query: Christian Bale's middle name is Dean.

pos: Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale ( born 30 January 1974 ) is an English actor . He has starred both in blockbuster films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses .   Bale first caught the public eye at the age of 13 , when he was cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg 's Empire of the Sun ( 1987 ) . Based on the original story by J. G. Ballard , Bale played an English boy who is separated from his parents and subsequently finds himself lost in a Japanese internment camp during World War II . In 2000 , he garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho . He is known for going to great lengths to portray characters in films , notably for the psychological thriller The Machinist ( 2004 ) , where he lost 63 pounds ( 28.5 kg ) to play the role of Trevor Reznik .   Bale went on to receive greater commercial recognition for his starring role as Batman in Christopher Nolan 's Batman Begins ( 2005 ) , The Dark Knight ( 2008 ) and The Dark Knight Rises ( 2012 ) . His portrayal of Dicky Eklund in the David O. Russell-directed biographical film The Fighter ( 2010 ) , earned him critical acclaim and a number of awards , including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . He has since gained further acclaim as well as subsequent Academy Award , Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe nominations for his roles in Russell 's American Hustle ( 2013 ) and Adam McKay 's The Big Short ( 2015 ) .

neg: Robert Deane, 9th Baron Muskerry Robert Fitzmaurice Deane , 9th Baron Muskerry ( born 26 March 1948 ) is a nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland .   Born in Grahamstown , South Africa , he is married to Rita , Lady Muskerry and is resident in Durban , South Africa . The couple has three children :  Hon. Nicola Deane ( born 1976 )  Hon. Catherine Deane ( born 1978 ) , a fashion designer  Hon. Johnathan Fitzmaurice Deane ( born 1986 )   He was educated at Sandford Park , Dublin , Ireland and then Trinity College , Dublin .   The Deane family home is Springfield Castle , Drumcollogher , County Limerick , Ireland which has been in the family for many generations . The Deane family motto is `` Forti et fideli nihil difficile '' meaning `` To the brave and faithful nothing is impossible . ''

neg: Bennie Osburn Bennie I. Osburn was the Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis . He was appointed in 1996 and reappointed for another 5-year term by Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef in 2006 . He retired as dean in 2011 , and was succeeded by Dr. Michael Lairmore .   May 26 , 2009 -- Medical Management International , Inc. ( MMI ) , which operates under the name Banfield , The Pet Hospital , appointed Bennie I. Osburn , DVM , Ph.D. , DACVP to its board of directors .   Dean Osburn earned his BS and DVM degrees at Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in Comparative Pathology at the University of California , Davis .

neg: Deana Martin Deana Martin ( born August 19 , 1948 ) is an American singer , actress , author , performer and daughter of well-known entertainer , Dean Martin .

neg: William Dean Howells William Dean Howells ( -LSB- ˈhaʊəlz -RSB- March 1 , 1837 -- May 11 , 1920 ) was an American realist novelist , literary critic , and playwright , nicknamed `` The Dean of American Letters '' . He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of The Atlantic Monthly , as well as for his own prolific writings , including the Christmas story `` Christmas Every Day '' and the novels The Rise of Silas Lapham and A Traveler from Altruria .

neg: Frank Crosse Frank Parker Crosse MC ( 24 October 1897 -- 15 March 1979 ) was a British soldier and Church of England clergyman who became Dean of Grahamstown in South Africa , and was styled Frank Crosse .

neg: William Dean William , Bill or Billy Dean may refer to :   William Dean ( priest ) ( died 1588 ) , English catholic martyr  William Dean Howells ( 1837 -- 1920 ) , American author  William Dean ( engineer ) ( 1840 -- 1905 ) , British railway engineer  William Dean ( cricketer , born c. 1882 ) , Hampshire cricketer  William Henry Dean ( 1887 -- 1949 ) , English water polo player  William F. Dean ( 1899 -- 1981 ) , United States Army general  William Dean Chocolates , a chocolatier in Florida  Dixie Dean ( 1907 -- 1980 ) , English footballer , birth name William Dean  Bill Dean ( 1921 -- 2000 ) , British actor  William Dean ( cricketer ) ( born 1928 ) , English cricketer  Billy Dean Anderson ( 1934-1979 ) , American criminal who was on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list  Billy Dean ( born 1962 ) , American country music singer  Billy Dean ( album ) , his 1991 album  Bill Dean ( legislator ) , American legislator

neg: Chris Cwej Christopher Rodonanté Cwej , usually just known as Chris Cwej , is a fictional character from the Virgin New Adventures range of spin-offs based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who . His surname should technically be pronounced `` Shvay '' , but he pronounces it `` Kwedge '' rather than keep correcting people .   His first appearance was in the novel Original Sin by Andy Lane , with his adjudicator partner Roz Forrester . Adjudicators are the police force of 30th century Earth , which was at that time divided into the Overcity and the Undercity . Chris was born in 2954 to a family who lived in the lower levels of the Overcity . Chris 's father , Volsted Kornbluth Cwej , was also an adjudicator . Chris 's father was fairly old when Chris was born , having retired from the Adjudicators the previous year , 2953 , after 48 years of service , and he is well over 70 years old when the young Chris meets the Doctor .   Chris 's grandfather died when Chris was only five , and Chris cried when he saw his grandfather being put into a coffin . A more distant ancestor , possibly a great grandfather was Nathaniel Cwej . Even further back , there was a Cwej involved with the founding of the Adjudicators , and the family have had a long association with the Adjudicators ever since . Chris 's accent sounds American , although his home would once have been considered a part of England , and his surname may have a Germanic/Saxon derivation .   Chris is tall , blonde and muscular , and when he first met the Seventh Doctor and Bernice , he had had a `` body bepple '' ( bodily alteration ) which made him look like a teddy bear .   He and Roz were investigating a murder case in Undercity in the year 2975 when they encountered the Doctor and Bernice . They helped the Doctor defeat his old enemy Tobias Vaughn , who had been manipulating human advancement since the 20th century . Having realise the extent of corruption in the Earth Empire and the Adjudicators , Chris and Roz chose to leave in the TARDIS .   Chris and Roz travelled with the Doctor for many adventures . In this eventful period , Chris fathered two daughters : Jasmine Surprise Cwej-Hutchings with Ishtar Hutchings , and iKrissi with Dep of the People . After Roz 's death in battle , Chris continued to travel with the Doctor for a short time , but the event had a profound effect on him . During the events of Eternity Weeps , the Doctor 's former companion Liz Shaw contracted a deadly virus and begged Chris to kill her , however he was unable to do it . This and the subsequent death of millions of people from the virus caused Chris to question himself and first consider quitting the TARDIS . It took the apparent death of the Doctor in Japan to make him put aside his doubts and help protect the people of the local village from the local warlord , who wanted an alien device in their possession . The Doctor and Chris then travelled to the Doctor 's home planet of Gallifrey , where the Doctor faced members of his House and many dark secrets were revealed . After this , Chris decided to travel alone using a time ring given to him by Romana .   The book which depicts Chris 's sexual encounter with a gay man , Damaged Goods , was written by future executive producer of the series Russell T Davies , whose works often include gay themes . Much like Davies ' later introduction to the series proper , Jack Harkness , Cwej opines that sexuality is not an issue where he comes from .

neg: The Magic Christian (novel) The Magic Christian is a 1959 comic novel by American author Terry Southern ( 1924 -- 1995 ) about an odd billionaire who spends most of his time playing elaborate practical jokes on people . It is known for bringing Southern to the attention of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick , who had received a copy as a gift from Peter Sellers , and subsequently hired him as co-writer for Dr. Strangelove ( 1964 ) when Kubrick decided to make that film a black comedy/satire , rather than a straightforward thriller . In 1969 , The Magic Christian was made into a film starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr ; the story was much altered and relocated from New York City to London .

neg: Deanery of Christianity (Exeter) The Deanery of Christianity is a deanery in the Archdeaconry of Exeter , Diocese of Exeter . The deanery covers most of the city of Exeter . It takes the name `` Christianity '' because there is a tradition that a diocese and a deanery should not share the same name .

neg: Kyle Dean Massey Kyle Dean Massey ( born November 17 , 1981 ) is an American actor , known for his roles in the Broadway musicals Wicked , Pippin and Next to Normal . He currently plays the recurring role of openly gay country music songwriter Kevin Bicks on the ABC ( now CMT ) musical drama series Nashville .

neg: Meredith Deane Meredith Deane ( born August 9 , 1989 ) is an American child actress most known for her role as Zoe Manning in the TV show Once and Again . She recently starred in the Law & Order episode `` Profiteer '' as Ashlee .   Deane attended the prestigious Dalton School in New York City . She graduated in 2007 and was a freshman at Boston University in the fall . After joining Sigma Delta Tau at BU , she transferred to University of Southern California where she is currently attending school .

neg: Ettore Balestrero Ettore Balestrero ( 21 December 1966 ) is the current apostolic nuncio to Colombia since his appointed was announced on 22 February 2013 . He had previously served as Undersecretary for Relations with States , the deputy to Archbishop Dominique Mamberti .   Monsignor Balestrero will take his position as under-secretary in the section for relations with states . The Genoa-born monsignor was already serving as an advisor in that department .   After attending law school , he entered the Almo Collegio Capranica and was ordained a priest on 18 September 1993 for the diocese of Rome by Cardinal Camillo Ruini . He earned a degree in theology and a doctorate in Canon Law . After serving in the Parish of Santa Maria Mater Ecclesiae al Torrino in Rome , he became a student at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy .   He entered the Holy See 's diplomatic service in 1996 , serving in Korea , Mongolia and the Netherlands . Since 2001 he has served in the Secretariat of State . He was appointed as Undersecretary for Relations with States replacing Pietro Parolin who was appointed as Apostolic Nuncio to Venezuela on the same day .   Msgr. Balestrero 's task will be to oversee the work of the office of Relations with States and maintain contacts with ambassadors around the world . Msgr. Balestrero has an American mother and speaks fluent English as well as French , Spanish , German and Dutch .   In July 2012 the Council of Europe released a report that marked a milestone in the Holy See 's efforts to shed its reputation as a tax haven long mired in secrecy and scandal . The report showed the Vatican had received compliant or largely compliant grades on nine of the 16 `` key and core '' internationally recognised recommendations to fight money laundering and terrorist financing . However , seven other areas were found lacking , particularly its anti-terror finance measures and the Vatican 's financial oversight agency . The report found the agency had yet to conduct any inspections , and that its role , authority and independence needed clarification . The so-called Moneyval committee praised the Holy See for making so much progress in a short amount of time , but said more needs to be done . `` We take both the praise and criticism contained in the report with seriousness '' said Monsignor Balestrero , head of the Vatican delegation to the Moneyval committee .   He went on to say that the `` report released today is not an end , but a milestone in our continuing efforts . In regards to the actual findings , simply stated we obviously wish to strengthen the overall system ; in particular out of the 16 key and core recommendations of the international standards to fight ML/FT there are 7 areas where the Holy See must and will focus on . In this light , the report released today is not the end , but is rather an important passage of our continuing efforts to marry moral commitments to technical excellence . We have taken a definitive step to lay the foundations to a structure -- a house if you will -- that is to a robust and sustainable system to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism . Now it is our wish to fully construct a building that effectively shows the Holy See 's and Vatican City State 's desire to be a reliable partner in the international community '' .   On 22 February 2013 , in the last week of the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI Msgr Balestrero was appointed apostolic nuncio to Colombia and at the same time Titular Archbishop of Vittoriana . He was replaced by Antoine Camilleri a priest of the diocese of Malta . Camilleri had previously served as a former personal secretary to Archbishop Dominique Mamberti .   Balestrero 's name was prominently mentioned in a sensational story in the Italian daily La Repubblica about the `` Vatileaks '' scandal . As the Vatican 's chief negotiator in talks with European banking officials , Msgr. Balestrero was caught up in a heated intramural debate about Vatican procedures for ensuring transparency in financial transactions . The sharp differences among members of the Roman Curia were reportedly cited by a commission of investigating cardinals as one motivation for the unauthorized leaks of confidential Vatican correspondence . However Father Federico Lombardi , the director of the Vatican press office , denied that the new assignment for Msgr. Balestrero was connected with new reports on the `` Vatileaks '' investigation . The Vatican spokesman reminded reporters that the appointment of an apostolic nuncio is a time-consuming matter , since it entails obtaining approval from the government of the country to which he will be posted .

neg: Rebel Without a Cause Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban , middle-class teenagers filmed in CinemaScope . Directed by Nicholas Ray , it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments . The film stars James Dean , Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood .   The film was a groundbreaking attempt to portray the moral decay of American youth , critique parental style , and explore the differences and conflicts between generations . The title was adopted from psychiatrist Robert M. Lindner 's 1944 book , Rebel Without a Cause : The Hypnoanalysis of a Criminal Psychopath . The film itself , however , does not reference Lindner 's book in any way . Warner Bros. released the film on October 27 , 1955 .   Over the years , the film has achieved landmark status for the acting of cultural icon James Dean , fresh from his Oscar nominated role in East of Eden and who died before the film 's release , in his most celebrated role . This was the only film during Dean 's lifetime in which he received top billing . In 1990 , Rebel Without a Cause was added to the Library of Congress 's National Film Registry as being deemed `` culturally , historically , and aesthetically significant '' .

neg: Jimmy Dean Jimmy Ray Dean ( August 10 , 1928 -- June 13 , 2010 ) was an American country music singer , television host , actor , and businessman , best known today as the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand . He became a national television personality starting on CBS in 1957 . He rose to fame for his 1961 country crossover hit `` Big Bad John '' and his 1963 ABC television series , The Jimmy Dean Show , which also gave puppeteer Jim Henson his first national media exposure . His acting career included a supporting role as Willard Whyte in the James Bond movie , Diamonds Are Forever ( 1971 ) . He lived near Richmond , Virginia , and was nominated for the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010 , although he was formally inducted posthumously .

neg: Dean Blechman Dean Blechman is an American businessman , movie producer , entrepreneur , and currently the Founder and Host of The Dean Blechman Show .

neg: Bentley Dean Bentley Dean is an Australian director , producer , cinematographer , and filmmaker . Known for his collaborations with director Martin Butler his works , Contact ( 2010 ) , First Footprints ( 2013 ) , Tanna ( 2015 ) and A Sense of Self ( 2016 ) has earned him widespread acclaim . For Tanna he received a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards .

neg: Deanna Summers Deanna ( Dea ) Summers ( May 30 , 1940 in New Albany , MS -- February 14 , 2017 in Garland , TX ) was an American songwriter born in Mississippi . The family relocated to Memphis , Tennessee in 1952 where she attended Kingsbury Jr. . High School . She also attended Humes High School before her family relocated to Dallas , Texas . She has been an active member of BMI ( Broadcast Music Incorporated ) as both a songwriter and publisher affiliate since 1965 . She is co-owner of Silicon Music Publishing and many of her compositions have been recorded by various artists . Her songs and published works have appeared on Capri Records , Tear Drop Records , Charay Records , Mister Rock Records , Enviken Records , Le Cam Records , Country Disco Records , Rollercoaster Records , Primo Records , Crystal Clear Sound Records , Collector Records , Collectable Records , Big Beat Records , Lake County Records , Domino Records , Front Row Records , Maridene Records , Helvis Records , W&G Records , Overtone Records .   In 1977 she wrote `` Goodbye Priscilla ( Bye Bye Baby Blue ) '' as a tribute to Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley . The song was issued by Tear Drop Records in 1977 and became one of her most popular compositions . The `` Goodbye Priscilla '' 45 is now a much sought-after collectible and has been issued on several Elvis `` tribute '' compilation albums and CDs . She later met with Priscilla Presley and personally presented her with a copy of the original 45rpm record . When `` Goodbye Priscilla '' was first released in 1977 there was some confusion about which Priscilla it was written for-Priscilla Presley or Priscilla Davis who was a main character in the famous Cullen Davis Murder Trials . In his book `` Blood Will Tell-The Murder Trials Of Cullen Davis '' author Gary Cartwright credits the song ( page 199 ) as referring to Priscilla Davis . However , this song was written solely for Priscilla Presley as a tribute to Elvis .   Summers was profiled in the Dictionary of International Biography ( 1982 Edition published by IBC Cambridge ) . She is also profiled in Songwriter 's Market ( 1979 -- Present ) published by Writer 's Digest Books .

neg: Chris Channing Chris Channing ( born Christopher Dean Andrews , 14 April 1962 ) is an English performer , designer and theatre maker . He is based in Emilia-Romagna , Italy .

neg: Jeff Balser Jeffrey R. Balser is president and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine . He is a 1990 graduate of the Vanderbilt MD/PhD program in pharmacology and subsequently completed residency training in anesthesiology and fellowship training in critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins .

neg: Les Balsiger Les Balsiger is an American religious activist . In the 1990s , Reverend Balsiger , a former car salesman , led a short publicity campaign in the western United States criticizing the Pope as the Antichrist , through his Printed Page Ministries based in Troy , Montana .   Balsinger , belongs to an originally Seventh-day Adventist congregation that was thrown out of the denomination by the church 's national leadership in a dispute related to the firing of the congregation 's pastor .


query: Large numbers of people were executed during the French Revolution.

pos: French Revolution The French Revolution ( Révolution française -LSB- ʁevɔlysjɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛːz -RSB- ) was a period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799 , and was partially carried forward by Napoleon during the later expansion of the French Empire . The Revolution overthrew the monarchy , established a republic , experienced violent periods of political turmoil , and finally culminated in a dictatorship under Napoleon that rapidly brought many of its principles to Western Europe and beyond . Inspired by liberal and radical ideas , the Revolution profoundly altered the course of modern history , triggering the global decline of absolute monarchies while replacing them with republics and liberal democracies . Through the Revolutionary Wars , it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East . Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history .   The causes of the French Revolution are complex and are still debated among historians . Following the Seven Years ' War and the American Revolutionary War , the French government was deeply in debt and attempted to restore its financial status through unpopular taxation schemes . Years of bad harvests leading up to the Revolution also inflamed popular resentment of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the aristocracy . Demands for change were formulated in terms of Enlightenment ideals and contributed to the convocation of the Estates-General in May 1789 . The first year of the Revolution saw members of the Third Estate taking control , the assault on the Bastille in July , the passage of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in August , and a women 's march on Versailles that forced the royal court back to Paris in October . A central event of the first stage , in August 1789 , was the abolition of feudalism and the old rules and privileges left over from the Ancien Régime . The next few years featured political struggles between various liberal assemblies and right-wing supporters of the monarchy intent on thwarting major reforms . The Republic was proclaimed in September 1792 after the French victory at Valmy . In a momentous event that led to international condemnation , Louis XVI was executed in January 1793 .   External threats closely shaped the course of the Revolution . The Revolutionary Wars beginning in 1792 ultimately featured French victories that facilitated the conquest of the Italian Peninsula , the Low Countries and most territories west of the Rhine -- achievements that had eluded previous French governments for centuries . Internally , popular agitation radicalised the Revolution significantly , culminating in the rise of Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins . The dictatorship imposed by the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror , from 1793 until 1794 , established price controls on food and other items , abolished slavery in French colonies abroad , dechristianised society through the creation of a new calendar and the expulsion of religious figures , and secured the borders of the new republic from its enemies . Large numbers of civilians were executed by revolutionary tribunals during the Terror , with estimates ranging from 16,000 to 40,000 . After the Thermidorian Reaction , an executive council known as the Directory assumed control of the French state in 1795 . The rule of the Directory was characterised by suspended elections , debt repudiations , financial instability , persecutions against the Catholic clergy , and significant military conquests abroad . Dogged by charges of corruption , the Directory collapsed in a coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799 . Napoleon , who became the hero of the Revolution through his popular military campaigns , went on to establish the Consulate and later the First Empire , setting the stage for a wider array of global conflicts in the Napoleonic Wars .   The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution . Almost all future revolutionary movements looked back to the Revolution as their predecessor . Its central phrases and cultural symbols , such as La Marseillaise and Liberté , égalité , fraternité , became the clarion call for other major upheavals in modern history , including the Russian Revolution over a century later .   The values and institutions of the Revolution dominate French politics to this day . The Revolution resulted in the suppression of the feudal system , the emancipation of the individual , the greater division of landed property , the abolition of the privileges of noble birth and the establishment of equality . The French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not merely national , for it aimed at benefiting all humanity .   Globally , the Revolution accelerated the rise of republics and democracies . It became the focal point for the development of all modern political ideologies , leading to the spread of liberalism , radicalism , nationalism , socialism , feminism , and secularism , among many others . The Revolution also witnessed the birth of total war by organising the resources of France and the lives of its citizens towards the objective of military conquest . Some of its central documents , like the Declaration of the Rights of Man , expanded the arena of human rights to include women and slaves , leading to movements for abolitionism and universal suffrage in the next century .

neg: 18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1 , 1701 to December 31 , 1800 in the Gregorian calendar . During the 18th century , the Enlightenment culminated in the French and American revolutions . Philosophy and science increased in prominence . Philosophers dreamed of a brighter age . This dream turned into a reality with the French Revolution of 1789 - , though later compromised by the excesses of the Reign of Terror ( 1793-1794 ) under Maximilien Robespierre . At first , many monarchies of Europe embraced Enlightenment ideals , but with the French Revolution they feared losing their power and formed broad coalitions for the counter-revolution . The Ottoman Empire experienced an unprecedented period of peace and economic expansion , taking part in no European wars from 1740 to 1768 . As a consequence the empire did not share in Europe 's military improvements during the Seven Years ' War ( 1756-1763 ) , causing its military to fall behind and suffer defeats against Russia in the second half of the century .   The 18th century also marked the end of the Polish -- Lithuanian Commonwealth as an independent state . The once-powerful and vast kingdom , which had once conquered Moscow and defeated great Ottoman armies , collapsed under numerous invasions . Its semi-democratic government system was not robust enough to rival the neighboring monarchies of the Kingdom of Prussia , the Russian Empire and the Archduchy of Austria which divided the Commonwealth territories between themselves , changing the landscape of Central European politics for the next hundred years .   European colonization of the Americas and other parts of the world intensified and associated mass migrations of people grew in size as the Age of Sail continued . Great Britain became a major power worldwide with the defeat of France in North America in the 1760s and the conquest of large parts of India . However , Britain lost many of its North American colonies after the American Revolution , which resulted in the formation of the newly independent United States of America . The Industrial Revolution started in Britain in the 1770s with the production of the improved steam engine . Despite its modest beginnings in the 18th century , steam-powered machinery would radically change human society and the environment .   Western historians have occasionally defined the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work . For example , the `` short '' 18th century may be defined as 1715 -- 1789 , denoting the period of time between the death of Louis XIV of France and the start of the French Revolution , with an emphasis on directly interconnected events . To historians who expand the century to include larger historical movements , the `` long '' 18th century may run from the Glorious Revolution of 1688 to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 or even later .

neg: France France ( -LSB- fʁɑ̃s -RSB- ) , officially the French Republic ( -LSB- ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz -RSB- ) , is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . The European , or metropolitan , area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea , and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean . Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . France spans 643801 km2 and had a total population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017 . It is a unitary semi-presidential republic with the capital in Paris , the country 's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban centres include Marseille , Lyon , Lille , Nice , Toulouse and Bordeaux .   During the Iron Age , what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls , a Celtic people . The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome , which held Gaul until 486 , when the Germanic Franks conquered the region and formed the Kingdom of France . France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages , with its victory in the Hundred Years ' War ( 1337 to 1453 ) strengthening state-building and political centralisation . During the Renaissance , French culture flourished and a global colonial empire was established , which by the 20th century would be the second largest in the world . The 16th century was dominated by religious civil wars between Catholics and Protestants ( Huguenots ) . France became Europe 's dominant cultural , political , and military power under Louis XIV . In the late 18th century , the French Revolution overthrew the absolute monarchy , established one of modern history 's earliest republics , and saw the drafting of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , which expresses the nation 's ideals to this day .   In the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire , whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe . Following the collapse of the Empire , France endured a tumultuous succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870 . France was a major participant in the First World War , from which it emerged victorious , and was one of the Allied Powers in the Second World War , but came under occupation by the Axis Powers in 1940 . Following liberation in 1944 , a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War . The Fifth Republic , led by Charles de Gaulle , was formed in 1958 and remains to this day . Algeria and nearly all the other colonies became independent in the 1960s and typically retained close economic and military connections with France .   France has long been a global centre of art , science , and philosophy . It hosts Europe 's fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually , the most of any country in the world . France is a developed country with the world 's sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity . In terms of aggregate household wealth , it ranks fourth in the world . France performs well in international rankings of education , health care , life expectancy , and human development . France remains a great power in the world , being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state . It is a leading member state of the European Union and the Eurozone . It is also a member of the Group of 7 , North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) , Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) , the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) , and La Francophonie .

neg: Anatole Deibler Anatole Deibler ( October 20 , 1863 - February 2 , 1939 ) was a French executioner . With the beheading of 395 criminals to his name , he was probably the most famous French executioner .

neg: Salle du Manège The indoor riding academy called the Salle du Manège ( -LSB- sal dy manɛʒ -RSB- ) was the seat of deliberations during most of the French Revolution , from 1789 to 1798 .   Before the revolution , the Salle du Manège ( `` Riding Hall '' ) , situated along the north end of the Tuileries Gardens to the west of the Tuileries Palace in Paris , was home to the royal equestrian academy . Built during the minority of Louis XV , when it lay conveniently close to the Regent 's Palais Royal , it was allowed to pass afterwards from hand to hand as the site of privately conducted riding schools , though it was never formally sold .   On 9 November 1789 the National Constituent Assembly , formerly the Estates-General of 1789 , moved its deliberations from Versailles to the Tuileries in pursuit of Louis XVI of France and installed itself in the Salle du Manège on the palace grounds . Having nationalised the goods of the Church , the Assemblée nationale , requiring more space than the Manège alone could provide , extended its occupation to two adjacent convents , those of the Capuchins , which soon housed the Revolutionary printing presses in its former refectory , and of the Feuillants , whose handsome library received the archives of the Assemblée .   The proportions of the Salle du Manège , ten times as long as it was wide , offered poor acoustics for the debates that went on continually under its high vaults . Six tiers of banquettes permitted space for the deputies , ranged on either side of the central tribune , initially planned for the orators ' podium . Seated together for solidarity , the deputies seated themselves according to their political opinions , to right and to left of the president 's desk , The Mountain and the Girondins , with The Plain seated in the lowest rank of banquettes , from which they were wont to cross to the opposite side , as their opinions dictated . The public found places to witness the spectacle at either end of the hall and in the loge seats above .   In 1792 the Salle du Manège became the venue for the National Convention . In 1795 under the French Directory , the Council of 500 sat in the structure until the body moved to the Palais-Bourbon in 1798 . In 1799 , the Jacobin Club du Manège had its headquarters there .   It would seem that 19th century references to the art of `` manège , '' to describe a style of equestrian riding , derive from here . A March 1847 edition of The Illustrated London News described a performance of Pablo Fanque , the 19th century equestrian and circus performer thus : `` This extraordinary feat of the manège has proved very attractive , as we anticipated in our Journal of last week ; and we have judged the success worthy of graphic commemoration ... '' Further , the paper said , `` Mr. Pablo has trained his black mare to do the most extraordinary feats of the manege , an art hitherto considered to belong only to the French and German professors of equitation , and her style certainly far exceeds anything that has ever yet been brought from the Continent . ''

neg: Jean-François Heidenreich Jean-François Heidenreich ( March 28 , 1811 -- March 29 , 1872 ) was a French executioner and the first person to hold the position of Chief Executioner of France .   His father , François-Joseph , had himself been an executioner in Chalon-sur-Saône until 1806 .   From 1849 until 1871 , Hendenreich served as an executioner of Paris and held this job through the Second French Republic , Second French Empire , and Third French Republic .   In 1871 , he became the first sole executioner of France , as local executioners positions were eliminated . He acted briefly in this capacity until his death .   Category : French executioners  Category :1811 births  Category :1872 deaths

neg: Vienna Uprising The Vienna Uprising or October Revolution ( Wiener Oktoberaufstand , or Wiener Oktoberrevolution ) of October 1848 was the last uprising in the Austrian Revolution of 1848 .   On 6 October 1848 , as the troops of the Austrian Empire were preparing to leave Vienna to suppress the Hungarian Revolution , a crowd sympathetic to the Hungarian cause ( of workers , students and mutinous soldiers ) tried to prevent them from leaving . The incident escalated into violent street battles ; blood was spilt in Saint Stephen 's Cathedral and Count Baillet von Latour , the Austrian Minister of War , was lynched by the crowd . The commander of the Vienna garrison , Count Auersperg , was obliged to evacuate the city , but he entrenched himself in a strong position outside it .   On 7 October , Emperor Ferdinand I fled with his court to Olmütz ( now Olomouc , Czech Republic ) under the protection of Alfred I , Prince of Windisch-Grätz . Two weeks later , the Austrian Parliament was moved to Kremsier ( now Kroměříž , Czech Republic ) .   On 26 October , under the command of General Windisch-Grätz and Count Josip Jelačić , the Austrian and Croatian armies started a bombardment of Vienna , and they stormed the city centre on the 31st . The defence was led by the Polish General Józef Bem . Except for him , who managed to escape , all the leaders of the resistance were executed in the days following -- including Wenzel Messenhauser , the journalist Alfred Julius Becher , Hermann Jellinek and the Radical member of parliament Robert Blum , even though he had parliamentary immunity .   The gains of the March Revolution were largely lost , and Austria began a phase of both reactionary authoritarianism -- `` neo-absolutism '' but also liberal reform .

neg: Judicial system of post-Napoleonic France The judicial system of post-Napoleonic France was an intricate system of relations between the government and the police/judicial force . Together they helped to minimize crime while successfully fulfilling the guarantees made in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen written in 1789 . The basis for the declaration comes from Nicolas Bergasse in the `` Report on the Organization of Judicial Power '' proposed on 17 August 1789 , Adrien Duport in the `` Fundamental Principles of Policing and Justice , Submitted on Behalf of the Committee on the Constitution '' written 22 December 1789 , and Jacques Guillaume Thouret in the `` Address on the Reorganization of the Judicial Power '' written 24 March 1790 . Many others have speculated that ideals such as innocence until proven guilty , equality between all classes and genders when dealing with law , punishment for opposition to the government , and religious freedom come from the Bill of Rights written in 1789 . Also , similar to the Magna Carta , the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen restrict the power of the government when dealing with taxes but also require higher taxes from poorer subjects . This attributed to the growing proletariat class that would eventually rise up and revolt again leading into the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution .

neg: Joseph-Narcisse Cardinal Joseph-Narcisse Cardinal ( February 8 , 1808 -- December 21 , 1838 ) was a notary and political figure in Lower Canada . He was the first person executed for taking part in the Lower Canada Rebellion .   He was born in Saint-Constant in 1808 , the son of Joseph Cardinal , a Montreal merchant , and studied at the Petit Séminaire de Montréal . He moved to Châteauguay with his family , articled as a notary there and qualified to practice in 1829 . He was a school trustee there from 1829 to 1832 . In 1831 , he married Eugénie , the daughter of Bernard Saint-Germain , an interpreter with the Indian Department . His parents and one of his brothers died in a cholera epidemic in 1832 . Cardinal served in the local militia , becoming captain in 1834 . In 1834 , he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Laprairie County , as a supporter of the parti patriote . In 1837 , he resigned from his position in the militia and became one of the Patriote leaders in the county . Cardinal did not take part in the armed rebellion , but fled to New York after his political opponents threatened to turn him over to the authorities because of his support for the Patriote movement . He returned in 1838 and became a member of the Association des frères chasseurs . He was leader for the Patriote army at Châteauguay during the rebellion in 1838 and was later captured at Kahnawake .   Considered leaders of the rebellion at Châteauguay , Cardinal and three others were sentenced to death for the crime of high treason with a recommendation for executive clemency . Cardinal and Joseph Duquet were hanged at Montreal in December 1838 . He was buried in the old Catholic cemetery at Montreal . In 1858 , his remains were moved to the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery and buried under a monument dedicated to the Patriotes of 1837-8 .

neg: Liberation of Strasbourg The Liberation of Strasbourg constituted the dramatically symbolic high point for the rehabilitation of the honor of French armed forces as the Allies advanced across France toward Germany in 1944 . Alsace , of which Strasbourg is the capital , had been the focus of French-German enmity since the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 , and General Charles de Gaulle insisted that only French forces should retake it . After the victory of Kufra , General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque and his troops swore an oath to fight until `` our flag flies over the Cathedral of Strasbourg '' . The oath was fulfilled on 23 November 1944 , when the 2nd French Armoured Division under Leclerc 's command liberated Strasbourg .   On November 22 , 1944 , the hard-fighting French 2nd Armored Division , along with the French First Army , had been assigned the capture of Strasbourg by Allied Supreme Command . That same day , the 2nd Armored moved up to the vital pass at Saverne , which had been taken by the Americans , about 40 km northwest of Strasbourg . This Saverne `` gap '' is the historic gateway through the barrier of the Vosges Mountains , opening a line of advance on Strasbourg .   On November 23 , 1944 , units of the French 2nd Armored Division entered the city and raised the Free French tricolore over Strasbourg cathedral at 2:30 pm .   The German collective memory of the battle is rather more bleak . In Ardennes : 1944 , Antony Beevor states that the Battle for Strasbourg was one of the more `` inglorious episodes '' in German military history with a collapse of the Wehrmacht defense that was both premature and ignominious . It was hastened by a panic of senior Nazi leadership as many officials fled prior to the Allied push . This led to a general demoralization of Heer , Waffen-SS , and Luftwaffe ground forces as well as a breakdown in discipline . He states : ″ `` The SS had looted Strasbourg before withdrawing . According to one general defending the town , soldiers ordered to ` fight to the last round ' tended to throw away most of their ammunition before the battle , so they could claim that they ran out and then surrender . Generalmajor Vaterrodt , the ( Heer ) commander , was scornful about the behaviour of senior officers and Nazi Party officials . ` I 'm surprised that Himmler did not have anyone hanged in Strasbourg , ' he told fellow officers after he had been captured . ` Everyone ran away , Kreisleiter , Ortsgruppenleiter , the municipal authorities , the mayor and the deputy mayor , they all took to their heels , government officials - all fled ... ' '' . The Alsatian-born Chief Magistrate also fled towards Germany on foot with a backpack - as he had signed many death warrants and collaborated within the German occupation system and was a marked man .   Result   The rapid Liberation of Strasbourg by General LeClerc 's 2nd Armored Division produced a torrent of joy in the newly liberated French nation and was a hugely symbolic victory for the French people and the Western Allies in general . LeClerc was well respected and liked by his American contemporaries , unlike some other French commanders . The Liberation and Tricolore raised over the Cathedral was considered to be the last major objective in the Liberation of France . Unfortunately the Allies were unable to quickly seize on the German collapse . While fuel shortages and the increasing difficulty of supporting armies with lengthening supply lines played a role , General Dwight D. Eisenhower 's lack-of-interest in his southern flank largely doomed any further exploitation around Strasbourg . The commander of the American 6th Army Group , General Jacob L. Devers , believed he could cross the Rhine quickly at Rastatt thereby seizing a bridgehead . But Devers ' ambitious nature and aggressive personality somewhat alienated other commanders such as Eisenhower , and he failed to convince The Supreme Commander of his plan .   A potential bridgehead at Rastatt , had it been quickly seized , would more than likely have secured the southern flank and would have severally disrupted the coming German offensive in the Ardennes . But Eisenhower never seriously considered the opportunity as he seemed fixated on a more direct route to Berlin . As a result , Strasbourg would become threatened during the German Wacht am Rhein offensive known as The Battle of the Bulge in the West . In early January 1945 , the German counteroffensive into France known as Operation Nordwind was quickly contained , but not before both Eisenhower and Devers considered a general withdrawal from Alsace , which would have left Strasbourg undefended . The French Provisional Government considered this an anathema as it was , in General de Gaulle 's words , ( potentially ) `` a national disaster '' . In addition to this , hundreds-of-thousands of Alsatians would be subjected to German reprisals . The talk of a strategic withdrawal was also a blow to morale of the American VI Corps that had fought hard and suffered many casualties securing the area . In response General Charles de Gaulle threatened to pull his forces out of the overall SHAEF Command creating a serious row with Eisenhower . With the support of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill , de Gaulle won over Ike after a contentious argument . Strasbourg was not to be abandoned as the order to withdraw to the east of the Vosges Mountains was rescinded - boosting VI Corps ' morale . The German advance was halted in desperate fighting about 40 kilometers west of Strasbourg and Operation Norwind became another disaster for the German Heer and Waffen-SS with precious divisions reduced .

neg: Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror was a campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union which occurred from 1936 to 1938 . It involved a large-scale purge of the Communist Party and government officials , repression of peasants and the Red Army leadership , and widespread police surveillance , suspicion of `` saboteurs '' , `` counter-revolutionaries '' , imprisonment , and arbitrary executions . In Russian historiography , the period of the most intense purge , 1937 -- 1938 , is called Yezhovshchina ( Ежовщина literally , `` Yezhov phenomenon '' , According to the dictionary , the suffix - shchina in this case produces a word which refers to some kind of phenomenon associated with the word to which the suffix is attached . Quote : `` 1 . Словообразовательная единица , образующая имена существительные женского рода , которые обозначают бытовое или общественное явление , идейное или политическое течение , характеризующееся признаком , названным < ... > ''  Juraj Sipko ( Sipko J. Etnopsyholingvisticke predpoklady slovensko-ruskych a rusko-slovenskych porovnavani , Presov , 2003 ) comparing Russian and Slovak languages , points out that in Russian the suffix - shchina ( in meaning 1 given by Efremova ) most commonly bears openly negative or derisive connotations . commonly translated as `` times of Yezhov '' or `` doings of Yezhov '' ) , after Nikolai Yezhov , the head of the Soviet secret police , NKVD . Mobile gas vans were invented to kill people . It has been estimated between 600,000 and 3 million people died at the hands of the Soviet government during the Purge .   In the Western world , Robert Conquest 's 1968 book The Great Terror popularized that phrase . Conquest 's title was in turn an allusion to the period called the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution ( French : la Terreur , and , from June to July 1794 , la Grande Terreur , the Great Terror ) .

neg: Girondins The Girondins ( or Girondists ) were members of a loosely knit political faction during the French Revolution . From 1791 to 1793 , the Girondins were active within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention . They were part of the Jacobin movement - ( though not every Girondin was a member of the Jacobin Club ) - until they were accused of monarchism and purged .   The Girondins campaigned for the end of the monarchy , but then resisted the spiraling momentum of the Revolution . They came into conflict with The Mountain ( Montagnards ) , a radical left-wing faction within the Jacobin Club . This conflict eventually led to the fall of the Girondins and their mass execution , the beginning of the Reign of Terror . The Girondins were a group of loosely affiliated individuals rather than an organized political party , and the name was at first informally applied because the most prominent exponents of their point of view were deputies to the Legislative Assembly from the département of Gironde in southwest France .   Girondin leader Jacques-Pierre Brissot proposed an ambitious military plan to spread the Revolution internationally , thus the Girondins were the war party in 1792 -- 93 . Other prominent Girondins included Jean Marie Roland and his wife Madame Roland . They had an ally in the English-born , sometime American activist Thomas Paine . Brissot and Madame Roland were executed and Jean Roland ( who had gone into hiding ) committed suicide when he learned what had transpired . Paine was arrested and imprisoned but narrowly escaped execution . The famous painting Death of Marat depicts the killing of the fiery radical journalist ( and denouncer of the Girondins ) Jean-Paul Marat by the Girondin sympathizer Charlotte Corday , who was executed .

neg: Politics of France The politics of France take place with the framework of a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the French Fifth Republic . The nation declares itself to be an `` indivisible , secular , democratic , and social Republic '' . The constitution provides for a separation of powers and proclaims France 's `` attachment to the Rights of Man and the principles of national sovereignty as defined by the Declaration of 1789 . ''   The political system of France consists of an executive branch , a legislative branch , and a judicial branch . Executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic and the Government . The Government consists of the Prime Minister and ministers . The Prime Minister is appointed by the President , and is responsible to Parliament . The government , including the Prime Minister , can be revoked by the National Assembly , the lower house of Parliament , through a `` censure motion '' ; this ensures that the Prime Minister is always supported by a majority of the lower house ( which , on most topics , has prominence over the upper house ) .   Parliament comprises the National Assembly and the Senate . It passes statutes and votes on the budget ; it controls the action of the executive through formal questioning on the floor of the houses of Parliament and by establishing commissions of inquiry . The constitutionality of the statutes is checked by the Constitutional Council , members of which are appointed by the President of the Republic , the President of the National Assembly , and the President of the Senate . Former presidents of the Republic also are members of the Council .   The independent judiciary is based upon civil law system which evolved from the Napoleonic codes . It is divided into the judicial branch ( dealing with civil law and criminal law ) and the administrative branch ( dealing with appeals against executive decisions ) , each with their own independent supreme court of appeal : the Court of Cassation for the judicial courts and the Conseil d'Etat for the administrative courts . The French government includes various bodies that check abuses of power and independent agencies .   France is a unitary state . However , its administrative subdivisions -- regions , departments and communes -- have various legal functions , and the national government is prohibited from intruding into their normal operations .   France was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community , later the European Union . As such , France has transferred part of its sovereignty to European institutions , as provided by its constitution . The French government therefore has to abide by European treaties , directives and regulations .

neg: Pension Belhomme The Pension Belhomme was a prison and private clinic during the French Revolution .   Around 1765 , the joiner Jacques Belhomme took on the construction of a building for the son of a neighbour , an aristocrat who had been mad since birth . Seeing that running an asylum was more lucrative than joinery , he opened an asylum for lunatics , old people and whoever else rich families wanted to entrust to him . A famous precursor of psychiatry , Philippe Pinel , carried out his first treatments of the insane here .   Once the French Revolution had begun , Jacques Belhomme thought that his fortune was assured . Remote from the violent centre of Paris , he had noticeable advantages . In September 1793 the députés encouraged the sans-culottes to imprison all suspect individuals : nobles , their wives and children , foreigners , priests , lawyers , the actors of the Comédie Française , rich people in general , in short , all those who had not made clear their allegiance to the Republic . With the prisons of Paris already overflowing , the state requisitioned Belhomme 's asylum and then all other private clinics . Belhomme entreated the 12 police chiefs in charge of Paris to send him rich prisoners who would pay high fees to live in his asylum as comfortably as possible . From then on marquises , bankers , journalists , famous actors , old nobles and army officers , along with other disgraced persons who bribed the doctors and police chiefs to be transferred on the pretext of illness , lived cheek by jowl with the mad .   Belhomme rented the neighbouring building , the hôtel de Chabanais , to which he linked his own building by a charming garden after the young marquis de Chabanais , a descendant of Colbert , had emigrated with his mother and had his possessions confiscated by the state . Belhomme ended up buying the house to invest the money he had made . It was in this setting that there occurred the romance between Jacques-Marie Rouzet , a deputy to the National Convention , and Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon , widow of duc d'Orléans and mother of the future King Louis-Philippe . They married in secret after leaving prison .   The scandal of the Pension Belhomme finally erupted in January 1794 . Belhomme was arrested for supplying wine to the inmates and was imprisoned in another pension , at Coignard , where the Marquis de Sade was also held . He was found guilty twice and , like the majority of the former inmates of his `` clinic '' , escaped the guillotine only because the Terror ended on 9 Thermidor . Some of the former inmates did not escape , however , proving too well-known to pass unnoticed . They included Béatrice de Choiseul-Stainville , duchesse de Gramont , sister of Louis XV 's famous minister ; the duchess of Le Châtelet , daughter-in-law of a famous mistress of Voltaire , the fermier général Magon de La Balue , guillotined with his children , grandchildren , great-grandchildren , brothers and cousins ; and the lawyer Simon-Nicholas Henri Linguet , despite his denunciation of the monarchy , for which he had spent a year in the Bastille under the ancien regime .   The hôtel de Chabanais was razed in 1953 , as was the maison Belhomme in 1973 .

neg: Courrier de Lyon case The `` Courrier de Lyon '' case is a famous French criminal case . It occurred during the French Revolution . During the night of 27 and 28 April 1796 , a mail coach was ambushed outside Paris ( commune of Vert-Saint-Denis ) by several men who stole a large sum of money ( 7 million livres ) . The stage coach was supposed to go to Lyon from Paris , carrying money for the Army of Italy . Both the driver and the armed guard were brutally killed . A third man onboard , travelling under an assumed name , participated in the killing and later vanished .   Following investigations , six men ( Etienne Couriol , Charles Guénot , Joseph Richard , Antoine Bruer , David Bernard and Joseph Lesurques ) were arrested . After a trial , Couriol , Bernard and Lesurques were executed . Before his execution , however , Couriol claimed that Lesurques was innocent and was only arrested because he resembled André Dubosq , one of the actual attackers of the coach . Couriol 's last denunciations also helped arrest other accomplices : Joseph Durochat , who travelled aboard the coach as `` Laborde '' ; Pierre Vidal , who came up with the plan to rob the coach ; and Louis Roussy , one of the killers . All of them were convicted and executed . Dubosq was also arrested and executed ; however , his trial was not enough to overturn the judgement sentencing Lesurques , for all the witnesses who had recognised Lesurques persisted in saying that they had indeed seen Lesurques and not Dubosq .   Lesurques ' family spent most of the 19th century trying to rehabilitate him ; but none of the various committees assembled to re-examine the case found sufficient grounds to clear Lesurques ' name . Nevertheless , Lesurques is widely believed to be innocent and this case is remembered in France for being a famous example of miscarriage of justice .

neg: 1922 Moscow Trial of Socialist Revolutionaries The Moscow Trial of the Socialist Revolutionaries was one of the first show trials of the Soviet Union , beginning on June 8 , 1922 . The trial was part of a process that entailed eliminating all opposition in the nascent Bolshevik state . The trial stemmed from the failed Kerensky -- Krasnov uprising on October 29th , 1917 ( old style ) , when Alexander Kerensky attempted to overthrow the Soviet government that had just toppled him .   The previous years had witnessed the silencing of the Workers ' Opposition and the suppression of the Mensheviks , the other major proletarian party . The Socialist Revolutionaries had long been a nuisance to the Bolsheviks . The party enjoyed the support of the largest demographic of the old Tsarist Empire , the agrarian peasantry , whilst the Bolsheviks were primarily supported by the radical intelligentsia , with some , albeit small , representation amongst soldiers and workers . The dispersal of the Constituent Assembly in January 1918 was the first action Lenin took against the Socialist Revolutionaries . The results of the voting made it clear that the assembly would not be overwhelmingly Bolshevik , and Lenin decided that it was counterrevolutionary . Fanny Kaplan , Lenin 's would-be assassin , stated that her motive for the assassination was the dispersal of the assembly . The Brest-Litovsk Treaty of 1918 that ended hostilities between Germany and Russia was also a point of serious disagreement between the Bolsheviks and the Socialist Revolutionaries .   There were 12 main defendants in the trial and SR coup participants gave evidence for the prosecution . Among the notable Bolsheviks playing a part in the trial were Nikolai Krylenko , who was the prosecutor for the state , and Nikolai Bukharin , who was part of the defense counsel . Bukharin had even participated in demonstrations organized by the authorities that were occurring throughout Moscow , and demanded the death penalty for the 12 defendants . At the very outset , Georgy Pyatakov announced that `` the court does not intend to handle the case from a dispassionate , objective point of view but would be guided solely by the interests of the Soviet Government . ''  The evidence against the accused included statements of former SR participants in the military coup attempt such as G. Semyonov , who joined the Bolsheviks in 1911 , and became an agent provocateur . The trial concluded with death sentences for the 12 and acquittal for those who gave evidence . Upon further review by the tribunal , the death sentences were commuted . It was believed by Trotsky at least , that if the sentences were carried out , their party brethren would carry out terrorist violence against the Bolshevik government .   All of the defendants and participants in the trial would eventually become victims in Stalin 's purges .

neg: Capital punishment in Iraq Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Iraq .   It was commonly used by the government of Saddam Hussein ; and has been since his removal from office . After the invasion of Iraq in 2003 , the U.S. administrator , L. Paul Bremer , suspended capital punishment on June 10 , declaring that `` the former regime used certain provisions of the penal code as a means of oppression , in violation of internationally acknowledged human rights . ''   On August 8 , 2004 , capital punishment was reinstated in Iraq . Iraqi law states that no person over the age of 70 can be executed , despite people like Tariq Aziz , sentenced to death at the age of 74 . There is an automatic right to appeal on all such sentences . Iraqi Law requires execution within 30 days of all legal avenues being exhausted . The last legal step , before the execution proceeds , is for the condemned to be handed a red card . This is completed by an official of the court with details of the judgment and a notice that execution is imminent .   In September 2005 , three murderers were the first people to be executed since the restoration . Then on March 9 , 2006 , an official of Iraq 's Supreme Judicial Council confirmed that Iraqi authorities had executed the first insurgents by hanging .   27 people , including one woman , were executed by the Iraqi government on September 6 , 2006 , for high crimes against civilians .   At least 285 people were sentenced to death in 2008 ; at least 34 were executed . In 2007 , at least 199 people were sentenced to death and 33 executed , in 2006 , at least 65 people were executed . The actual figures could be much higher as there are no available official statistics . ''   There were at least 120 executions in 2009 , overwhelmingly for alleged terrorist offences . More than 900 people , including 17 women , were thought to be at risk of imminent execution in Iraq at the end of 2009 - they had reportedly exhausted all forms of appeal and their death sentences were said to have been ratified by the Presidential Council .   On January 19 , 2012 , 34 people were executed in a single day . Early in October 2013 , 42 people convicted of terrorism charges were hanged over the course of two days . By that date a total of 132 people had been executed in 2013 .   In July 2016 , the Prime minister Haider Al-Abadi ordered the execution of all terrorists condemned in the country following the Baghdad suicide truck bombing which killed over 250 people at a mall in Karrada , Baghdad .

neg: Paris Commune (French Revolution) The Paris Commune during the French Revolution was the government of Paris from 1792 until 1795 . Established in the Hôtel de Ville just after the storming of the Bastille , it consisted of 144 delegates elected by the 48 divisions of the city . The Paris Commune became insurrectionary in the summer of 1792 , essentially refusing to take orders from the central French government . It took charge of routine civic functions but is best known for mobilizing extreme views and actions among the people and for its campaign to dechristianize the churches and the people . It lost much power in 1794 and was replaced in 1795 .   The first mayor was Jean Sylvain Bailly ; he was succeeded on November 1791 by Pétion de Villeneuve after Bailly 's unpopular use of the National Guard to disperse a riotous assembly in the Champ de Mars ( 17 July 1791 ) .   In 1792 , the Commune was dominated by those Jacobins who were not in the Legislative Assembly due to the Self-Denying Ordinance .   On the night of 9 August 1792 a new revolutionary Commune , led by Georges Danton , Camille Desmoulins and Jacques Hébert took possession of the Hôtel de Ville ; the next day insurgents assailed the Tuileries , where the royal family resided . During the ensuing constitutional crisis , the collapsing Legislative Assembly of France was heavily dependent on the Commune for the effective power that allowed it to continue to function as a legislature . The all-powerful Commune demanded custody of the royal family , imprisoning them in the Temple fortress . A list of `` opponents of the Revolution '' was drawn up , the gates to the city were sealed , and on 28 August the citizens were subjected to domiciliary visits , ostensibly in a search for muskets .   It was not until 1792 that the government had a formal cabinet in place , with the appointment of the Ministers of the French National Convention and the decision of the Commissioners of the Committee of Public Safety in 1794 to take charge of administrative departments .   The government of the republic was succeeded by the French Directory in November 1795 .

neg: Émile Buisson Émile `` Mimile '' Buisson ( 19 August 1902 -- 28 February 1956 ) was a French gangster , and French public enemy No. 1 for 1950 . A member of the French Gang des Tractions Avant , Buisson was responsible for over thirty murders and a hundred robberies . Buisson was pursued and caught by French detective of the Sûreté Nationale Roger Borniche , and was executed in 1956 by the guillotine . Borniche 's memoirs on the pursuit , Flic Story , were later made into a film of the same name in 1975 , with Buisson portrayed by Jean-Louis Trintignant .   Buisson was born in Paray-le-Monial , Saône-et-Loire , and was jailed at the age of 16 for pickpocketing , swindling and possessing an offensive weapon . He was exiled to Shanghai with his brother for 5 years . Upon returning to France , Buisson was involved in a number of crimes and murders , becoming a member of Paris ' criminal organizations , and took part in a hold-up of Troyes in 1937 . In 1941 Buisson killed a passenger on board a security van during a robbery , and was captured by police during an identity check . Buisson was regarded as criminally insane and was committed to a psychiatric hospital , only to escape in 1947 with the help of Roger Dekker . Becoming French public enemy No. 1 for 1950 , Buisson was eventually captured by Roger Borniche and was executed on gilotine in 1956 .   Category :1902 births  Category :1956 deaths  Category : People from Paray-le-Monial  Category : People executed by France by decapitation  Category : French bank robbers  Category : People executed by the French Fourth Republic  Category : Executed French people  Category : Executed people from Burgundy

neg: French colonial empire The French colonial empire constituted the overseas colonies , protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward . A distinction is generally made between the `` first colonial empire '' , that existed until 1814 , by which time most of it had been lost , and the `` second colonial empire '' , which began with the conquest of Algiers in 1830 . The second empire came to an end after the loss of bitter wars in Vietnam ( 1955 ) and Algeria ( 1962 ) , and peaceful decolonization elsewhere after 1960 .   Competing with Spain , Portugal , the United Provinces , and later Britain , France began to establish colonies in North America , the Caribbean , and India in the 17th century . A series of wars with Great Britain and other European major powers during the 18th century and early 19th century resulted in France losing nearly all of its conquests . France rebuilt a new empire mostly after 1850 , concentrating chiefly in Africa , as well as Indochina and the South Pacific . Republicans , at first hostile to empire , only became supportive when Germany started to build her own colonial empire . As it developed the new empire took on roles of trade with France , especially supplying raw materials and purchasing manufactured items , as well as lending prestige to the motherland and spreading French civilization and language , and the Catholic religion . It also provided manpower in the World Wars .   It became a moral mission to lift the world up to French standards by bringing Christianity and French culture . In 1884 the leading proponent of colonialism , Jules Ferry declared ; `` The higher races have a right over the lower races , they have a duty to civilize the inferior races . '' Full citizenship rights -- assimilation -- were offered , although in reality `` assimilation was always receding -LSB- and -RSB- the colonial populations treated like subjects not citizens . '' France sent small numbers of settlers to its empire , contrary to Great Britain , and previously Spain and Portugal , with the only notable exception of Algeria , where the French settlers nonetheless always remained a small minority .   At its apex , it was one of the largest empires in history . Including metropolitan France , the total amount of land under French sovereignty reached 11500000 km2 in 1920 , with a population of 110 million people in 1939 . In World War II , Charles de Gaulle and the Free French used the overseas colonies as bases from which they fought to liberate France . Historian Tony Chafer argues : `` In an effort to restore its world-power status after the humiliation of defeat and occupation , France was eager to maintain its overseas empire at the end of the Second World War . '' However , after 1945 anti-colonial movements began to challenge European authority . The French constitution of October 27 , 1946 ( Fourth Republic ) , established the French Union which endured until 1958 . Newer remnants of the colonial empire were integrated into France as overseas departments and territories within the French Republic . These now total altogether 119,394 km ² ( 46,098 sq. miles ) , which amounts to only 1 % of the pre-1939 French colonial empire 's area , with 2.7 million people living in them in 2013 . By the 1970s , says Robert Aldrich , the last `` vestiges of empire held little interest for the French . '' He argues , `` Except for the traumatic decolonization of Algeria , however , what is remarkable is how few long-lasting effects on France the giving up of empire entailed . ''

neg: Place de la Bastille The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris where the Bastille prison stood until the `` Storming of the Bastille '' and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution . No vestige of the prison remains .   The square straddles 3 arrondissements of Paris , namely the 4th , 11th and 12th . The square and its surrounding areas are normally called simply Bastille .   The July Column ( Colonne de Juillet ) which commemorates the events of the July Revolution ( 1830 ) stands at the center of the square . Other notable features include the Bastille Opera , the Bastille subway station and a section of the Canal Saint Martin . Prior to 1984 , the former Bastille railway station stood where the opera house now stands .   The square is home to concerts and similar events . The north-eastern area of Bastille is busy at night with its many cafés , bars , night clubs , and concert halls .   As a consequence of its historical significance , the square is often the site or point of departure of political demonstrations , including the massive anti-CPE demonstration of 28 March 2006 .


query: Batman: The Killing Joke was written by Alan Moore in 1999.

pos: Batman: The Killing Joke Batman : The Killing Joke is a 1988 DC Comics one-shot graphic novel featuring the characters Batman and the Joker written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland . The Killing Joke provides an origin story for the supervillain the Joker , loosely adapted from the 1951 story arc `` The Man Behind the Red Hood ! '' . Taking place over two timelines , The Killing Joke depicts the Joker attempting to drive Jim Gordon insane and Batman 's desperate attempt to stop him .   Created by Moore and Bolland as their own take on the Joker 's source and psychology , the story became famous for its origin of the Joker as a tragic character ; a family man and failed comedian who suffered `` one bad day '' that finally drove him insane . Moore stated that he attempted to show the similarities and contrasts between the two characters . The story 's effects on the mainstream Batman continuity also included the shooting and paralysis of Barbara Gordon ( a.k.a. Batgirl ) , an event that laid the groundwork for her to develop the identity of Oracle .   Many critics consider the graphic novel to be the definitive Joker story and one of the best Batman stories ever published . The comic won the Eisner Award for ` Best Graphic Album ' in 1989 and appeared on The New York Times Best Seller List in May 2009 . In 2006 , The Killing Joke was reprinted as part of the trade paperback DC Universe : The Stories of Alan Moore . In 2008 , DC Comics reprinted the story in a deluxe hardcover edition , which features new coloring by Bolland , with a more somber , realistic , and subdued palette than the original . Elements of The Killing Joke have inspired or been incorporated into other aspects of Batman media , such as films and video games .

neg: Gotham Central Gotham Central is a police procedural comic-book series that was published by DC Comics . It was written by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka , with pencils initially by Michael Lark . The story focused on the Gotham City Police Department and the difficulties of its officers living and working in Gotham City , home of Batman .

neg: Batman: Year Two `` Year Two '' is the title of a four-part story arc featuring Batman , written by Mike W. Barr and illustrated by Alan Davis , Paul Neary , Alfredo Alcala , Mark Farmer and Todd McFarlane . It originally appeared in the American comic book Detective Comics # 575-578 , published by DC Comics .   The story was initially a treatment by Barr titled `` Batman : 1980 '' , but it was released as `` Batman : Year Two '' following the success of Frank Miller 's `` Batman : Year One '' .   This story was collected as a trade paperback in 1990 . In 2002 , DC Comics published a second printing of the trade paperback , this time with the addition of the one-shot sequel , Batman : Full Circle included , with the new edition retitled as Batman : Year Two - Fear The Reaper . Elements of the story were incorporated into the animated film Batman : Mask of the Phantasm .

neg: TV Nation TV Nation is a satirical newsmagazine television series written , directed and hosted by Michael Moore that was co-funded and originally broadcast by NBC in the United States and BBC2 in the United Kingdom . The show blended humor and journalism into provocative reports about various issues . After moving to Fox for its second ( and final ) season , the show won an Emmy Award in 1995 for Outstanding Informational Series .   TV Nation was created in the wake of the success Moore had with the documentary Roger & Me , prompting Warner Bros. . Television to ask Moore for television series ideas . In January 1993 , NBC green-lit a pilot episode which took three months to complete . Interest from the BBC prompted NBC to insert the show into its summer 1994 lineup .

neg: V for Vendetta V for Vendetta is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd ( with additional art by Tony Weare ) , published by DC Comics . Later versions were published by Vertigo , an imprint of DC Comics . The story depicts a dystopian and post-apocalyptic near-future history version of the United Kingdom in the 1990s , preceded by a nuclear war in the 1980s which had devastated most of the rest of the world . The fascist Norsefire party has exterminated its opponents in concentration camps and rules the country as a police state . The comics follow its title character and protagonist , V , an anarchist revolutionary dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask , as he begins an elaborate and theatrical revolutionist campaign to kill his former captors , bring down the fascist state and convince the people to bring about democratic government , while inspiring a young woman , Evey Hammond , to be his protégé .   Warner Bros. released a film adaptation of the same title in 2006 .

neg: The Big Tease The Big Tease is a 1999 comedy film starring Craig Ferguson , directed by Kevin Allen , and written by Ferguson and Sacha Gervasi .

neg: List of Batman Family adversaries The Batman Family adversaries or the rogues gallery are a collective of fictional supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . These characters are depicted as adversaries of the superhero Batman and his allies .   Since Batman first appeared in Detective Comics # 27 ( May 1939 ) , his supporting cast has expanded to include other superheroes , and has become what is now informally called the Batman Family . As with most superheroes , a cast of recurring enemies to the Batman Family have been introduced throughout the decades , collectively referred to as the rogues gallery . Many characters from Batman 's rogues gallery who are criminally insane become patients at Arkham Asylum after they are apprehended .   The Batman Family 's rogues gallery has widely been well received , considered by many journalists to be one of the greatest superhero rogues galleries in all of comics .

neg: Screwed in Tallinn Screwed in Tallinn ( Torsk på Tallinn ) is a 1999 Swedish comedy-drama film written by and starring the comedy group Killinggänget , and directed by their member Tomas Alfredson . Made in a mockumentary style , it revolves around a group of Swedish single men who travel by bus to Estonia where they have been promised to meet Estonian women .   The film was one of four 60-minute films Killinggänget produced for Sveriges Television in 1999 under the label Fyra små filmer ( `` Four small films '' ) . It received the Golden Gate Award for best television comedy at the 2000 San Francisco International Film Festival .

neg: Batman & Dracula trilogy The Batman and Dracula trilogy is a group of American comics stories which began with Batman & Dracula : Red Rain , a 1991 graphic novel by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones , in DC Comics ' Elseworlds line of alternate reality stories . It spawned two sequels by the same creative team ; Batman : Bloodstorm and Batman : Crimson Mist . DC Comics later released The Batman and Dracula trilogy in a trade paperback collection , entitled Tales of the Multiverse : Batman - Vampire .

neg: Dark Knight (nickname) The Dark Knight is the nickname of the superhero Batman who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics . Batman was first referred to by the nickname in Batman # 1 ( Spring 1940 ) , in a story written by Bill Finger .

neg: Scene of the Crime (comics) Scene of the Crime is a four-issue comic book miniseries published in 1999 by DC Comics written by Ed Brubaker pencilled and inked by Michael Lark and also inked by Sean Phillips following the first issue .   Scene of the Crime follows private detective Jack Herriman as he is hired to track down a missing person in and around San Francisco . Herriman is in his mid to late twenties and runs his office from the first floor of an art gallery called Scene of The Crime which is owned and run by his uncle Knut Herriman . In the story Knut is a famous crime scene photographer and uses his reputation to aid Jack at several points throughout the story .

neg: Theatre of Cruelty (Discworld) `` Theatre of Cruelty '' is a short Discworld story by Terry Pratchett written in 1993 . The name derives from a concept of Antonin Artaud ( Theatre of Cruelty ) .   It was originally written for W. H. Smith Bookcase magazine and was then slightly modified and extended , being published again in the programme of the OryCon 15 convention , and then again in The Wizards of Odd , a compilation of fantasy short stories .   It has since been made available on the Internet along with dozens of translations by fans , with Pratchett having stated , `` I do n't want to see it distributed in print anywhere but do n't mind people downloading it for their own enjoyment . ''   The story involves both the Ankh-Morpork City Watch and a parallel of Punch and Judy .   A murder has been committed : a street entertainer , found apparently battered to death with a very small blunt object , on him bite marks from a very small crocodile . Investigating the incident in his typically direct manner , Carrot Ironfoundersson discovers the death was an accident , the man having choked on a swazzle . It emerges that the entertainer had invented a parallel , live-action version of Punch and Judy , using -- and abusing -- a troupe of gnomes as the live cast . Carrot asserts that such brutal theatre could never find favour in Ankh-Morpork : `` That 's not the way to do it '' .

neg: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman : Mask of the Phantasm ( also known as Batman : The Animated Movie ) is a 1993 American animated neo-noir superhero mystery film feauring the DC Comics character Batman . Directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm , it is based on the hit TV series Batman : The Animated Series and was distributed by Warner Bros. . Pictures . The film was written by Alan Burnett , Paul Dini , Martin Pasko and Michael Reaves and stars the vocal talents of Kevin Conroy , Mark Hamill and Efrem Zimbalist , Jr. ( all reprising their roles from The Animated Series ) , in addition to Dana Delany , Hart Bochner , Stacy Keach , and Abe Vigoda . It revolves around Batman attempting to apprehend a mysterious vigilante who 's murdering Gotham City 's crime bosses .   The film was originally thought of as a direct-to-video release . Warner Bros. ultimately decided for a theatrical release , giving the filmmakers a strenuous eight-month schedule . Mask of the Phantasm was released on December 25 , 1993 to widespread acclaim from critics , who praised the animation , voice performances , storyline and music , among others . However , due to the decision to release the film in theaters on such short notice , it failed at the box office .   After its release on home video , the film found cult success and over the years developed a cult following . The film 's success led to two direct-to-video standalone sequels , Batman & Mr. Freeze : SubZero in 1997 and Mystery of the Batwoman in 2003 . In recent years , many publications including Time , IGN and WhatCulture , have ranked it as one of the best Batman films ever made and among the best animated films ever made .

neg: Bringing Out the Dead Bringing Out the Dead is a 1999 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese , written by Paul Schrader , based on the novel by Joe Connelly and starring Nicolas Cage , Patricia Arquette , John Goodman , Ving Rhames , and Tom Sizemore .   Though a flop at the box office , the film received very positive reviews from critics and was also the last North American title to be released on LaserDisc .

neg: Batman: Cacophony Batman : Cacophony is the title of a three-issue comic book limited series starring Batman . The series was written by Kevin Smith with art by Walt Flanagan , and ran from November 2008 through March 2009 due to delays with issue three . The comic chronicles Batman as he attempts to stop a turf war between the Joker and crime lord , Maxie Zeus . Batman also encounters a new adversary , Onomatopoeia .

neg: Tom De Haven Tom De Haven ( born 1949 ) is an American author , editor , journalist , and writing teacher . His recurring subjects include literary and film noir , the Hollywood studio system and the American comics industry . De Haven is noted for his comics-themed novels , including the Derby Dugan trilogy and It 's Superman .

neg: Egghead (DC Comics) Egghead is a fictional character created for the 1960s Batman television series . Played by horror film mainstay Vincent Price , the character was identifiable by his pale bald head and white and yellow suit . He believes himself to be `` the world 's smartest criminal , '' and his crimes usually have an egg motif to them ; he also includes egg-related puns in his speech ( `` egg-zactly '' , `` egg-cellent '' , etc. ) . Additionally , he would use a wide assortment of egg-shaped weapons , such as laughing gas eggs and tear gas eggs ( laid by chickens on a diet of onions ) .

neg: Gotham City Impostors Gotham City Impostors is a first-person shooter multiplayer-only video game set in the universe of DC Comics ' Batman . Developed by Monolith Productions and published by Warner Bros. . Interactive Entertainment , the downloadable game is played from the perspective of two teams each trying to kill the other : one with people dressed like Batman and the other with people dressed like his archenemy , The Joker .   Unlike other Batman games , Gotham City Impostors was not physically released . It was released on Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade , PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network and Microsoft Windows via Games for Windows -- Live in February 2012 . The game was re-released on Microsoft Windows as a free-to-play title in August 30 , 2012 via Steam using Steamworks . The game is a six versus six first person shooter multiplayer game featuring customizable characters . Players take on the role of either amateur vigilantes ( the Bats ) or criminals ( the Jokerz ) . The game features a range of both traditional and imagined weapons .

neg: Dick Grayson Richard John `` Dick '' Grayson is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics , commonly in association with Batman . Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson , he first appeared in Detective Comics # 38 in April 1940 as the original incarnation of Robin . In Tales of the Teen Titans # 44 ( July 1984 ) the character retires his role as Robin and assumes the superhero persona of Nightwing , created by Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez .   The youngest in a family of acrobats known as the `` Flying Graysons '' , Dick watches a mafia boss kill his parents in order to extort money from the circus that employed them . Batman ( Bruce Wayne ) takes him in as a legal ward ( retconned as an adopted son in some cases ) and the crime-fighting partner Robin . He is written by many authors as the first son of Batman . As well as being Batman 's crime-fighting partner , Dick establishes himself as the leader of the Teen Titans , a team of teenage superheroes . As a young man , he retires as Robin and takes on his own superhero identity to assert his independence , becoming Nightwing . As Nightwing , he continues to lead the Teen Titans and later the Outsiders . In the first volume of his eponymous series ( 1996 -- 2009 ) , he becomes the protector of Blüdhaven , Gotham 's economically troubled neighboring city , the locale the character is most closely associated with . He has also served stints protecting the streets of New York , Chicago and Gotham in other runs over the years .   Dick Grayson has taken on the identity of Batman on a few occasions . Following `` Batman : Knightfall '' , Grayson declines taking up the mantle of Batman while the original was recovering from a broken back as he feels Nightwing is a hero in his own right and not Batman 's understudy , but after the events of the Zero Hour miniseries later that year , he replaces Bruce Wayne as Batman , beginning in Robin # 0 ( 1994 ) and extending throughout the Batman : Prodigal storyline in 1995 . Dick again assumes the mantle following the events of `` Batman R.I.P. '' ( 2008 ) and Final Crisis ( 2008 -- 9 ) . As Batman , Dick moves to Gotham City following his mentor 's apparent death and partners with the fifth Robin , Damian Wayne . On Bruce 's return , both men maintained the Batman identity until 2011 , when Dick returned to the Nightwing identity with DC 's The New 52 continuity reboot . In a 2014 comic story , Dick is forced to abandon the Nightwing identity after being unmasked on TV and faking his death , setting up Tim Seeley 's Grayson comic book , Dick becomes Agent 37 , Batman 's mole in the nefarious spy organization Spyral . Following the conclusion of the Grayson series , and the restoration of his secret identity in the series ' final issue , Dick returns to being Nightwing as part of the DC Rebirth relaunch in 2016 .   Dick Grayson has appeared as Robin in several other media adaptations : the 1943 serial played by Douglas Croft , the 1949 serial played by Johnny Duncan , the 1966 -- 1968 live action Batman television series and its motion picture portrayed by Burt Ward , played by Chris O'Donnell in the 1995 film Batman Forever and its 1997 sequel Batman & Robin . Loren Lester voiced the character as Robin in Batman : The Animated Series and later as Nightwing 's first screen adaptation in The New Batman Adventures . In May 2011 , IGN ranked Dick Grayson # 11 on their list of the `` Top 100 Super Heroes of All Time '' . In 2013 , ComicsAlliance ranked Grayson as Nightwing as # 1 on their list of the `` 50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics '' .

neg: Killing Time (Tina Cousins album) Killing Time is the first album by the British singer Tina Cousins . Released in 1999 ( 2000 in the US ) , it was produced by Pete Waterman with co-production by Mark Topham and Karl Twigg .   The album contained the song `` Pray '' , which was released in the United States soon after its rapid success in both the United Kingdom and Australia . However , the single did not make an impact on American radio until late 2006 , when it was added to the music databases of a few rhythmic/dance format stations . The album also contained the singles `` Killin ' Time '' , `` Forever '' , `` Angel '' and `` Nothing to Fear '' which , like `` Pray '' , only became popular in 2005 and 2006 , after their release .

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 .