

Another English translation of ''Demain, dès l'aube''

English translation of Hugo's ''A Villequier''

English translation of Hugo's ''Oh ! je fus comme fou dans le premier moment'' ('Oh! I was like a crazy man in the first moment') on the death of his daughter Léopoldine

Official site of the Société des Amis de Victor Hugo

Official site of the Festival international Victor Hugo et Égaux

Translation of The legend of Victor Hugo by Paul Lafargue

Category:1802 births Category:1885 deaths Category:19th-century French writers Category:19th-century theatre Category:Burials at the Panthéon Category:Cao Dai saints Category:Deists Category:French anti–death penalty activists Category:French dramatists and playwrights Category:French fantasy writers Category:French novelists Category:French poets Category:French-language poets Category:Guernsey writers Category:Jersey writers Category:Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni Category:Members of the Académie française Category:Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Category:People from Besançon Category:Philhellenes Category:Romantic poets Category:Rosicrucians Category:Spiritualists Category:University of Paris alumni Category:Western mystics Category:Writers who illustrated their own writing

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