query: William Jennings Bryan served at least one term as a member of the United States House of Representatives.

pos: William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan ( March 19 , 1860 -- July 26 , 1925 ) was an American orator and politician from Nebraska , and a dominant force in the populist wing of the Democratic Party , standing three times as the Party 's nominee for President of the United States ( 1896 , 1900 , and 1908 ) . He served two terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska and was United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson ( 1913 -- 1915 ) . He resigned because of his pacifist position on World War I. Bryan was a devout Presbyterian , a strong advocate of popular democracy , and an enemy of the banks and the gold standard . He demanded `` Free Silver '' because he believed it undermined the evil `` Money Power '' and put more cash in the hands of the common people . He was a peace advocate , a supporter of Prohibition , and an opponent of Darwinism on religious and humanitarian grounds . With his deep , commanding voice and wide travels , he was perhaps the best-known orator and lecturer of the era . Because of his faith in the wisdom of the common people , he was called `` The Great Commoner '' .   In the intensely fought 1896 and 1900 elections , he was defeated by William McKinley but retained control of the Democratic Party . With over 500 speeches in 1896 , Bryan invented the national stumping tour in an era when other presidential candidates stayed home . In his three presidential bids , he promoted Free Silver in 1896 , anti-imperialism in 1900 , and trust-busting in 1908 , calling on Democrats to fight the trusts ( big corporations ) and big banks , and embrace anti-elitist ideals of republicanism . President Wilson appointed him Secretary of State in 1913 . After the Lusitania was torpedoed in 1915 , Wilson made strong demands on Germany that Bryan disagreed with , resigning in protest as a pacifist . After 1920 , he turned to Christian fundamentalism ; he supported Prohibition and attacked Darwinism and evolution , most famously at the Scopes Trial in 1925 in Tennessee . Five days after the conclusion of the Scopes case , Bryan died in his sleep .

neg: Richard Crawford White Richard Crawford White ( April 29 , 1923 -- February 18 , 1998 ) was a Democratic politician from El Paso , Texas , who served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1955 to 1959 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1983 .   Born in El Paso , Texas , White graduated from Dudley Primary School , El Paso High School , and the Citizens ' Military Training Camp at San Antonio , Texas . Subsequently , from 1940 to 1942 , he attended the University of Texas at El Paso , then known as Texas Western College .   After his second year of college , White began his World War II service from 1942 to 1945 in the United States Marine Corps as a rifleman and Japanese-English interpreter in the Pacific Theater . As a result of injuries suffered , he was awarded the Purple Heart .   Returning to Texas after the war , White received his bachelor 's degree in 1946 from the University of Texas at Austin and his J.D. in 1949 from the University of Texas School of Law . He was admitted to the Texas state bar in 1949 and returned to El Paso to begin his legal career . He served two-year terms in the Texas House of Representatives , having been elected in 1954 and 1956 . He was the El Paso County Democratic chairman from 1963 to 1965 .   He was elected to the historic Eighty-ninth Congress as part of the national 1964 Democratic surge linked to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson 's crushing defeat of Republican U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona . White , who received more votes than Johnson did in the 16th District , played his part by unseating freshman Republican Ed Foreman of Odessa in the 16th Congressional District .   During his first term , White represented a monstrous district stretching from El Paso all the way to the Permian Basin -- an area of over 42,000 square miles . However , after Texas ' congressional map was thrown out in Wesberry v. Sanders , his district was cut down to El Paso and a few inner-ring suburbs . He was reelected eight times from this district with almost no difficulty .   As a U.S. representative , White developed a reputation as a moderate Democrat . He also chaired the Democratic Research Organization , a group within the party that distributed information from the leadership relevant to pending votes . Having Fort Bliss in the 16th Congressional District made White a natural choice for his place on the House Armed Services Committee . There he chaired the Military Personnel Subcommittee and was also instrumental in reorganization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . He also served for a while on the Interior , Post Office & Civil Service , and Science & Technology committees . Choosing not to run again in 1982 , White returned to his hometown of El Paso to resume his law practice .   White was married twice . His first marriage in 1949 to Katherine Huffman produced three sons , Rodrick , Richard , and Raymond . After her death in 1972 , White married the former Kathleen Fitzgerald in 1973 . The second marriage produced one daughter , Bonnie , two sons , Sean and Brian , and one step-son , Kenneth .   White died on February 18 , 1998 . His ashes are interred at Arlington National Cemetery , in Arlington , Virginia , near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier , in area 7A .

neg: United States presidential election, 1836 The United States presidential election of 1836 was the 13th quadrennial presidential election , held from Thursday , November 3 , to Wednesday , December 7 , 1836 . As the third consecutive election victory for the Democratic Party , it ushered incumbent Vice President Martin Van Buren into the White House with 170 electoral votes to 124 electoral votes for William Henry Harrison and other Whigs . The popular vote was closer ; Martin Van Buren attracted 764,000 votes to the 738,000 won by the various Whig candidates .   The election of 1836 is principally remembered for three distinctive circumstances :  The Whig Party ran four candidates in different parts of the country in hopes that each would be popular enough to defeat Democrat Martin Van Buren in their respective region . The strategy failed , but had three of the four received more electoral votes then Van Buren , it would have been left to the House of Representatives to decide between the competing Whig candidates .  Richard Mentor Johnson became the first ( and to date only ) Vice President elected by the United States Senate . Although pledged to Van Buren and Johnson ( his running mate ) , Virginia 's 23 electors refused to vote for Johnson , which left him one electoral vote short of the 148-vote majority required to be elected . As such , it was left to the Senate to decide between the top two vote recipient recipients , Johnson and Francis Granger . Johnson was elected on the first ballot 33 to 16 .  This was the last election until the 1988 election ( of George H. W. Bush ) in which the incumbent Vice President was elected to succeed the president under whom he served .   The election of 1836 also marked an important turning point in American political history because of the part it played in establishing the Second Party System . In the 1830s the political party structure was still changing , rapidly , the Democratic Party was organized , but factional and personal leaders still played a major role in politics . By the end of the campaign of 1836 , the new party system was almost complete , as nearly every faction had been absorbed by either the Democrats or the Whigs .

neg: Conscience Whigs The `` Conscience '' Whigs were a faction of the Whig Party in the state of Massachusetts noted for their moral opposition to slavery . They were noted as opponents of the more conservative `` Cotton '' Whigs who dominated the state party , led by such figures as Edward Everett , Robert C. Winthrop , and Abbott Lawrence , whose close association with the New England textile industry led them to de-emphasize the slavery issue . Leaders of the `` Conscience Whigs '' included Charles Sumner , Henry Wilson , and Charles Francis Adams . The group split from the Whig party in 1848 , when the national party nominated the slave-owning General Zachary Taylor for President , and played a role in the creation of the new Free Soil Party , which nominated Adams for Vice President on a ticket with anti-slavery former Democratic President Martin Van Buren .   Following the failure of the Free Soil Party in the election that year , most Conscience Whigs would return to the Whig fold . More followed after the Compromise of 1850 temporarily neutralized the issue of slavery . During the mid 1850s , several Conscience leaders played an important role later in the foundation of the Republican Party .   The term `` Conscience Whig '' is sometimes used more broadly to refer to Whigs in other states noted for their opposition to slavery .

neg: Martin F. Conway Martin Franklin Conway ( November 19 , 1827 -- February 15 , 1882 ) was a U.S. congressman , consul to France , abolitionist , and advocate of the Free-State movement in Kansas .   Conway was born in Harford County , Maryland , the son of Dr. W. D. Conway and Frances ( Maulsby ) Conway . His father was an Exploring Surveyor in the United States Navy , and a slave-owner . Conway learned the printer 's trade in Baltimore after leaving school at fourteen and ( 1 ) became an organizer of the National Typographical Union . Find more about formation of the union from the book Origin and Progress of the Typographical Union by John McVicar , pub 1891 . Do a google book search and see page 7 for M F Conway 's `` election as chairman of the executive committee at the first national convention of journeyman printers of the United States '' . He married Emily Dykes in 1851 , and studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1852 .   Conway moved to the Kansas Territory in 1854 , initially working as a special correspondent for the Baltimore Sun .   He soon resumed the practice of law and became involved in territorial politics . In March 1855 , Conway was elected from Riley County to the first Territorial Council ( Senate ) , but resigned prior to assuming his seat . In 1855 , he was an active member at the Free-State meeting in Big Springs and became a delegate to the Topeka Constitutional convention . In January 1856 , he was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court under the Topeka constitution . In 1858 , he served as president of the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention .   See 1859 Letter of Thomas H. Webb , Secretary of the New England Emigrant Aid Company warning Conway of persons in Boston spreading rumors about him . From online archives of Territorial Kansas History .   The following year , Conway was elected as representative to the U.S. Congress under the Wyandotte Constitution and , when Kansas entered the Union in January 1861 , he was the new state 's first congressman , serving as a Republican until March 3 , 1863 .   Conway Speech in the House of Representatives . New York Times . `` Making New States '' 1862   Find more speeches by Conway from Cornell University , Samuel J May Anti-Slavery Collection . Samuel J May Anti-Slavery Collection See Conway , Martin F listed alphabetically .   See mention of Martin F Conway in personal letter of John Swinton , managing editor of the New York Times , to Walt Whitman , 25 February 1863 , at WALT WHITMAN ARCHIVES   Note : The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1 , 1863 . Conway spent the day in Massachusetts with Ralph Waldo Emerson , William Lloyd Garrison , Wendell Phillips , and Julia Ward Howe . That month put forth a resolution in Congress to recognize the Confederacy then wage war on the south as war between nations .   While in the U.S. House of Representatives , he was known for his opposition to slavery but also served as a member of the Washington , D.C. `` peace convention '' in an effort to avert civil war . He was not returned to congress for another term , but later defended President Andrew Johnson against political assaults waged by Radical Republicans in Congress . In June 1866 , Johnson appointed the former Kansas congressman as consul to Marseille , France .   While living in Washington , during the fall of 1873 , Conway had a violent confrontation with personal and political enemy , Samuel C. Pomeroy , the former U. S. senator from Kansas . ( Read about Pomeroy , bribery scandal . More research and material from the period needed here . ) He was arrested for firing three shots at and slightly wounding Pomeroy , but did not stand trial . Conway became a patient at St. Elizabeth , the Government Hospital for the Insane in Washington , D.C. , -LSB- note : There are indications of some intrigue surrounding his residence there . An area for more research . -RSB- Read comments of a friend who visited Conway and spoke to `` an eminent physician in Washington '' about his condition in The Kansas Memorial : A Report of the Old Settlers Meeting Held at Bismark Grove , Kansas , September 15 and 16 , 1879 . ( See page 129 - Letter from Martin F Conway and preceding paragraph . ) Edited by Charles S. Gleed . Available at the New York Public Library ( off-site . The Kansas Memorial . and died at age fifty-two .

neg: John Breckinridge (U.S. Attorney General) John Breckinridge ( December 2 , 1760 -- December 14 , 1806 ) was a lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Virginia . He served in the state legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky before being elected to the U.S. Senate and appointed United States Attorney General during the second term of President Thomas Jefferson . He is the progenitor of Kentucky 's Breckinridge political family and the namesake of Breckinridge County , Kentucky .   Breckinridge 's father was a local politician , and his mother was a member of the Preston political family . Breckinridge attended the William and Mary College intermittently between 1780 and 1784 ; his attendance was interrupted by the Revolutionary War and his election to the Virginia House of Delegates . One of the youngest members of that body , his political activities acquainted him with many prominent politicians . In 1785 , he married `` Polly '' Cabell , a member of the Cabell political family . Despite making a comfortable living through a combination of legal and agricultural endeavors , letters from relatives in Kentucky convinced him to move to the western frontier . He established `` Cabell 's Dale '' , his plantation , near Lexington , Kentucky , in 1793 .   Breckinridge was appointed as the state 's attorney general soon after arriving . In November 1797 , he resigned and was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives the next month . As a legislator , he secured passage of a more humane criminal code that abolished the death penalty for all offenses except first-degree murder . On a 1798 trip to Virginia , an intermediary gave him Thomas Jefferson 's Kentucky Resolutions , which denounced the Alien and Sedition Acts . At Jefferson 's request , Breckinridge assumed credit for the modified resolutions he shepherded through the Kentucky General Assembly ; Jefferson 's authorship was not discovered until after Breckinridge 's death . He opposed calling a state constitutional convention in 1799 but was elected as a delegate . Due to his influence , the state 's government remained comparatively aristocratic , maintaining protections for slavery and limiting the power of the electorate . Called the father of the resultant constitution , he emerged from the convention as the acknowledged leader of the state 's Democratic-Republican Party and was selected Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1799 and 1800 .   Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1800 , Breckinridge functioned as Jefferson 's floor leader , guiding administration bills through the chamber that was narrowly controlled by his party . Residents of the western frontier called for his nomination as vice president in 1804 , but Jefferson appointed him as U.S. Attorney General in 1805 instead . He was the first cabinet-level official from the West but had little impact before his death from tuberculosis on December 14 , 1806 .

neg: David Jennings (congressman) David Jennings ( 1787 -- 1834 ) was a United States Representative from Ohio .   Born in Readington Township , New Jersey , Jennings attended the public schools . He moved to St. Clairsville , Ohio , in 1812 . He studied law , was admitted to the bar in 1813 , and commenced practice in St. Clairsville . Jennings held several local offices , and served as prosecuting attorney of Belmont County from 1815 to 1825 . He served as member of the State senate from 1819 to 1824 .   Jennings was elected as a pro-Adams Republican to the Nineteenth Congress and served from March 4 , 1825 , until his resignation on May 25 , 1826 .   He died in Baltimore , Maryland , in 1834 .

neg: Slave Power The Slave Power or Slaveocracy was the perceived political power in the U.S. federal government held by slave owners during the 1840s and 1850s , prior to the Civil War . Antislavery campaigners during this period bitterly complained about what they saw as disproportionate and corrupt influence wielded by wealthy Southerners . The argument was that this small group of rich slave owners had seized political control of their own states and were trying to take over the federal government in an illegitimate fashion in order to expand and protect slavery . The argument was widely used by the Republican Party that formed in 1854 -- 55 to oppose the expansion of slavery .   The main issue expressed by the term slave power was distrust of the political power of the slave-owning class . Such distrust was shared by many who were not abolitionists ; those who were motivated more by a possible threat to the political balance or the impossibility of competing with unwaged slave labor , than by concern over the treatment of slaves . Those who differed on many other issues ( such as hating blacks or liking them , denouncing slavery as a sin or promising to guarantee its protection in the Deep South ) could unite to attack the slaveocracy . The `` Free Soil '' element emphasized that rich slave owners would move into new territory , use their cash to buy up all the good lands , then use their slaves to work the lands , leaving little opportunity room for free farmers . By 1854 the Free Soil Party had largely merged into the new Republican party .   The term was popularized by antislavery writers such as John Gorham Palfrey , Josiah Quincy III , Horace Bushnell , James Shepherd Pike , and Horace Greeley . Politicians who emphasized the theme included John Quincy Adams , Henry Wilson and William Pitt Fessenden . Abraham Lincoln used the concept after 1854 but not the term . They showed through a combination of emotive argument and hard statistical data that the South had long held a disproportionate level of power in the United States . Historian Allan Nevins contends that `` nearly all groups ... steadily substituted emotion for reason . ... Fear fed hatred , and hatred fed fear . ''   The existence of a Slave Power was dismissed by Southerners at the time , and rejected as false by many historians of the 1920s and 1930s , who stressed the internal divisions in the South before 1850 . The idea that the Slave Power existed has partly come back at the hands of neoabolitionist historians since 1970 , and there is no doubt that it was a powerful factor in the Northern anti-slavery belief system . It was standard rhetoric for all factions of the Republican party .

neg: List of members of the United States House of Representatives who served a single term One-term congressmen are members of the United States House of Representatives that spent only one two-year term ( or less ) in office usually either due to death , resignation , or defeat . In some rare cases freshmen members have decided to run for another office or not run for reelection . A good many members that serve in the House for only one term are viewed as accidental congressmen due to having been elected in a fluke election or by riding in on the coattails of a popular presidential candidate . Among the most famous one-term congressmen were Abraham Lincoln , who served as a Whig in the 30th Congress of 1847-1849 and was later the 16th President of the United States ; John Marshall , who was elected as a Federalist to the 6th Congress and was later the 4th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ; William Pennington , who served as a Republican in the 36th Congress and was the first sitting Speaker of the House to be defeated in a bid for re-election ; Joseph Pulitzer , the famed newspaper man that resigned from office during his first term ; George Sutherland , who served as a Republican in the 57th Congress and was later an associate U.S. Supreme Court justice ; and William M. `` Boss '' Tweed , who served as a Democrat to the 33rd Congress and later went on to become infamous for his leadership of Tammany Hall , the dominant political machine in New York City throughout the nineteenth century ; and Isidor Straus , the co-owner of Macy 's department store who died in the sinking of the Titanic .

neg: Texas annexation The Texas annexation was the 1845 incorporation of the Republic of Texas into the United States of America , which was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29 , 1845 .   The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico on March 2 , 1836 . At the time the vast majority of the Texian population favored the annexation of the Republic by the United States . The leadership of both major American political parties , the Democrats and the Whigs , opposed the introduction of Texas , a vast slave-holding region , into the volatile political climate of the pro- and anti-slavery sectional controversies in Congress . Moreover , they wished to avoid a war with Mexico , whose government refused to acknowledge the sovereignty of its rebellious northern province . With Texas 's economic fortunes declining by the early 1840s , the President of the Texas Republic , Sam Houston , arranged talks with Mexico to explore the possibility of securing official recognition of independence , with Great Britain mediating .   In 1843 , U.S. President John Tyler , unaligned with any political party , decided independently to pursue the annexation of Texas in a bid to gain a base of popular support for another four years in office . His official motivation was to outmaneuver suspected diplomatic efforts by the British government for emancipation of slaves in Texas , which would undermine slavery in the United States . Through secret negotiations with the Houston administration , Tyler secured a treaty of annexation in April 1844 . When the documents were submitted to the US Senate for ratification , the details of the terms of annexation became public and the question of acquiring Texas took center stage in the presidential election of 1844 .  Pro-Texas-annexation southern Democratic delegates denied their anti-annexation leader Martin Van Buren the nomination at their party 's convention in May 1844 . In alliance with pro-expansion northern Democratic colleagues , they secured the nomination of James K. Polk , who ran on a pro-Texas Manifest Destiny platform .   In June 1844 , the Senate , with its Whig majority , soundly rejected the Tyler -- Texas treaty . The pro-annexation Democrat Polk narrowly defeated anti-annexation Whig Henry Clay in the November 1844 presidential election . In December 1844 , lame-duck President Tyler called on Congress to pass his treaty by simple majorities in each house . The Democratic-dominated House of Representatives complied with his request by passing an amended bill expanding on the pro-slavery provisions of the Tyler treaty . The Senate narrowly passed a compromise version of the House bill ( by the vote of the minority Democrats and several southern Whigs ) , designed to provide the incoming President-elect Polk the options of immediate annexation of Texas or new talks to revise the annexation terms of the House-amended bill .   On March 1 , 1845 , President Tyler signed the annexation bill , and on March 3 ( his last day in office ) , he forwarded the House version to Texas , offering immediate annexation ( which preempted Polk ) . When Polk took office the next day , he encouraged Texas to accept the Tyler offer . Texas ratified the agreement with popular approval from Texans . The bill was signed by Polk on December 29 , 1845 , accepting Texas as the 28th state of the Union . Texas formally relinquished its sovereignty to the United States on February 19 , 1846 .

neg: John Sevier John Sevier ( September 23 , 1745 September 24 , 1815 ) was an American soldier , frontiersman and politician , and one of the founding fathers , of the State of Tennessee . He played a leading role , both militarily and politically , in Tennessee 's pre-statehood period , and was elected the state 's first governor in 1796 . Sevier served as a colonel in the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780 , and commanded the frontier militia in dozens of battles against the Cherokee in the 1780s and 1790s .   Sevier arrived on the Tennessee Valley frontier in the 1770s . In 1776 , he was elected one of five magistrates of the Watauga Association and helped defend Fort Watauga against an assault by the Cherokee . At the outbreak of the War for American Independence , he was chosen as a member of the Committee of Safety for the association 's successor , the Washington District . Following the Battle of Kings Mountain , he led an invasion that destroyed several Chickamauga towns in northern Georgia . In the 1780s , Sevier served as the only governor of the State of Franklin , an early , unsuccessful , attempt at statehood by the trans-Appalachian settlers . He was brigadier general of the Southwest Territory militia during the early 1790s .   Sevier served six two-year terms as Tennessee 's governor , from 1796 , until 1801 , and from 1803 to 1809 , with term limits preventing a fourth consecutive term in both instances . His political career was marked by a growing rivalry with rising politician Andrew Jackson , which nearly culminated in a duel in 1803 . After his last term as governor , Sevier was elected to three terms in the United States House of Representatives , serving from 1811 until his death in 1815 .

neg: Presidency of William McKinley The presidency of William McKinley began on March 4 , 1897 at noon Eastern Standard Time , when William McKinley was inaugurated as President of the United States , and ended on September 14 , 1901 , upon his assassination and death , days into his second term . McKinley , a Republican , was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt .   The 25th United States president , he took office following the 1896 presidential election , in which he defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan , after a front-porch campaign in which he advocated `` sound money '' , promised that high tariffs would restore prosperity , and denounced Bryan 's radicalism and class warfare . He defeated Bryan again in the 1900 presidential election , in a campaign focused on imperialism , protectionism , and free silver . McKinley 's presidency marked the beginning of an era in American political history from the mid -- 1890s to 1932 that was generally dominated by the Republican Party .   McKinley led the nation to victory in the Spanish -- American War , took ownership of Hawaii , the Philippines and Puerto Rico , restored prosperity , promoted pluralism among all groups , raised protective tariffs to promote American industry , and maintained the nation on the gold standard in a rejection of inflationary proposals . Rapid economic growth marked his presidency . He promoted the 1897 Dingley Tariff to protect manufacturers and factory workers from foreign competition , and in 1900 , he secured the passage of the Gold Standard Act . McKinley hoped to persuade Spain to grant independence to rebellious Cuba without conflict , but when negotiation failed , he led the nation in the Spanish -- American War of 1898 ; the U.S. victory was quick and decisive . As part of the peace settlement , Spain turned over to the United States its main overseas colonies of Puerto Rico , Guam , and the Philippines ; Cuba was promised independence , but for a time remained under the control of the U.S. Army . The United States annexed the independent Republic of Hawaii in 1898 and it became a U.S. territory . As an innovator of American interventionism and pro-business sentiment , McKinley 's presidency is generally ranked above average . Historian Lewis L. Gould argues that McKinley was effective in domestic and foreign affairs and was `` the first modern president '' :

neg: William Hendricks William Hendricks ( November 12 , 1782 -- May 16 , 1850 ) was a Democratic-Republican member of the House of Representatives from 1816 to 1822 , the third Governor of Indiana from 1822 to 1825 , and an Anti-Jacksonian member of the U.S. Senate from 1825 to 1837 . He led much of his family into politics and founded one of the largest political families in Indiana . He was the uncle of Thomas Andrews Hendricks , who was also Governor of Indiana and Vice President of the United States . Hendricks County was named in his honor . His term as governor was spent repairing the state 's finances to later enable large scale internal improvements . The establishment of the basic framework of the state 's public school system and the transfer of the capital from Corydon to Indianapolis also occurred during his term .

neg: Plural district A plural district was a district in the United States House of Representatives that was represented by more than one member . States using this method elected multiple members from some of their geographically defined districts , either on a single ballot ( block voting ) or on separate concurrent ballots for each seat ( conducting multiple plurality elections ) .   This method was used to give more populous counties additional representation without dividing them into multiple districts - voters were instead allowed to either vote in several elections or to vote for a slate of candidates . It was a system used mostly in Maryland , New York and Pennsylvania until prohibited by the 1842 Apportionment Bill and subsequent legislation .

neg: United States presidential election in New Hampshire, 1900 The 1900 United States presidential election in New Hampshire took place on November 6 , 1900 throughout 45 states . Voters chose four representatives , or electors to the Electoral College , who voted for President and Vice President .   New Hampshire overwhelmingly voted for the Republican nominee , President William McKinley , over the Democratic nominee , former U.S. Representative and 1896 Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan . McKinley won New Hampshire by a margin of 20.91 % in this rematch of the 1896 presidential election . The return of economic prosperity and recent victory in the Spanish -- American War helped McKinley to score a decisive victory .

neg: William Jennings William Jennings may refer to :   William Jennings ( mayor ) ( 1823 -- 1886 ) , mayor of Salt Lake City , Utah , USA  William M. Jennings ( 1920 -- 1981 ) , one time owner of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League ; the League annually gives out an award in his honour  William Nicholson Jennings ( 1860 -- 1946 ) , photographer in Philadelphia  W. Pat Jennings ( 1919 -- 1994 ) , Representative in the United States Congress from Virginia  William Sherman Jennings ( 1863 -- 1920 ) , governor of Florida , United States  William Thomas Jennings ( 1854 -- 1923 ) , New Zealand politician  William Dale Jennings ( 1917 -- 2000 ) , American author of The Cowboys , The Ronin , and The Sinking of the Sarah Diamond  Sir William Ivor Jennings ( 1903 -- 1965 ) , British lawyer and academic  William Jennens ( 1701 -- 1798 ) William the Miser , William the Rich , ` the richest commoner in England ' who died intestate . The legal case dragged on for over 100 years .

neg: William Hemsley (Maryland) William Hemsley ( January 23 , 1737 -- June 5 , 1812 ) was an American planter and political leader from Maryland . He represented Maryland in the Continental Congress in 1782 and 1783 .   Hemsley 's entire life was closely connected with his family 's plantation , Clover Fields Farm , in Queen Anne 's County on Maryland 's Eastern Shore . The family had been established there and in Talbot County for several generations . His career of public service was similar to that of many prominent planters . He was a county official in both counties at various times , and served as a Colonel in the militia of Queen Anne 's County during the Revolutionary War .   Hemsley was first elected to the Maryland state senate in November 1779 . He would serve in that body until 1781 . Then in 1782 -- 1783 he served in the Continental Congress in New York . He was again elected to the state senate in 1784 , but declined that election . He would serve again from 1786 to 1789 . Although re-elected again in 1790 , he did not serve . He was a member of the Maryland Convention that ratified the United States Constitution on April 28 , 1788 .   His later years were spent running the family plantation . He died there on June 5 , 1812 and was buried in the family 's cemetery on the farm , near Queenstown , Maryland . His son , William Hemsley , Jr. , also served in the state senate in 1799 -- 1800 .

neg: United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress which , along with the United States House of Representatives , the lower chamber , composes the legislature of the United States of America .   The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution . The Senate is composed of senators who represent each of the several states , with each state being equally represented by two senators , regardless of their population , serving staggered terms of six years ; with fifty states presently in the Union , there are 100 U.S. Senators . From 1789 until 1913 , Senators were appointed by legislatures of the states they represented ; following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913 , they are now popularly elected . The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol , in Washington , D.C.   As the upper house , the Senate has several powers of advice and consent which are unique to it ; these include the ratification of treaties , the confirmation of Cabinet secretaries , Supreme Court justices , federal judges , other federal executive officials , flag officers , regulatory officials , ambassadors , and other federal uniformed officers . In addition to these , in cases wherein no candidate receives a majority of electors for Vice President , the duty befalls upon the Senate to elect one of the top two recipients of electors for that office . It further has the responsibility of conducting trials of those impeached by the House . The Senate is widely considered both a more deliberative and more prestigious body than the House of Representatives due to its longer terms , smaller size , and statewide constituencies , which historically led to a more collegial and less partisan atmosphere .   The presiding officer of the Senate is the Vice President of the United States , who is President of the Senate ; in their absence , the President Pro Tempore , who is customarily the senior member of the controlling party , presides over the Senate . In the early 20th century , the practice of majority and minority parties electing their floor leaders began , although they are not constitutional officers .

neg: United States House of Representatives elections, 1886 Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1886 for Representatives to the 50th Congress , taking place in the middle of President Grover Cleveland 's first term .   As in many midterm elections , Cleveland 's Democratic Party lost seats to the opposition Republican Party , although a narrow majority was retained . Many of these Republican pickups were in the industrializing Midwest states , where the debate over tariffs , which were advocated by Republicans to protect domestic industry but opposed by Democrats to allow for free agricultural trade , led to political change . The small Labor Party , supported by industrial workers , gained one seat each in Virginia ( VA-06 ) and Wisconsin ( WI-04 ) , while the Greenback Party maintained its one seat in Iowa ( James B. Weaver of IA-06 ) . John Nichols was also elected as an Independent to NC-04 .

neg: William McKendree Springer William McKendree Springer ( May 30 , 1836 -- December 4 , 1903 ) was a United States Representative from Illinois .  He was born near New Lebanon , Sullivan County , Indiana , May 30 , 1836 ; moved to Jacksonville , Illinois , with his parents in 1848 ; attended the public schools in New Lebanon and Jacksonville and the Illinois College at Jacksonville where he was a member of Phi Alpha Literary Society ; graduated from Indiana University in 1858 ; studied law ; was admitted to the bar in 1859 and practiced in Lincoln , Illinois and Springfield , Illinois ; was secretary of the State constitutional convention in 1862 at the young age of 26 and briefly served as assistant secretary of the state 's senate ; traveled in Europe 1868-1871 ; was member of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1871 and 1872 ; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fourth and to the nine succeeding Congresses ( March 4 , 1875 -- March 3 , 1895 ) . During his service in Congress he was involved in the investigation of election frauds during the Hayes-Tilden campaign . He was chairman , Committee on Expenditures in the Department of State ( Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses ) , Committee on Elections ( Forty-sixth Congress ) , Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Justice ( Forty-eighth Congress ) , Committee on Claims ( Forty-ninth Congress ) , Committee on Territories ( Fiftieth Congress ) , Committee on Ways and Means ( Fifty-second Congress ) , Committee on Banking and Currency ( Fifty-third Congress ) . While on the Committee on Territories Springer framed the bills that organized Oklahoma Territory and also created a federal judicial system for the Indian Territory . Springer created an Amendment as a `` rider '' to the Indian Appropriations Act for 1890 . The Springer Amendment began the process of placing the Unassigned Lands of Indian Territory within the federal public domain and open to homesteaders . He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1894 to the Fifty-fourth Congress . He again resumed the practice of law in Washington , D.C. , in 1895 . He was appointed by President Grover Cleveland as a United States judge for the northern district of Indian Territory and chief justice of the United States Court of Appeals of Indian Territory .   In 1900 Springer left his judicial post to establish law offices in both Chicago and Washington , D.C. . He also worked for the National Livestock Association as their lobbyist , where he became exposed to the Kiowa reserve grasslands .   Though the Springer Amendment helped to open up Indian lands to homesteaders , in 1901 William Springer was hired by two Kiowa Indians ( later to include numerous other Indians from the KCA tribes ) from the Kiowa , Comanche , Apache Reservation to represent them in what became the court case of Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock , 187 U.S. 553 ( 1903 ) . Springer had aided in the writing of a memorial to the President protesting the 1900 Act that resulted from the Jerome Agreement between the Indians from the Kiowa , Comanche , and Apache Reservation and the members of the Jerome Commission . In the Jerome Agreement the tribes of the KCA Reservation ceded most of their lands to the United States who would then open it up for allotment to white settlers . Lone Wolf asserted and Springer argued on his behalf in court that 1 . ) The Kiowa , Comanche , and Apache Indians were fraudulently induced to sign the Jerome Agreement and those that did sign did not fully understand its provisions vastly because , like Lone Wolf , most of the Indians did not speak English and relied on interpreters . 2 . ) The Jerome Agreement was not signed by three-fourths of the adult male members of the tribes as required by the Medicine Lodge Treaty . Lone Wolf alleged that the total number of Indian males exceeded the number claimed by the Indian Agent and that the census of 1900 showed there were 639 adult male members of the KCA tribes on the reservation . Thus the Jerome Agreement was twenty-three signatures short of the required amount . 3 . ) The KCA 's had protested the agreement from the beginning . 4 . ) The version that was ratified by Congress had been significantly altered and amended and the changes made had not been submitted to the KCA for their approval . Springer argued for Lone Wolf that Congress should not be able to unilaterally alter the provisions of the agreement without the Indians ' consent and thus the Act should be rejected .   On July 22 , 1901 Springer , who was also aided by attorneys Hays McMeehan , William C. Reeves , and Charles Porter Johnson , filed for a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction halting the cession and the opening of surplus lands after the members of the KCA tribes had been given their individual allotments . The request for the restraining order was denied by Judge Clinton F. Irwin . Springer and his colleagues appeal to The Supreme Court for the District of Columbia where on June 21 , 1901 Justice A. C. Bradley denied the KCA 's application for a temporary injunction .  Springer appealed the District Court 's decision to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia where the decision in the lower courts was upheld on December 4 , 1901 , by Chief Justice Alvey .   Finally , Springer , now aided by attorney Hampton Carson who was hired by the Indian Rights Association , appealed to the United States Supreme Court and where once again he was unsuccessful in his appeal . On January 5 , 1903 , in a unanimous decision , the Court affirmed the Court of Appeals and upheld the Congressional action . The Court rejected the Indians ' argument that Congress ' action was a taking under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment . Justice Edward D. White described the Indians as the wards of the nation and matters involving Indian lands were the sole jurisdiction of Congress . Congress therefore had the power to abrogate the provisions of an Indian treaty , including the two million acre change . Justice John M. Harlan concurred in the judgment . This case maintained that the federal government had always had plenary power over tribes and could unilaterally abrogate Indian treaty rights despite the protests of the tribes .   Springer unsuccessfully challenged the federal income tax levied during the Civil War in the case of Springer v. United States .   William Springer died on December 4 , 1903 ; and was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery , Springfield , Illinois .  Bibliography : Dictionary of American Biography .

neg: United States elections, 1844 The 1844 United States elections elected the members of the 29th United States Congress , and took place during the Second Party System in the midst of the debate over whether to annex Texas . Texas and Iowa joined the union during the 29th Congress . Democrats retained control of the House and took back control of the Presidency and the Senate , re-establishing the dominant position the party had lost in the 1840 election .   In the Presidential election , Democratic former Speaker of the House James K. Polk defeated Whig former Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky . Though Polk won the popular vote by a little over one percent , he won by a comfortable margin in the electoral college . James G. Birney of the nascent Liberty Party took two percent of the popular vote , and may have swung the election by taking votes from Clay in New York . The little-known Polk defeated several rivals to win his party 's nomination , emerging as the first dark horse nominee in U.S. presidential history . Incumbent President John Tyler , who had been expelled from the Whig party early in his presidency , was briefly the candidate of the newly formed Democratic-Republican Party , but dropped out of the race after Polk announced his support for ratification of Tyler 's Texas annexation treaty .   In the House , Whigs picked up a small number of seats , but Democrats retained a commanding majority .   In the Senate , Democrats picked up several seats , re-taking the majority .


query: July 2007 saw the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

pos: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final novel of the Harry Potter series , written by British author J. K. Rowling . The book was released on 21 July 2007 by Bloomsbury Publishing in the United Kingdom , in the United States by Scholastic , and in Canada by Raincoast Books , ending the series that began in 1997 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher 's Stone . The novel chronicles the events directly following Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ( 2005 ) , and the final confrontation between the wizards Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort , as well as revealing the previously concealed back story of several main characters . The title of the book refers to three mythical objects featured in the story , collectively known as the `` Deathly Hallows '' -- an unbeatable wand , a stone to bring the dead to life , and a cloak of invisibility .   Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in January 2007 . Before its release , Bloomsbury reportedly spent # 10 million to keep the book 's contents safe before its release date . American publisher Arthur Levine refused any copies of the novel to be released in advance for press review , although two reviews were submitted early . Shortly before release , photos of all 759 pages of the U.S. edition were leaked and transcribed , leading Scholastic to look for the source that had leaked it .   Released globally in 93 countries , Deathly Hallows broke sales records as the fastest-selling book ever , a record it still held in 2012 . It sold 15 million copies in the first 24 hours following its release , including more than 11 million in the U.S. and UK alone . The previous record , 9 million in its first day , had been held by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince . The novel has also been translated into over 120 languages . The title proved difficult to translate and was often rendered closer to `` Harry Potter and the Relics of Death '' in other languages .   Major themes in the novel are death and living in a corrupted society , and critics have compared them to Christian allegories . Generally well-received , the book won the 2008 Colorado Blue Spruce Book Award , and the American Library Association named it a `` Best Book for Young Adults '' . A two-part film adaptation began showing in November 2010 when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1 was released ; Part 2 was released on 15 July 2011 .

neg: 13th Critics' Choice Awards The 13th Critics ' Choice Awards were given on 7 January 2008 to honor the finest achievements in 2007 filmmaking . D. L. Hughley hosted the event .

neg: 28 Weeks Later 28 Weeks Later is a 2007 British science fiction horror film , structured as a sequel to the critically and commercially successful 2002 film 28 Days Later . 28 Weeks Later was co-written and directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo , with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland , director and writer of 28 Days Later respectively , now acting as executive producers . It was released in the United Kingdom and United States on 11 May 2007 . The plot depicts the efforts of NATO military forces to salvage a safe zone in London following the events in 28 Days Later , the consequence of two young siblings breaking protocol to find their infected mother , and the resulting reintroduction of the highly contagious virus to the safe zone .

neg: Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic Terry Pratchett 's The Colour of Magic is a two-part television adaptation of the bestselling novels The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett . The fantasy film was produced for Sky1 by The Mob , a small British studio , starring David Jason , Sean Astin , Tim Curry and Christopher Lee as the voice of Death . Vadim Jean both adapted the screenplay from Pratchett 's original novels , and served as director .   Terry Pratchett 's The Colour of Magic was broadcast on Sky One , and in high definition on Sky 1 HD , on Easter Sunday ( 23 March ) and 24 March 2008 . The first part drew audiences of 1.5 million , with the second part attracting up to 1.1 million viewers . The film was well received by fans , but drew mixed reviews from critics , who generally praised the acting talent of the all-star cast , but criticised the film 's script and direction .   The production is the second adaptation of Pratchett 's novels as a live-action film , following the successful release of Hogfather on Sky 1 over Christmas 2006 . A third adaptation , Going Postal , followed in 2010 with more planned for the future .

neg: Terry Pratchett's Hogfather Terry Pratchett 's Hogfather is a two-part television film adaptation of Hogfather by Terry Pratchett , produced by The Mob , and first broadcast on Sky One , and in High Definition on Sky1 HD , over Christmas 2006 . First aired in two 1.5 hour episodes on the 17th and 18 December 2006 at 20:00 UTC , it was the first live-action film adaptation of a Discworld novel . In 2007 , the two episodes were rerun on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day respectively on Sky One and Sky1 HD .   Hogfather won the Interactivity Award at the 2007 BAFTA TV Awards for its use of the interactive options available on digital television .

neg: Film series A film series ( also referred to as a film franchise ) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe , or are marketed as a series .   Sometimes the work is conceived from the beginning as a multiple-film work , for example the Three Colours series , but in most cases the success of the original film inspires further films to be made . Individual sequels are relatively common , but are not always successful enough to spawn further installments .   The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the highest grossing film series in unadjusted US Dollar figures surpassing the Harry Potter , Star Wars , James Bond , and Peter Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings series . However , `` Star Wars '' has the highest when adjusted for inflation .

neg: Summer Shakespeare Festival The Summer Shakespeare Festival ( Czech : Letní shakespearovské slavnosti , Slovak : Letné shakespearovské slávnosti ) takes place in the courtyard of Burgrave Palace at Prague Castle . The festival was originally initiated by Václav Havel . The performances are also presented at Špilberk in Brno and at Bratislava Castle in Bratislava . The organizers closely cooperate with Martin Hilský , who translated most of the staged plays .   So far , the most acclaimed was the performance of King Lear in 2002 . In 2004 , director Martin Huba was selected for an ambitious project , a performance of Romeo and Juliet such as that one evening Capulets would be Slovaks and Monteks Czechs and the next day vice versa . The project failed , Huba said to the media that even though the dialogs translated by Ľubomír Feldek and Martin Hilský were perfect , they somehow did not fit together . In the end , the only Slovak-speaking character was the Nurse , performed by Emília Vášáryová .

neg: Paul Khanna Paul Khanna is a British actor in the two-part Warner Bros. film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows .

neg: Cinema of India The cinema of India consists of films produced across India . Cinema as a medium has gained immense popularity in the country and as many as 1,600 films in various languages of India are produced annually . Indian films have also come to be followed throughout South Asia , the Greater Middle East , Southeast Asia and other countries . Dadasaheb Phalke is known as the `` father of Indian cinema '' . The Dadasaheb Phalke Award , for lifetime contribution to cinema , was instituted in his honour , by the Government of India in 1969 , and is the most prestigious and coveted award in Indian cinema .   In the 20th century , Indian cinema , along with the Hollywood and Chinese film industries , became a global enterprise . As of 2013 , in terms of annual film output , India ranks first , followed by Nollywood , Hollywood and China . In 2012 , India produced 1,602 feature films . The Indian film industry reached overall revenues of $ 1.86 billion ( 93 billion ) in 2011 . This is projected to rise to $ 3 billion ( 200 billion ) in 2016 . In 2015 , India had a total box office gross of , the fourth largest in the world outside North America . Enhanced technology paved the way for upgrading from established cinematic norms of delivering product , altering the manner in which content reached the target audience . Biopics like Dangal and CGI-laden epics like Baahubali emerged as transnational blockbusters grossing over $ 200 million each in early 21st century . Indian cinema found markets in over 90 countries where films from India are screened . The Indian government extended film delegations to foreign countries such as the United States of America and Japan while the country 's Film Producers Guild sent similar missions through Europe .   The provision of 100 % foreign direct investment has made the Indian film market attractive for foreign enterprises such as 20th Century Fox , Sony Pictures , Walt Disney Pictures and Warner Bros. . Indian enterprises such as AVM Productions , Prasad 's Group , Sun Pictures , PVP Cinemas , Zee , UTV , Suresh Productions , Eros Films , Ayngaran International , Pyramid Saimira , Aascar Films and Adlabs also participated in producing and distributing films . Tax incentives to multiplexes have aided the multiplex boom in India . By 2003 as many as 30 film production companies had been listed in the National Stock Exchange of India , making the commercial presence of the medium felt .   The South Indian film industry defines the four film cultures of South India as a single entity . They are the Telugu , the Tamil , the Malayalam and the Kannada industries . Although developed independently over a long period , gross exchange of film performers and technicians as well as globalisation helped to shape this new identity .   The Indian diaspora consists of millions of Indians overseas for which films are made available both through media such as DVDs and by screening of films in their country of residence wherever commercially feasible . These earnings , accounting for some 12 % of the revenue generated by a mainstream film , contribute substantially to the overall revenue of Indian cinema , the net worth of which was found to be 1.3 billion in 2000 . Music in Indian cinema is another substantial revenue generator with the music rights alone accounting for 4 -- 5 % of the net revenues generated by a film in India .

neg: 38th Saturn Awards The 38th Saturn Awards , honoring the best in science fiction , fantasy and horror film and television in 2011 , were held on July 26 , 2012 in Burbank , California . The awards are presented by the Academy of Science Fiction , Fantasy and Horror Films .   The six Best Film Award categories were respectively won by Rise of the Planet of the Apes ( Science Fiction ) , Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 ( Fantasy ) , The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ( Horror or Thriller ) , Mission : Impossible -- Ghost Protocol ( Action or Adventure ) , The Skin I Live In ( International ) and Puss in Boots ( Animated ) . Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Super 8 led the winners with three each .   In the television categories , Breaking Bad won three of its six nominations , including Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series . Fringe , The Walking Dead and Teen Wolf won the other Best Series Awards .   Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 became the first Harry Potter film to win Best Fantasy Film , for which the seven previous Harry Potter films were nominated , and only the second film of the series to win a Saturn Award , following The Philosopher 's Stone which won Best Costume in 2001 . Mission : Impossible -- Ghost Protocol also became the first Mission : Impossible film to win Best Action or Adventure Film , following the nominations of the first and third installments .

neg: Minerva Press Minerva Press was a publishing house , noted for creating a lucrative market in sentimental and Gothic fiction in the late 18th century and early 19th century . It was established by William Lane ( 1745 ? -1814 ) at No 33 Leadenhall Street , London , when he moved his circulating library there in about 1790 .   Among his stable of writers were many female authors including Regina Maria Roche ( The Maid of Hamlet , 1793 ; Clermont , 1798 ) ; Mrs. Eliza Parsons ( The Castle of Wolfenbach , 1793 ; The Mysterious Warning , 1796 ) ; and Eleanor Sleath ( The Orphan of the Rhine , 1798 ) whose Gothic fiction is included in the list of the seven Northanger Horrid Novels , recommended by the character Isabella Thorpe in Jane Austen 's novel of similar name . Six of the Northanger Seven were published by Minerva . However many titles were anonymous , including such novels as Count Roderic 's Castle ( 1794 ) , The Haunted Castle ( 1794 ) , The Animated Skeleton ( 1798 ) and The New Monk ( 1798 ) , and the five novels of Helen Craik . Authors such as Emma Parker ( `` Emma de Lisle '' ) and Amelia de Beauclerc , who wrote for Minerva Press in the 1800s , are obscure today , and the market for Minerva 's books became negligible after the death of its charismatic founder .   Lane was succeeded as proprietor of the Minerva Press by his partner , Anthony King ( A. K. ) Newman , who gradually dropped the Minerva name from his books ' title pages during the 1820s . Later books published by the press bear the imprint `` A. K. Newman & Co. . ''   In the 20th century , the name Minerva Press was used by at least one publisher unconnected with the original firm .

neg: The Dark Knight (film) The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed , co-produced , and co-written by Christopher Nolan . Featuring the DC Comics character Batman , the film is the second part of Nolan 's The Dark Knight Trilogy and a sequel to 2005 's Batman Begins , starring an ensemble cast including Christian Bale , Michael Caine , Heath Ledger , Gary Oldman , Aaron Eckhart , Maggie Gyllenhaal and Morgan Freeman . In the film , Bruce Wayne/Batman ( Bale ) , James Gordon ( Oldman ) and Harvey Dent ( Eckhart ) form an alliance to dismantle organized crime in Gotham City , but are menaced by a criminal mastermind known as the Joker ( Ledger ) who seeks to undermine Batman 's influence and create chaos .   Nolan 's inspiration for the film was the Joker 's comic book debut in 1940 , the 1988 graphic novel The Killing Joke , and the 1996 series The Long Halloween , which retold Two-Face 's origin . The nickname `` the Dark Knight '' was first applied to Batman in Batman # 1 ( 1940 ) , in a story written by Bill Finger . The Dark Knight was filmed primarily in Chicago , as well as in several other locations in the United States , the United Kingdom , and Hong Kong . Nolan used IMAX 70 mm film cameras to film some sequences , including the Joker 's first appearance in the film . The film is dedicated to the memory of Ledger , who died on January 22 , 2008 , some months after the completed filming and six months before the film 's release , from a toxic combination of prescription drugs , leading to intense attention from the press and movie-going public . Warner Bros. initially created a viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight , developing promotional websites and trailers highlighting screenshots of Ledger as the Joker .   A co-production of the United States and the United Kingdom , The Dark Knight was released on July 16 , 2008 in Australia , on July 18 , 2008 , in North America , and on July 25 , 2008 , in the United Kingdom . Considered by film critics to be one of the best films of the 2000s and one of the best superhero films ever , the film received highly positive reviews and set numerous records during its theatrical run . The Dark Knight appeared on more critics ' top ten lists ( 287 ) than any other film of 2008 with the exception of WALL-E , and more critics ( 77 ) named The Dark Knight the best film of 2008 than any other film released that year . With over $ 1 billion in revenue worldwide , it is the 29th-highest-grossing film of all time , unadjusted for inflation . The film received eight Academy Award nominations ; it won the award for Best Sound Editing and Ledger was posthumously awarded Best Supporting Actor . The Dark Knight Rises , the final film in the trilogy , was released on July 20 , 2012 .

neg: Harry Potter (character) Harry James Potter is the title character and protagonist of J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series . The majority of the books ' plot covers seven years in the life of the orphan Potter , who , on his eleventh birthday , learns he is a wizard . Thus , he attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to practise magic under the guidance of the kindly headmaster Albus Dumbledore and other school professors . Harry also discovers that he is already famous throughout the novel 's magical community , and that his fate is tied with that of Lord Voldemort , the internationally feared Dark Wizard and murderer of his parents , Lily and James .

neg: Enchanted (film) Enchanted is a 2007 American live-action/animated musical fantasy romantic comedy film , produced by Walt Disney Pictures with New York Academy Barry Sonnenfeld and Josephson Entertainment . Written by Bill Kelly and directed by Kevin Lima , the film stars Amy Adams , Patrick Dempsey , James Marsden , Timothy Spall , Idina Menzel , Rachel Covey , and Susan Sarandon . The plot focuses on Giselle , an archetypal Disney Princess , who is forced from her traditional animated world of Andalasia into the live-action world of New York City . Enchanted was the first Disney film to be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures , instead of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution .   The film is both a homage to , and a self-parody of , Disney 's animated features , making numerous references to Disney 's past works through the combination of live-action filmmaking , traditional animation , and computer-generated imagery . It marks the return of traditional animation to a Disney feature film after the company 's decision to move entirely to computer animation in 2004 . Composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz , who had written songs for previous Disney films , produced the songs of Enchanted , with Menken also composing its score .   The animation sequences were produced at James Baxter Animation in Pasadena . Filming of the live action segments took place around New York City . It premiered on October 20 , 2007 , at the London Film Festival before its wide release on November 21 , 2007 , in the United States . Enchanted was well-received critically , established Adams as a leading lady , and earned more than $ 340 million worldwide at the box office . It won three Saturn Awards , including Best Fantasy Film and Best Actress for Adams . Enchanted also received two nominations at the 65th Golden Globe Awards and three Best Original Song nominations at the 80th Academy Awards .

neg: Wizards of Waverly Place Wizards of Waverly Place is an American fantasy teen sitcom which ran from October 12 , 2007 to January 6 , 2012 on Disney Channel . The series was created by Todd J. Greenwald , and stars Selena Gomez , David Henrie and Jake T. Austin as three wizard siblings with magical abilities competing to win sole custody of the family powers . Further main cast includes Jennifer Stone , Maria Canals Barrera , and David DeLuise .   The series won `` Outstanding Children 's Program '' at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009 . A film adaptation of the series , Wizards of Waverly Place : The Movie , premiered as a Disney Channel Original Movie on August 28 , 2009 . The film adaptation won `` Outstanding Children 's Program '' at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards earning the series its second consecutive Emmy . The farewell season won `` Outstanding Children 's Program '' at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards bringing the franchise 's total to three Emmy awards . Wizards of Waverly Place ended with 106 episodes over four seasons , surpassing That 's So Raven . Its series finale averaged nearly 10 million viewers ( live and total views on same day ) , which made that episode the most-watched series finale in Disney Channel 's history .   On March 15 , 2013 , The Wizards Return : Alex vs. Alex premiered as a one-hour television special .

neg: 8th IIFA Awards The 2007 IIFA Awards , officially known as the 8th International Indian Film Academy Awards ceremony , presented by the International Indian Film Academy honoured the best films of 2006 and took place between June 7 -- 9 , 2007 . The official ceremony took place on June 9 , 2007 , at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield , England . During the ceremony , IIFA Awards were awarded in 29 competitive categories . The ceremony was televised in India and internationally on Star Plus . Actors Boman Irani and Lara Dutta co-hosted the ceremony for the first time .   Some other salient events held during this weekend included the IIFA World Premiere , IIFA-BAFTA Film Workshop , FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum and the IIFA Foundation Celebrity Charity Cricket Match .   The tag line of the IIFA 2007 was IIFA 2007 : Yorkshire `` Love At First Sight '' .   Rang De Basanti received twenty one nominations out of the total twenty nine and won eleven awards , two of which were popular awards : ( Best Picture , Best Performance In A Supporting Role Female ) Omkara and Lage Raho Munna Bhai won four awards each . Other multiple winners included Krrish with three awards and Dhoom 2 and Fanaa with two each . In addition movies receiving a single awards included , Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna for ( Best Performance In A Leading Role Female ) , Golmaal : Fun Unlimited for ( Best Performance In A Comic Role ) , 36 China Town for ( Male Debutant Star ) and Gangster for ( Female Debutant Star ) .   Rajkumar Hirani and A. R. Rahman each won three awards in the event .

neg: Iron Maiden discography The discography of Iron Maiden , a British heavy metal band founded in 1975 by bassist Steve Harris , includes sixteen studio albums , as well as numerous live albums , compilations , EPs , singles , video albums , music videos , and box sets . After several auditions and changes , the final lineup consisted of vocalist Paul Di'Anno , guitarists Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton , and drummer Clive Burr . They released their self-titled debut album in 1980 ; quickly becoming one of the leading proponents of the new wave of British heavy metal movement .   Guitarist Adrian Smith replaced Stratton , and a `` consistent highlight '' , Killers , was released in 1981 . Later that year , vocalist Bruce Dickinson replaced Paul Di'Anno , marking the beginning of a series of top-ten high-impact releases . They issued `` the 1982 masterpiece '' , The Number of the Beast , becoming the band 's first release to top the UK charts , and received a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America . Drummer Nicko McBrain replaced Clive Burr , and the band released Piece of Mind in 1983 , followed by a `` true heavy metal achievement '' , Powerslave ( 1984 ) . Iron Maiden broadened their sound with the use of guitar synthesisers in Somewhere in Time ( 1986 ) . Their following concept album , Seventh Son of a Seventh Son , was released in 1988 , and also topped the UK charts .   The line-up remained unchanged until Adrian Smith left the band during the pre-production stage of their last gold-certified album in the US , No Prayer for the Dying ( 1990 ) ; he was replaced by Janick Gers . Their next UK No. 1 album , Fear of the Dark , was released in 1992 , after which Dickinson left the band in the following year . His replacement , Blaze Bayley , debuted in 1995 with The X Factor , `` a lackluster '' album that marked a decline in the band 's career . The diminished fan interest in 1998 with Virtual XI prompted Bayley 's departure .   Dickinson and Smith returned to the band in 1999 , and a new album , Brave New World , was issued in 2000 . Three years later , Dance of Death was released , which marked `` a triumphant return to form '' . In 2006 they released `` a more elaborate and meandering '' album , A Matter of Life and Death , which received , along with their two previous studio releases , a gold certification by the BPI . In 2010 , Iron Maiden issued The Final Frontier , which was positively received by critics , and debuted at No. 1 in over twenty-eight countries , including the United Kingdom . Their sixteenth studio effort , The Book of Souls , was released on 4 September 2015 and became their fifth UK No. 1 album . Overall , the band have reputedly sold between 80 and 100 million albums worldwide .

neg: Gotham Independent Film Awards 2007 The 17th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards were held on November 27 , 2007 . The nominees were announced on October 22 , 2007 . The ceremony was hosted by Sarah Jones .

neg: The Magic Flute (2006 film) The Magic Flute is Kenneth Branagh 's English-language film version of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 's singspiel Die Zauberflöte . The film is a co-production between France & the UK , produced by Idéale Audience and in association with UK 's The Peter Moores Foundation .   In November 2005 , it was announced that , as part of the 250th anniversary celebration of Mozart 's birthday , a new film version of The Magic Flute , set during World War I , was to be made , directed by Kenneth Branagh , with a translation by Stephen Fry . The film was presented at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2006 , at the Venice Film Festival on 8 September of that year , and released in Switzerland on 5 April 2007 . It has played in many European countries .   The film , with a soundtrack performed by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by James Conlon , is the first motion picture version of the opera specifically intended for cinemas . Ingmar Bergman 's 1975 film version was made for Swedish television and only later released to theatres . Branagh 's version was shot in Super 35 and released in anamorphic widescreen , while Bergman 's was filmed in Academy ratio for television sets of the 1970s .   A DVD of the film was released in France in August 2007 with a bonus soundtrack CD ( lasting around 79 minutes ) and a `` Making of '' featurette ( 50 minutes ) . The film has also been released on DVD in the Netherlands ( in a three-disc set ) , Finland , Argentina , and Japan .   Revolver Entertainment is giving the film a theatrical release in the United States in June 2013 , seven years after its premiere in Europe .

neg: Inheritance Cycle The Inheritance Cycle is a young adult tetralogy of epic fantasy novels written by American author Christopher Paolini . Set in the fictional world of Alagaësia ( -LSB- æləˈɡeɪziə -RSB- ) , the novels focus on the adventures of a teenage boy named Eragon and his dragon , Saphira , as they struggle to overthrow the evil king Galbatorix . The series was originally intended to be a trilogy ( named the `` Inheritance Trilogy '' ) until Paolini announced on October 30 , 2007 , while working on the third novel , that he believed the story was too complex to conclude in just three books .   The book series as a whole received mostly mixed to negative reviews by critics , but has gained both popularity and commercial success . The first book in the series , Eragon , was originally self-published by Paolini in 2001 , and subsequently re-published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on June 25 , 2003 . The second book in the series , Eldest , was published by Knopf on August 23 , 2005 . Both were New York Times bestsellers . The third book in the series , Brisingr , was published by Knopf on September 20 , 2008 . The fourth and final book in the series , Inheritance , was published by Knopf on November 8 , 2011 . The series has sold 33.5 million copies worldwide .   In 2006 , a feature film was released based on the first book in the cycle , Eragon , starring Ed Speleers , Jeremy Irons , John Malkovich and Djimon Hounsou . The film received generally negative reviews and closed as the 13th highest grossing fantasy-live action film within the United States .


query: Seinfeld's quotes have not become catchphrases in popular culture.

pos: Seinfeld Seinfeld is an American sitcom that originally ran for nine seasons on NBC , from 1989 to 1998 . It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld , the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself . Set predominantly in an apartment building in Manhattan 's Upper West Side in New York City , the show features a handful of Jerry 's friends and acquaintances , particularly best friend George Costanza ( Jason Alexander ) , former girlfriend Elaine Benes ( Julia Louis-Dreyfus ) , and neighbor across the hall Cosmo Kramer ( Michael Richards ) . It is often described as being `` a show about nothing '' , as many of its episodes are about the minutiae of daily life .   Seinfeld was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment . In syndication , the series has been distributed by Sony Pictures Television since 2002 . It was largely written by David and Seinfeld with script writers who included Larry Charles , Peter Mehlman , Gregg Kavet , Carol Leifer , David Mandel , Jeff Schaffer , Steve Koren , Jennifer Crittenden , Tom Gammill , Max Pross , Dan O'Keefe , Charlie Rubin , Marjorie Gross , Alec Berg , Elaine Pope , and Spike Feresten . A favorite among critics , the series led the Nielsen ratings in seasons six and nine , and finished among the top two ( with NBC 's ER ) every year from 1994 to 1998 .   Seinfeld is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms ever made . It has been ranked among the best television shows of all time in publications such as Entertainment Weekly , Rolling Stone , and TV Guide . The show 's most renowned episodes include `` The Chinese Restaurant '' , `` The Parking Garage '' , and `` The Contest '' . In 2013 , the Writers Guild of America voted it the No. 2 Best Written TV Series of All Time ( second to The Sopranos ) . E! named the series the `` number 1 reason the '90s ruled '' , and quotes from numerous episodes have become catchphrases in popular culture .

neg: Grinch The Grinch is a fictional character created by Dr. Seuss . He is best known as the main character of the children 's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! ( 1957 ) .   The grumpy , anti-holiday spirit of the character has led to the term `` Grinch '' , which is probably derived from the French word grincheux which means `` grumpy '' , coming to refer to a person opposed to Christmas time celebrations or to someone with a coarse , greedy attitude .   The Grinch has since become an icon of the winter holidays , despite the character 's hatred of the season , and has appeared on various forms of memorabilia such as Christmas ornaments , plush dolls , and various clothing items .   In 2002 , TV Guide ranked The Grinch number 5 on its `` 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time '' list .

neg: Rosebud (The Simpsons) `` Rosebud '' is the fourth episode of The Simpsons ' fifth season . It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 21 , 1993 . The episode begins by showing how on the eve of his birthday , Mr. Burns starts to miss his childhood teddy bear Bobo . The bear ends up in the hands of Maggie Simpson and Burns does everything in his power to get Bobo returned to him .   `` Rosebud '' was written by John Swartzwelder and was the first episode to be executive produced by David Mirkin , who was the show runner for the fifth and sixth seasons of the show . Directed by Wes Archer , supervising director David Silverman describes the episode as `` one of the more challenging ones '' to direct . The Ramones ( Joey Ramone , Johnny Ramone , C. J. Ramone and Marky Ramone ) guest star in the episode as themselves . The episode is largely a parody of the 1941 film Citizen Kane and the title references Charles Foster Kane 's dying word `` Rosebud '' . The episode also contains references to The Wizard of Oz , Planet of the Apes , George Burns , Charles Lindbergh , The Rolling Stones and Adolf Hitler .   Critical reaction to `` Rosebud '' was largely positive and in 2003 Entertainment Weekly placed the episode in second place on their list of the 25 best episodes of The Simpsons .

neg: Another Simpsons Clip Show `` Another Simpsons Clip Show '' is the third episode of The Simpsons ' sixth season . It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 25 , 1994 . In the episode , Marge reads a romance novel in bed , and it prompts her to have a family meeting , where the Simpson family recall their past loves in form of clips from previous episodes .   The episode was written by Jon Vitti ( credited as `` Penny Wise '' ) and directed by David Silverman . It is the second The Simpsons episode featuring a clip show format and uses clips from all the previous five seasons . The episode features cultural references to the 1992 book The Bridges of Madison County and the 1967 film The Graduate . The episode has received rather negative reviews , since clip shows tend to be the least favorite episodes among fans . It acquired a Nielsen rating of 8.7 and was the fourth highest rated show on the Fox network that week .

neg: Robert Cobb Robert or Bob Cobb may refer to :   Robert W. Cobb , US government official  Robert Cobb ( American football ) , former American football defensive end  Robert H. Cobb , American restaurateur , owner of the Brown Derby and creator of the Cobb salad  Bob Cobb ( musician ) , Western swing bassist from Wagoner , Oklahoma   Fictional characters  Bob Cobb , the secret identity of Mon-El of the Legion of Superheroes when he lives in Smallville .  Bob Cobb ( Seinfeld ) or `` the Maestro '' , a minor character from the American TV sitcom Seinfeld

neg: The Doodle `` The Doodle '' is the 106th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld . This was the 20th episode for the sixth season . It aired on April 6 , 1995 .

neg: E-Prime E-Prime ( short for English-Prime , sometimes denoted É or E ′ ) is a version of the English language that excludes all forms of the verb to be , including all conjugations , contractions and archaic forms .   Some scholars advocate using E-Prime as a device to clarify thinking and strengthen writing . For example , the sentence `` the film was good '' could not be expressed under the rules of E-Prime , and the speaker might instead say `` I liked the film '' , `` the film made me laugh '' , or `` the film has value '' . The E-Prime versions communicate the writer 's experience rather than judgment , making it harder for the writer or reader to confuse opinion with fact .   Kellogg and Bourland describe misuse of the verb to be as creating a `` deity mode of speech '' , allowing `` even the most ignorant to transform their opinions magically into god-like pronouncements on the nature of things '' .

neg: Walter Scott's Personality Parade `` Walter Scott 's Personality Parade '' is a column in Parade magazine featuring celebrity gossip . As of 2001 Edward Klein is the author of the column , which is in the inside cover of the magazine .   For a 33 year period beginning with the column 's establishment in 1958 , it was written by Lloyd Shearer while he used the name Walter Scott . In this column he discussed rumors about celebrities using a question and answer style . Joyce Wadler of The New York Times stated that the column 's readership was 50 million `` in its heyday '' . Elaine Woo of the Los Angeles Times wrote that `` It may have been the most widely read column in the country '' under Shearer and that under Klein it continued to be the `` most popular feature '' in the magazine .   Lloyd Shearer 's assistants sorted through reader mail to separate what Woo described as `` those that were confusing or from crackpots , who were as legion as his legitimate and well-placed sources . '' Under Shearer the column received around 4,000 to 7,000 reader letters . One given topic may be the subject of up to 100 of those letters at a time . Shearer 's children often assisted Shearer with his publication .   His son Derek Shearer , along with Lloyd Shearer 's editor and other family members , stated that the questions printed in the column were composites of those submitted by readers and that Lloyd Shearer himself did not make any of the questions . Wadler stated `` it was known that Mr. Shearer wrote many of the questions '' . Woo wrote that `` Some journalists suggested that he made up many questions to suit his own agenda . ''   During the time he wrote the column Shearer had copyrighted its name . During Shearer 's rule , popular publications and political magazines analyzed `` Personality Parade . '' A compilation of several columns , Parade : The Best of Walter Scott 's Personality Parade From the Fifties through the Nineties , was published in 1995 .

neg: Sesame Street Sesame Street is a long-running American children 's television series , produced by Sesame Workshop ( formerly known as the Children 's Television Workshop ) and created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett . The program is known for its educational content , and images communicated through the use of Jim Henson 's Muppets , animation , short films , humor , and cultural references . The series premiered on November 10 , 1969 , to positive reviews , some controversy , and high viewership ; it has aired on the U.S. 's national public television provider ( PBS ) since its debut , with its first run moving to premium channel HBO on January 16 , 2016 .   The show has undergone significant changes throughout its history . The format of Sesame Street consists of a combination of commercial television production elements and techniques which have evolved to reflect the changes in American culture and the audience 's viewing habits . With the creation of Sesame Street , producers and writers of a children 's television show used , for the first time , educational goals and a curriculum to shape its content . It was also the first time a show 's educational effects were studied .   Shortly after creating Sesame Street , its producers developed what came to be called the `` CTW model '' ( after the production company 's previous name ) , a system of television show planning , production , and evaluation based on collaborations between producers , writers , educators , and researchers . The show was initially funded by government and private foundations but has become somewhat self-supporting due to revenues from licensing arrangements , international sales , and other media . By 2006 , there were independently produced versions , or `` co-productions '' , of Sesame Street broadcast in twenty countries . In 2001 there were over 120 million viewers of various international versions of Sesame Street , and by the show 's 40th anniversary in 2009 , it was broadcast in more than 140 countries .   By its 40th anniversary in 2009 , Sesame Street was the fifteenth-highest-rated children 's television show in the United States . A 1996 survey found that 95 % of all American preschoolers had watched the show by the time they were three years old . In 2008 , it was estimated that 77 million Americans had watched the series as children . As of 2014 , Sesame Street has won 167 Emmy Awards and 8 Grammy Awards -- more than any other children 's show .

neg: Seinfeld: A XXX Parody Seinfeld : A XXX Parody is a 2009 American pornographic situation comedy film that parodies the American television sitcom Seinfeld which ran from 1989 until 1998 . Like other porn parodies , it has the same characters , settings and other production elements of the original show but adds an explicitly sexual element that was not present in the series . Written by A.J. Slater and directed by Lee Roy Myers , the plot is based on the episode `` The Soup Nazi '' . The film stars James Deen , Kristina Rose , Eric John , Steve Pomerantz , Evan Stone , Ashlynn Brooke , London Keyes , Natalie Horton , Tony Disergio , Sasha Grey , Sadie West and Cassandra Calogera . Released to DVD on June 29 , 2009 , the movie received positive reviews from critics , who enjoyed the acting , casting , sexual content and comedy . In addition to the positive reception , it also earned ten nominations at the 27th AVN Awards .

neg: The Simpsons The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company . The series is a satirical depiction of working-class life epitomized by the Simpson family , which consists of Homer , Marge , Bart , Lisa , and Maggie . The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture , society , television , and the human condition .   The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer James L. Brooks . Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family , substituting Bart for his own name . The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19 , 1987 . After a three-season run , the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became an early hit for Fox , becoming the network 's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season ( 1989 -- 90 ) .   Since its debut on December 17 , 1989 , episodes of The Simpsons have been broadcast . Its 28th season began on September 25 , 2016 . It is the longest-running American sitcom and the longest-running American animated program , and , in 2009 , it surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series . The Simpsons Movie , a feature-length film , was released in theaters worldwide on July 27 , 2007 , and grossed over $ 527 million . On November 4 , 2016 , the series was renewed for a twenty-ninth and thirtieth season of 22 episodes each , extending the show to 2019 .   The Simpsons received widespread critical acclaim throughout its first nine seasons , which are generally considered its `` Golden Age '' . Time named it the 20th century 's best television series , and Erik Adams of The A.V. Club named it `` television 's crowning achievement regardless of format '' . On January 14 , 2000 , the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . It has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series , including 31 Primetime Emmy Awards , 30 Annie Awards , and a Peabody Award . Homer 's exclamatory catchphrase `` D'oh ! '' has been adopted into the English language , while The Simpsons has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms . Despite this , the show has also been criticized for what many perceive as a decline in quality over the years .

neg: Punch line A punch line ( `` punch-line '' or punchline ) concludes a joke ; it is intended to make people laugh . It is the third and final part of the typical joke structure . It follows the introductory framing of the joke and the narrative which sets up for the punch line .   In a broader sense punch line can also refer to the unexpected and funny conclusion of any performance , situation or story .

neg: Humour Humour ( British English ) or humor ( American English ; see spelling differences ) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement . The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks , which taught that the balance of fluids in the human body , known as humours ( Latin : humor , `` body fluid '' ) , controlled human health and emotion .   People of all ages and cultures respond to humour . Most people are able to experience humour -- be amused , smile or laugh at something funny -- and thus are considered to have a sense of humour . The hypothetical person lacking a sense of humour would likely find the behaviour inducing it to be inexplicable , strange , or even irrational . Though ultimately decided by personal taste , the extent to which a person finds something humorous depends on a host of variables , including geographical location , culture , maturity , level of education , intelligence and context . For example , young children may favour slapstick such as Punch and Judy puppet shows or the Tom and Jerry cartoons , whose physical nature makes it accessible to them . By contrast , more sophisticated forms of humour such as satire require an understanding of its social meaning and context , and thus tend to appeal to a more mature audience .

neg: Character (arts) A character ( sometimes known as a fictional character ) is a person or other being in a narrative work of art ( such as a novel , play , television series , or film ) . The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person , in which case the distinction of a `` fictional '' versus `` real '' character may be made . Derived from the ancient Greek word χαρακτήρ , the English word dates from the Restoration , although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749 . From this , the sense of `` a part played by an actor '' developed . Character , particularly when enacted by an actor in the theatre or cinema , involves `` the illusion of being a human person . '' In literature , characters guide readers through their stories , helping them to understand plots and ponder themes . Since the end of the 18th century , the phrase `` in character '' has been used to describe an effective impersonation by an actor . Since the 19th century , the art of creating characters , as practiced by actors or writers , has been called characterisation .   A character who stands as a representative of a particular class or group of people is known as a type . Types include both stock characters and those that are more fully individualised . The characters in Henrik Ibsen 's Hedda Gabler ( 1891 ) and August Strindberg 's Miss Julie ( 1888 ) , for example , are representative of specific positions in the social relations of class and gender , such that the conflicts between the characters reveal ideological conflicts .   The study of a character requires an analysis of its relations with all of the other characters in the work . The individual status of a character is defined through the network of oppositions ( proairetic , pragmatic , linguistic , proxemic ) that it forms with the other characters . The relation between characters and the action of the story shifts historically , often miming shifts in society and its ideas about human individuality , self-determination , and the social order .

neg: The Blood (Seinfeld) `` The Blood '' is the 160th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld . This was the fourth episode for the ninth and final season . It aired on October 16 , 1997 . This was Lloyd Bridges 's last television performance before his death .

neg: The Slicer `` The Slicer '' is the 163rd episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld . This was the seventh episode of the ninth and final season . It first aired on November 13 , 1997 .

neg: Quote Quotation is the repetition of someone else 's statement or thoughts . Quotation marks are punctuation marks used in text to indicate a quotation . Both of these words are sometimes abbreviated as `` quote ( s ) '' .   Quote may also refer to :  __ NOTOC __

neg: The CBS Late Movie The CBS Late Movie is a CBS television series ( later known as CBS Late Night ) during the 1970s and 1980s . The program ran in most American television markets from 11:30 p.m. ( EST ) until 2:30 a.m. or later , on weeknights . A single announcer ( in the early years , CBS staff announcer Norm Stevens ) voiced the introduction and commercial bumpers for each program , but there was no host per se , or closing credits besides those of the night 's presentation . ( The bumpers announcing the stars of the movie notably rotated names , two or three at a time , so more of the players would be mentioned . )   The program was launched following the cancellation of The Merv Griffin Show , CBS 's late-night talk show from 1969 to 1972 . The show went on to have a long run in first-run syndication following CBS 's cancellation .   The CBS Late Movie theme music was `` So Old , So Young '' by Morton Stevens , which also served as the theme music for CBS 's prime-time movies until 1978 .   A memorable aspect to the show 's commercial breaks was the frequent appearance of public service announcements , from the Ad Council and other organizations , that often dealt with `` mature '' topics such as venereal disease , sexual and violent crimes , and abuse of hard drugs . Announcements also ran in much greater proportion than during prime time , with commercial breaks lasting longer ; it was not uncommon for the second portion of the show to start at 12:05 AM or 12:40 AM .   The CBS Late Night block , however , was not always cleared by every affiliate of the network ; in several markets , the block was either delayed by one hour from its regularly-scheduled time ( most notably in the Central and Mountain time zones ) , picked up by a local independent station ( including those that later affiliated with the Fox television network ) , or not seen at all in certain cities . Those stations that did not carry CBS Late Night instead broadcast movies from their own libraries and/or their own lineup of off-network syndicated sitcoms , drama reruns and first-run syndication products . A large factor in the programming decisions of many CBS affiliates electing not to clear CBS Late Night ( or delaying it ) was due to head-to-head competition with NBC 's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson , and later entering the 1980s , ABC News ' Nightline . It was not until 1993 , when the Late Show with David Letterman debuted , that CBS ' late night programming ( excluding Nightwatch/Up to the Minute ) was cleared across the entire network .

neg: History of Saturday Night Live (1995–2000) Saturday Night Live is an American sketch comedy series created and produced by Lorne Michaels for most of the show 's run . The show has aired on NBC since 1975 .   After a disastrous 1994 -- 95 season featuring a mix of old and new characters , Michaels decided to once again revamp the cast , keeping only five cast members and hiring six . The 1995 -- 96 season once again saved the show from cancellation , introducing a new era of Saturday Night Live characters and sketches that were highly popular with audiences .   This cast stayed mostly stable until the 1998 -- 99 season , which added cast members such as Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz . These two would pave the way for the next era of Saturday Night Live in the early 2000s .

neg: There's Something About Marrying `` There 's Something About Marrying '' is the tenth episode of the sixteenth season of The Simpsons . In the episode , Springfield legalizes same-sex marriage to increase tourism . After becoming a minister , Homer starts to wed people to make money . Meanwhile , Marge 's sister Patty comes out as a lesbian and reveals that she is going to marry a woman named Veronica . Marge originally disapproves of this , making Patty frustrated . When Marge accidentally discovers that Veronica is a man cross-dressed as a woman , she decides to keep quiet about it knowing that Patty will be marrying a man . However , at the ceremony , she is so moved by Patty 's vow that she is forced to reveal Veronica 's secret . After the ceremony is abruptly cancelled , Marge tells Patty that she now accepts her sexuality .   This was the third time that an episode of The Simpsons focused on homosexuality . The episode -- written by J. Stewart Burns and directed by Nancy Kruse -- was inspired by the 2004 same-sex weddings that occurred in San Francisco . According to executive producer Al Jean , the staff wanted the episode to explore what the different characters ' stances on same-sex marriage were . Around the time of the episode 's original airdate , February 20 , 2005 , the same-sex marriage question was a hot political issue in the United States and the episode became controversial . `` There 's Something About Marrying '' received a lot of criticism from conservative groups , including the Parents Television Council and the American Family Association , that claimed it was promoting gay marriage . Jean stated in response that the staff was not taking a side on the issue and that they were just examining all sides of it . Positive reaction to the episode came from , among others , the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the gay-oriented website AfterEllen.com .   During the first airing , 10.5 million people watched `` There 's Something About Marrying '' and it became the highest rated episode of the season . The episode had received a lot of publicity in the media before its broadcast -- not only because of the same-sex marriage controversy but also because of Patty 's outing . It was revealed in July 2004 , that a character would come out as gay in the episode , leading to much speculation from fans and the press . Bookmaker websites were even posting odds on which character it would be , with Patty receiving the best odds .

neg: The Maid (Seinfeld) `` The Maid '' is the 175th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld . This was the 19th episode of the ninth and final season . It aired on April 30 , 1998 . The working title for this episode was `` The Long-Distance Relationship . ''