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-{{Template}}+[[Image:The Crystal Palace.jpg|thumb|left|200px|This structure, built for the [[Great Exhibition]] of [[1851]], symbolizes the rise of [[consumer culture]] and the start of [[industrial design]].]]
-[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/{{PAGENAMEE}}] [Apr 2007]+{| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
 +| style="text-align: left;" |
 +"What’s [[heaven]]? Heaven is where the [[police]] are [[Britishness|British]], the [[chef]]s are [[France|French]], the [[mechanics]] are [[Germany|German]], the [[lover]]s are [[Italy|Italian]] and the [[bank|banker]]s are [[Switzerland|Swiss]].
-== By medium ==+So then, what’s [[hell]]? Hell is where the police are German, the chefs are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss and the bankers are Italian." [[Heaven is where the police are British|[...]]]
-[[British art]] - [[British cinema]] - [[British literature and philosophy]] - [[British music]]+|}[[Image:Eruption of Vesuvius (Turner).jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79|Eruption of Vesuvius]]'' ([[1817]]) by [[William Turner]], an eruption of [[Vesuvius]]]]
-== By sensibility ==+[[Image:Title page from Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) - Samuel Richardson.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Title page from ''[[Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded]]'' ([[1740]]) - [[Samuel Richardson]]]]
-[[British erotica]] - [[British exploitation]]+{{Template}}
- +Formally "The United Kingdom of [[Great Britain]] and [[Northern Ireland]]". The United Kingdom comprises the [[island]]s [[England]], [[Scotland]], [[Wales]] and the six counties of [[Northern Ireland]]. The UK is situated off the western coast of mainland [[Europe]].
- +== Culture of the United Kingdom ==
-== Various ==+:''[[Culture of the United Kingdom]]''
-[[Archigram]] - [[English]] - [[Industrial Revolution (started in the UK)]] - [[London]] - [[Oz (magazine) ]]+
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-== By era ==+
-[[Mod movement]] - [[swinging London]] - [[Victorian era]] +
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-==The Arts==+
-===Literature===+
-The earliest native literature of the territory of the modern United Kingdom was written in the [[Celtic languages]] of the isles. The Welsh literary tradition stretches from the [[6th century]]. [[Irish poetry]] also represents a more or less unbroken tradition from the 6th century to the present day, with the [[Ulster Cycle]] being of particular relevance to Northern Ireland.+
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-[[Anglo-Saxon literature]] includes ''[[Beowulf]]'', a [[national epic]], but literature in [[Latin]] predominated among educated elites. After the [[Norman Conquest]] [[Anglo-Norman literature]] brought continental influences to the isles.+
- +
-[[English literature]] emerged as a recognisable entity in the late [[14th century]], with the rise and spread of the [[London]] [[dialect]] of [[Middle English]]. [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] is the first great identifiable individual in English literature: his ''[[Canterbury Tales]]'' remains a popular 14th-century work which readers still enjoy today.+
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-Following the introduction of the [[printing press]] into England by [[William Caxton]] in [[1476]], the [[Elizabethan era]] saw a great flourishing of literature, especially in the fields of [[poetry]] and [[drama]]. From this period, poet and playwright [[William Shakespeare]] stands out as arguably the most famous writer in the world.+
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-The [[English novel]] became a popular form in the [[18th century]], with [[Daniel Defoe]]'s ''[[Robinson Crusoe]]'' ([[1719]]), [[Samuel Richardson]]'s ''[[Pamela]]'' ([[1740]]) and [[Henry Fielding]]'s ''[[The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling|Tom Jones]]'' ([[1745]]).+
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-After a period of decline, the poetry of [[Robert Burns]] revived interest in [[vernacular literature]], the ''rhyming weavers'' of Ulster being especially influenced by literature in Scots from Scotland.+
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-The following two centuries continued a huge outpouring of literary production. In the early 19th century, the [[Romanticism|Romantic]] period showed a flowering of poetry comparable with the Renaissance two hundred years earlier, with such poets as [[William Blake]], [[William Wordsworth]], [[John Keats]], and [[George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron|Lord Byron]]. The [[Victorian era|Victorian period]] was the golden age of the [[Literary realism|realistic]] English novel, represented by [[Jane Austen]], the Brontë sisters ([[Charlotte Brontë|Charlotte]], [[Emily Brontë|Emily]] and [[Anne Brontë|Anne]]), [[Charles Dickens]], [[William Thackeray]], [[George Eliot]], and [[Thomas Hardy]]. +
- +
-[[World War I]] gave rise to British [[war poets]] and writers such as [[Wilfred Owen]], [[Siegfried Sassoon]], [[Robert Graves]] and [[Rupert Brooke]] who wrote (often [[paradox]]ically), of their expectations of war, and/or their experiences in the trench.+
- +
-The [[Celtic Revival]] stimulated new appreciation of traditional Irish literature, however, with the independence of the [[Irish Free State]], [[Irish literature]] came to be seen as more clearly separate from the strains of British literature. The [[Scottish Renaissance]] of the early 20th century brought modernism to Scottish literature as well as an interest in new forms in the literatures of Scottish Gaelic and Scots.+
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-The English novel developed in the [[20th century]] into much greater variety and was greatly enriched by immigrant writers. It remains today the dominant English literary form.+
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-Other well-known [[novelist]]s include [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], [[D. H. Lawrence]], [[George Orwell]], [[Salman Rushdie]], [[Mary Shelley]], [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], [[Virginia Woolf]] and [[J.K. Rowling]].+
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-Important poets include [[Elizabeth Barrett Browning]], [[T. S. Eliot]], [[Ted Hughes]], [[John Milton]], [[Alfred Tennyson]], [[Rudyard Kipling]], [[Alexander Pope]], and [[Dylan Thomas]].+
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-===Theatre===+
-The United Kingdom also has a vibrant tradition of [[theatre]]. Theatre was introduced to the UK from [[Europe]] by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] and [[auditorium]]s were constructed across the country for this purpose.+
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-By the [[medieval]] period theatre had developed with the [[Mummers Play|mummers' plays]], a form of early street theatre associated with the [[Morris dance]], concentrating on themes such as [[Saint George]] and the [[European dragon|Dragon]] and [[Robin Hood]]. These were [[folk tale]]s re-telling old stories, and the [[actor]]s travelled from town to town performing these for their audiences in return for money and hospitality. The medieval [[mystery play]]s and [[morality play]]s, which dealt with Christian themes, were performed at religious festivals.+
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-The reign of [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] in the late [[16th century|16th]] and early [[17th century]] saw a flowering of the drama and all the arts. Perhaps the most famous [[playwright]] in the world, [[William Shakespeare]], wrote around 40 plays that are still performed in theatres across the world to this day. They include tragedies, such as ''[[Hamlet]]'' ([[1603]]), ''[[Othello]]'' ([[1604]]), and ''[[King Lear]]'' ([[1605]]); comedies, such as ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' ([[1594]]—[[1596|96]]) and ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' ([[1602]]); and history plays, such as ''[[Henry IV, part 1|Henry IV, part 1—2]]''. The Elizabethan age is sometimes nicknamed "the age of Shakespeare" for the amount of influence he held over the era. Other important Elizabethan and 17th-century playwrights include [[Ben Jonson]], [[Christopher Marlowe]], and [[John Webster]]. [[image:Aphra Behn.jpg|thumb|right|120px|[[Aphra Behn]] was the first professional woman playwright.]]+
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-During the [[Interregnum]] [[1642]]—[[1660]], English theatres were kept closed by the [[Puritan]]s for religious and ideological reasons. When the London theatres opened again with the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, they flourished under the personal interest and support of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]. Wide and socially mixed audiences were attracted by topical writing and by the introduction of the first professional actresses (in Shakespeare's time, all female roles had been played by boys). New [[genres]] of the Restoration were [[heroic drama]], [[she-tragedy|pathetic drama]], and [[Restoration comedy]]. The Restoration plays that have best retained the interest of producers and audiences today are the comedies, such as [[William Wycherley]]'s ''[[The Country Wife]]'' ([[1676]]), ''[[The Rover (play)|The Rover]]'' ([[1677]]) by the first professional woman playwright, [[Aphra Behn]], [[John Vanbrugh]]'s ''[[The Relapse]]'' ([[1696]]), and [[William Congreve (playwright)|William Congreve]]'s ''[[The Way of the World]]'' ([[1700]]). Restoration comedy is famous or notorious for its [[sexual]] explicitness, a quality encouraged by [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] (1660–[[1685]]) personally and by the [[rake|rakish]] [[aristocratic]] ethos of his [[court]]. +
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-In the 18th century, the highbrow and provocative Restoration comedy lost favour, to be replaced by [[Sentimentalism|sentimental]] [[comedy]], domestic [[tragedy]] such as George Lillo's [[The London Merchant]] ([[1731]]), and by an overwhelming interest in Italian [[opera]]. Popular entertainment became more important in this period than ever before, with fair-booth burlesque and mixed forms that are the ancestors of the English [[music hall]]. These forms flourished at the expense of legitimate English drama, which went into a long period of decline. By the early 19th century it was no longer represented by stage plays at all, but by the [[closet drama]], plays written to be privately read in a "closet" (a small domestic room).+
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-A change came in the late [[19th century]] with the plays on the London stage by the Irishmen [[George Bernard Shaw]] and [[Oscar Wilde]] and the Norwegian [[Henrik Ibsen]], all of whom influenced domestic English drama and vitalised it again. +
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-Today the [[West End of London]] has a large number of theatres, particularly centred around [[Shaftesbury Avenue]]. A prolific composer of the [[20th century]] [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]] has dominated the West End for a number of years and his [[musical theater|musicals]] have travelled to [[Broadway theater|Broadway]] in [[New York]] and around the world, as well as being turned into [[film]]s.+
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-The [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] operates out of Shakespeare's birthplace [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] in [[England]], producing mainly but not exclusively Shakespeare's plays.+
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-Important modern [[playwright]]s include [[Alan Ayckbourn]], [[John Osborne]], [[Harold Pinter]], [[Tom Stoppard]], and [[Arnold Wesker]].+
-{{clr}}+
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-===Music===+
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-Composers [[William Byrd]], [[Thomas Tallis]], [[John Taverner]], [[John Blow]], [[Henry Purcell]], [[Edward Elgar]], [[Arthur Sullivan]], [[William Walton]], [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]], [[Benjamin Britten]] and [[Michael Tippett]] have made major contributions to British music, and are known internationally. Living composers include [[John Tavener]], [[Harrison Birtwistle]],+
-[[Andrew Lloyd Webber]], and [[Oliver Knussen]]. +
- +
-Britain also supports a number of major orchestras including the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]], the [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]], the [[Philharmonia]], the [[London Symphony Orchestra]] and the [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]]. Because of its location and other economic factors, [[London]] is one of the most important cities for music in the world: it has several important concert halls and is also home to the [[Royal Opera House]], one of the world's leading [[opera]] houses. British traditional music has also been very influential abroad.+
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-The UK was, with the US, one of the two main countries in the development of [[rock and roll]], and has provided bands including [[The Beatles]], [[the Rolling Stones]], [[Led Zeppelin]], [[The Who]], [[Pink Floyd]], [[Queen (band)|Queen]], [[Elton John]], [[David Bowie]], [[Judas Priest]], [[Iron Maiden]], [[Status Quo]], [[The Smiths]], the [[Sex Pistols]], [[The Clash]], the [[Manic Street Preachers]], [[Duran Duran]], [[The Cure]], [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]], [[Blur (band)|Blur]], [[Radiohead]] and [[Coldplay]]. It has provided inspiration for many modern bands today, including [[Kaiser Chiefs]], [[Bloc Party]], [[Babyshambles]], [[The Libertines]], [[Arctic Monkeys]] and [[Franz Ferdinand (band)|Franz Ferdinand]]. Since then it has also pioneered in various forms of [[electronic dance music]] including [[acid house]], [[drum and bass]] and [[trip hop]], all of which were in whole or part developed in the United Kingdom. Acclaimed British dance acts include [[Underworld (band)|Underworld]], [[Orbital (band)|Orbital]], [[Massive Attack]], [[The KLF]], [[The Prodigy]], [[The Chemical Brothers]] and [[Portishead]].+
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-===Broadcasting===+
-Britain has been at the forefront of developments in [[film]], [[radio]], and [[television]]. +
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-Many important films have been produced in Britain over the last century, and a large number of significant actors and film-makers have emerged. Currently the main film production centres are at [[Shepperton]] and [[Pinewood Studios]].+
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-Broadcasting in Britain has historically been dominated by the [[BBC]], although independent radio and television ([[ITV]], [[Channel 4]], [[Five (TV)|Five]]) and satellite broadcasters (especially [[British Sky Broadcasting|BSkyB]]) have become more important in recent years. BBC television, and the other three main television channels are [[public service broadcasting|public service broadcasters]] who, as part of their license allowing them to operate, broadcast a variety of minority interest programming. The BBC and Channel 4 are state-owned, though they operate independently.+
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-Britain has a large number of national and local [[radio station]]s which cover a great variety of programming. The most listened to stations are the five main national [[BBC radio]] stations. [[BBC Radio 1]], a new music station aimed at the 16-24 age group. [[BBC Radio 2]], a varied [[popular music]] and chat station aimed at adults is consistently highest in the ratings. [[BBC Radio 4]], a varied talk station, is noted for its [[news]], [[current affairs (news format)|current affairs]], [[radio drama|drama]] and [[radio comedy|comedy]] output as well as ''[[The Archers]]'', its long running [[soap opera]], and other unique programmes. The BBC, as a [[public service broadcasting|public service broadcaster]], also runs minority stations such as [[BBC Asian Network]], [[BBC 1xtra]] and [[BBC 6 Music]], and local stations throughout the country.+
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-*[[List of British radio channels]]+
-*[[List of British television channels]]+
-===Visual art===+The [[culture of the United Kingdom]]—British culture— may be described as informed by the [[History of the United Kingdom|UK's history]] as a [[Developed country|developed]] [[island country]], major power , monarchy and, particularly, as a [[political union]] of four countries, which each have preserved and distinctive heritages, customs and symbolism. As a result of the [[British Empire]], British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies such as [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[India]], and the [[United States]].
-{{main|Art of the United Kingdom}}+
-The oldest art in the United Kingdom can be dated to the [[Neolithic]] period, and is found in a funerary context. But it is in the [[Bronze age]] that the first innovative artworks are found. The [[Beaker people]], who arrived in Britain around [[2500 BC]], were skilled in metal refining. At first, they worked mainly in [[copper]], but around 2150 [[Anno Domini|BC]] they learned how to make [[bronze]]. As there was a ready supply of [[tin]] in [[Cornwall]] and [[Devon]], they were able to make take advantage of this new process. They were also skilled in the use of [[gold]], and especially the [[Wessex culture]] excelled in the making of gold ornaments. Works of art placed in graves or sacrificial pits have survived, showing both innovation and high skill.+=== Cinema ===
 +The United Kingdom has been influential in the development of cinema, with the [[Ealing Studios]] claiming to be the oldest studios in the world. Despite a history of important and successful productions, the industry is characterised by an ongoing debate about its identity, and the influences of American and European cinema. Particularly between British and American film, many films are often co-produced or share actors with many British actors now featuring regularly in Hollywood films. The [[BFI Top 100 British films]] is a poll conducted by the [[British Film Institute]] which ranks what they consider to be the 100 greatest British films of all time.
-In the [[Iron Age]], the [[Celt|Celtic culture]] spread in the British isles, and with them a new art style. Metalwork, especially gold ornaments, was still important, but stone and most likely wood was also used. This style continued into the [[Roman Britain|Roman]] period, and would find a renaissance in the [[Mediæval Britain|Medieval]] period. It also survived in the Celtic areas not occupied by the Romans, largely corresponding to the present-day [[Wales]] and [[Scotland]]. +=== Literature ===
-[[Image:Thomas Gainsborough 008.jpg|thumb|Thomas Gainsborough's ''Blue boy'', painted 1770]]+'British literature' refers to [[literature]] associated with the United Kingdom, the [[Isle of Man]] and the Channel Islands as well as to literature from England, Wales and Scotland prior to the formation of the United Kingdom. Most British literature is in the [[English language]].
-The Romans, arriving in the [[1st century BC]], brought with them the Classical style. Many monuments have survived, especially funerary monuments, statues and busts. They also brought glasswork and [[mosaic]]s. In the [[4th century]], a new element was introduced as the first [[Christian art]] was made in Britain. Several mosaics with Christian symbols and pictures have been preserved. The style of Romano-British art follows that of the continent, but there are some local specialities, to some extent influenced by Celtic art.+
-Roman rule was replaced by a number of kingdoms with different cultural backgrounds. The Celtic fringe gained back some of the power lost in the Roman period, and the Celtic style again became a factor influencing art all over Britain. Other peoples, such as the [[Saxons]], [[Jutes]] and [[Danes]], brought with them Germanic and [[Scandinavia]]n art styles. Celtic and Scandinavian art have several common elements, such as the use of intricate, intertwined patterns of decoration. Leaving the debate over which style influenced the other most aside, it seems reasonable to say that in Britain the different style to some extent fused into a British Celtic-Scandinavian hybrid. +The English playwright and poet [[William Shakespeare]] is widely regarded as the greatest dramatist of all time. Among the earliest English writers are [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] (12th century), [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] (14th century), and [[Thomas Malory]] (15th century). In the 18th century, [[Samuel Richardson]] is often credited with inventing the modern novel. In the 19th century, there followed further innovation by [[Jane Austen]], the [[Brontë|Brontë sisters]], the social campaigner [[Charles Dickens]], the [[naturalism (literature)|naturalist]] [[Thomas Hardy]], the visionary poet [[William Blake]] and romantic poet [[William Wordsworth]]. Twentieth century writers include the science fiction novelist [[H. G. Wells]], the controversial [[D. H. Lawrence]], the [[modernism|modernist]] [[Virginia Woolf]], the satirist, [[Evelyn Waugh]], the prophetic novelist [[George Orwell]], the popular novelist, [[Graham Greene]], and the poets [[John Betjeman]] and [[Ted Hughes]]. Most recently, the children's fantasy [[Harry Potter]] series by [[J. K. Rowling]] has recalled the popularity of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]].
-[[Image:Turner,_J._M._W._-_The_Grand_Canal_-_Venice.jpg|thumb|300px|''The [[Grand Canal of Venice|Grand Canal]], [[Venice]]'' by '''J. M. W. Turner''', painted [[1835]].]]+[[Scottish literature|Scotland's contribution]] includes the detective writer [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], romantic literature by Sir [[Walter Scott]] and the epic adventures of [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]. It has also produced the celebrated poet [[Robert Burns]], as well as [[William McGonagall]], regarded by many as one of the world's worst. More recently, the modernist and nationalist [[Hugh MacDiarmid]] and [[Neil M. Gunn]] contributed to the [[Scottish Renaissance]]. A more grim outlook is found in [[Ian Rankin]]'s stories and the psychological horror-comedy of [[Iain Banks]]. Scotland's capital, Edinburgh, is UNESCO's first worldwide [[city of literature]].
-[[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] sculpting was outstanding for its time in the 11th century, as proved by pre-Norman [[ivory]] carvings. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/normans/ivory_01.shtml] Christianity, before the religion of parts of the Roman ruling class, started spreading among the peoples of Britain from the end of the [[6th century]]. There was little change in the art style at first, but new elements were added. The Celtic [[celtic cross|high crosses]] are well-known examples of the use of Celtic patterns in Christian art. Scenes from the [[Bible]] were depicted, framed with the ancient patterns. Some ancient symbols were redefined, such as the many Celtic symbols that can easily be interpreted as referring to the Holy Trinity. One new form of art that was introduced was mural paintings. Christianity provided two elements needed for this art form to take root: Monks who were familiar with the techniques, and stone churches with white-chalked walls suitable for murals. As the artists were often foreign monks, or lay artists trained on the continent, the style is very close to that of continental art. Another art form introduced through the church was stained glass, which was also adopted for secular uses. +
-The [[English Renaissance]], starting in the early [[16th century]], was a parallel to the [[Italian Renaissance]], but did not develop in exactly the same way. It was mainly concerned with music and literature; in art and architecture the change was not as clearly defined as in the continent. Painters from the continent continued to find work in Britain, and brought the new styles with them, especially the Flemish and Italian Renaissance styles. +In the early medieval period, Welsh writers composed the [[Mabinogion]]. In modern times, the poets [[R. S. Thomas]] and [[Dylan Thomas]] have brought Welsh culture to an international audience.
-[[Image:Beardsley-peacockskirt.PNG|thumb|left|250px|The Peacock Skirt]]+Authors from other nationalities, particularly from Ireland, or from [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries, have lived and worked in the UK. Significant examples through the centuries include [[Jonathan Swift]], [[Oscar Wilde]], [[Bram Stoker]], [[George Bernard Shaw]], [[Joseph Conrad]], [[T. S. Eliot]] and [[Ezra Pound]], and more recently British authors born abroad such as [[Kazuo Ishiguro]] and Sir [[Salman Rushdie]].
-As a reaction to [[abstract expressionism]], [[pop art]] emerged originally in England at the end of the 1950s.+
-New York-born [[Sir Jacob Epstein]] was a pioneer of modern [[sculpture]], boldly challenging [[taboo]]s through his public works.+In theatre, Shakespeare's contemporaries [[Christopher Marlowe]] and [[Ben Jonson]] added depth. More recently [[Alan Ayckbourn]], [[Harold Pinter]], [[Michael Frayn]], [[Tom Stoppard]] and [[David Edgar (playwright)|David Edgar]] have combined elements of surrealism, realism and radicalism.
-Notable visual artists from the United Kingdom include [[John Constable]], [[Joshua Reynolds|Sir Joshua Reynolds]], [[Thomas Gainsborough]], [[William Blake]] and [[J.M.W. Turner]]. In the [[20th century]], [[Francis Bacon (painter)|Francis Bacon]], [[David Hockney]], [[Bridget Riley]], and the [[pop art]]ists [[Richard Hamilton (artist)|Richard Hamilton]] and [[Peter Blake (artist)|Peter Blake]] were of note. +=== Media ===
 +The prominence of the English language gives the UK media a widespread international dimension.
-More recently, the so-called [[Young British Artists]] have gained some notoriety, particularly [[Damien Hirst]] and [[Tracey Emin]].+==== Broadcasting ====
 +There are five major nationwide television channels in the UK: [[BBC One]], [[BBC Two]], [[ITV]], [[Channel 4]] and [[Five (channel)|Five]] - currently transmitted by analogue terrestrial, free-to-air signals with the latter three channels funded by commercial advertising. In Wales, [[S4C]] the Welsh Fourth Channel replaces Channel 4, carrying Welsh language programmes at peak times. It also transmits Channel 4 programmes at other times.
-Notable illustrators include [[Aubrey Beardsley]], [[Roger Hargreaves]], and [[Beatrix Potter]].+The [[BBC]] is the UK's publicly funded [[radio]], [[television]] and [[internet]] broadcasting corporation, and is the oldest and largest broadcaster in the world. It operates several [[BBC Television|television channels]] and [[BBC Radio|radio]] stations in both the UK and abroad. The BBC's international television news service, [[BBC World News]], is broadcast throughout the world and the [[BBC World Service]] radio network is broadcast in thirty-three languages globally, as well as services in Welsh on [[BBC Radio Cymru]] and programmes in Gaelic on [[BBC Radio nan Gàidheal]] in Scotland and Irish in Northern Ireland.
-Notable arts institutions include the [[Allied Artists' Association]], [[Royal College of Art]], [[Artists' Rifles]], [[Royal Society of Arts]], [[New English Art Club]], [[Slade School of Art]], [[Royal Academy]], and the [[Tate Gallery]].+The domestic services of the BBC are funded by the [[television licence]]. The BBC World Service Radio is funded by the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] and the television stations are operated by [[BBC Worldwide]] on a commercial subscription basis over cable and satellite services. It is this commercial arm of the BBC that forms half of [[UKTV]] along with [[Virgin Media]].
-{{see also|English art}}+The UK now has a large number of digital terrestrial channels including a further six from the BBC, five from ITV and three from Channel 4, and one from S4C which is solely in Welsh, among a variety of others.
-=== Architecture ===+The vast majority of digital [[cable television]] services are provided by [[Virgin Media]] with [[satellite television]] available from [[Freesat]] or [[British Sky Broadcasting]] and [[free-to-air]] digital terrestrial television by [[Freeview (UK)|Freeview]]. The entire UK [[Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom#Digital switchover|will switch to digital]] by 2012.
-{{main|Architecture of the United Kingdom}}+
-The earliest remnants of [[architecture]] in the United Kingdom are mainly [[neolithic]] monuments such as [[Stonehenge]] and [[Avebury]], and [[Roman Britain|Roman]] [[ruins]] such as the [[destination spa|spa]] in [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]]. Many [[castle]]s remain from the [[medieval]] period and in most [[town]]s and [[village]]s the [[parish]] [[church]] is an indication of the age of the settlement, built as they were from stone rather than the traditional [[wattle and daub]].+[[Radio in the United Kingdom|Radio in the UK]] is dominated by [[BBC Radio]], which operates ten national networks and over forty local radio stations. The most popular radio station, by number of listeners, is [[BBC Radio 2]], closely followed by [[BBC Radio 1]]. There are hundreds of mainly local commercial radio stations across the country offering a variety of music or talk formats.
-Over the two centuries following the [[Norman conquest]] of [[1066]], and the building of the [[Tower of London]], many great castles such as [[Caernarfon Castle]] in [[Wales]] and [[Carrickfergus Castle]] in Ireland were built to suppress the natives. Large houses continued to be fortified until the Tudor period, when the first of the large gracious unfortified mansions such as the [[Elizabethan]] [[Montacute House]] and [[Hatfield House]] were built.+==== Print ====
 +Traditionally, [[List of newspapers in the United Kingdom|British newspapers]] could be split into ''quality'', serious-minded newspaper (usually referred to as "[[broadsheet]]s" due to their large size) and the more populist, ''[[tabloid]]'' varieties. For convenience of reading, many traditional broadsheets have switched to a more [[Compact (newspaper)|compact]]-sized format, traditionally used by [[tabloid]]s. ''[[The Sun]]'' has the highest circulation of any daily newspaper in the UK: 3.1 million, approximately a quarter of the market. Its sister paper, the ''[[News of the World]]'' has the highest circulation in the Sunday newspaper market, and traditionally focuses on celebrity-led stories. ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', a [[Right-wing politics|right wing]] broadsheet paper, is the highest-selling of the "quality" newspapers. ''[[The Guardian]]'' is a more [[Liberalism in the United Kingdom|liberal]] "quality" broadsheet and the ''[[Financial Times]]'' is the main business newspaper, printed on distinctive salmon-pink broadsheet paper.
-The [[English Civil War|Civil War]] [[1642]]—[[1649|49]] proved to be the last time in British history that houses had to survive a [[siege]]. [[Corfe Castle]] was destroyed following an attack by [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s army, but [[Compton Wynyates]] survived a similar ordeal. After this date houses were built purely for living, and design and appearance were for ever more important than defence.+First printed in 1737, ''[[The News Letter]]'' from Belfast, is the oldest known English-language daily newspaper still in publication today. One of its fellow Northern Irish competitors, ''[[The Irish News]]'', has been twice ranked as the best regional newspaper in the United Kingdom, in 2006 and 2007.
-Just prior to the Civil War, [[Inigo Jones]], who is regarded as the first significant British [[architect]], came to prominence. He was responsible for importing the [[Palladian architecture|Palladian]] manner of architecture to Britain from [[Italy]]; the [[Queen's House]] at [[Greenwich, London|Greenwich]] is perhaps his best surviving work.+Aside from newspapers, British magazines and journals have achieved worldwide circulation including ''[[The Economist]]'' and ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]''.
-[[Image:StPaulsCathedralSouth.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[St Paul's Cathedral]] was designed by Sir [[Christopher Wren]] and built between [[1675]] and [[1708]].]]+Scotland has a distinct tradition of newspaper readership (see [[list of newspapers in Scotland]]). The tabloid ''[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]]'' has the highest circulation of any daily newspaper outselling the ''[[The Sun#The Scottish Sun|Scottish Sun]]'' by four to one while its sister paper, the ''[[Sunday Mail (Scotland)|Sunday Mail]]'' similarly leads the Sunday newspaper market. The leading "quality" daily newspaper in Scotland is ''[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]'', though it is the sister paper of ''[[The Scotsman]]'', the ''[[Scotland on Sunday]]'', that leads in the Sunday newspaper market.
-Following the [[English Restoration|restoration]] of the monarchy in [[1660]] and the [[Great Fire of London]] in [[1666]] an opportunity was missed in [[London]] to create a new [[metropolis|metropolitan]] [[city]], featuring modern architectural styles. Although one of the best known British architects, Sir [[Christopher Wren]], was employed to design and rebuild many of the ruined ancient churches of London, his master plan for rebuilding London as a whole was rejected. It was in this period that he designed the building that he is perhaps best known for, [[St Paul's Cathedral]].+=== Music ===
 +:''[[English music]]''
 +Various styles of music are popular, from the indigenous [[folk music of England]], Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, to [[Heavy metal music|Heavy metal]]. [[Glasgow]]'s contribution to the music scene was recognised in 2008 when it was named a United Nations City of Music, one of only three cities in the world to have this honour.
-In the early [[18th century]] [[baroque]] architecture—popular in Europe—was introduced, and [[Blenheim Palace]] was built in this era. However, baroque was quickly replaced by a return of the Palladian form. The [[Georgian architecture]] of the [[18th century]] was an evolved form of Palladianism. Many existing buildings such as [[Woburn Abbey]] and [[Kedleston Hall]] are in this style. Among the many architects of this form of architecture and its successors, [[neoclassicism|neoclassical]] and [[Romanticism|romantic]], were [[Robert Adam]], Sir [[William Chambers (architect)|William Chambers]], and [[James Wyatt]]. +Prominent among the UK contributors to the development of [[rock music]] in the 1960s and 1970s were [[The Beatles]], [[Pink Floyd]], [[Eric Clapton]], [[The Rolling Stones]], [[Status Quo]], [[Led Zeppelin]], [[The Who]], [[Queen (band)|Queen]], and [[Black Sabbath]]. UK artists have made significant contributions to other worldwide genres such as heavy metal, [[hard rock]], [[punk rock]], [[New Wave music|New Wave]], [[New Romantic]], [[indie rock]], [[techno]], and [[electronica]]. Notable artists have been the [[Sex Pistols]], [[The Clash]], [[The Smiths]], [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]], [[Blur (band)|Blur]], [[Radiohead]], [[Massive Attack]] and [[The Prodigy]]. There are also a number of popular music genres which have emerged from the UK and have been exported to the rest of the world. Examples of these are [[2-Tone]], [[trip hop]], [[indie pop]], Britpop, [[shoegaze]], [[hard house]] and [[dubstep]]. Most recently, internationally popular music artists have included Radiohead, the [[Spice Girls]], [[Coldplay]], [[Amy Winehouse]] and [[Leona Lewis]].
-In the early [[19th century]] the romantic [[medieval]] [[Gothic revival|gothic]] style appeared as a backlash to the [[symmetry]] of Palladianism, and such buildings as [[Fonthill Abbey]] were built. By the middle of the [[19th century]], as a result of new [[technology]], construction was able to develop incorporating [[steel]] as a building component; one of the greatest exponents of this was [[Joseph Paxton]], architect of [[the Crystal Palace]]. Paxton also continued to build such houses as [[Mentmore Towers]], in the still popular retrospective [[English Renaissance|Renaissance]] styles. In this era of prosperity and development British architecture embraced many new methods of construction, but ironically in style, such architects as [[August Pugin]] ensured it remained firmly in the past.+Notable composers of classical music from the United Kingdom and the countries that preceded it include [[William Byrd]], [[Henry Purcell]], Sir [[Edward Elgar]], [[Gustav Holst]], Sir [[Arthur Sullivan]] (most famous for working with librettist Sir [[W. S. Gilbert]]), [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]], and [[Benjamin Britten]], pioneer of modern British [[opera]]. Sir [[Peter Maxwell Davies]] is one of the foremost living composers and current [[Master of the Queen's Music]]. The UK is also home to world-renowned symphonic orchestras and choruses such as the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] and the [[London Symphony Chorus]]. Notable [[Conducting|conductors]] include Sir [[Simon Rattle]], [[John Barbirolli]] and Sir [[Malcolm Sargent]].
-At the beginning of the [[20th century]] a new form of design [[arts and crafts]] became popular, the architectural form of this style, which had evolved from the [[19th century]] designs of such architects as [[George Devey]], was championed by [[Edwin Lutyens]]. Arts and crafts in architecture is symbolized by an informal, non symmetrical form, often with [[mullion]]ed or [[lattice]] windows, multiple [[gable]]s and tall chimneys. This style continued to evolve until [[World War II]].+=== Philosophy ===
 +The United Kingdom is famous for the tradition of "[[British Empiricism]]", a branch of the philosophy of knowledge that states that only knowledge verified by experience is valid. The most famous philosophers of this tradition are [[John Locke]], [[George Berkeley]] and [[David Hume]]. Britain is notable for a theory of moral philosophy, Utilitarianism, first used by [[Jeremy Bentham]] and later by [[John Stuart Mill]], in his short work ''[[Utilitarianism (book)|Utilitarianism]]''. Other eminent philosophers from the UK and the states that preceded it include [[Duns Scotus]], [[William of Ockham]], [[Thomas Hobbes]], [[Bertrand Russell]], [[Adam Smith]] and [[Alfred Ayer]]. Foreign-born philosophers who settled in the UK include [[Isaiah Berlin]], [[Karl Marx]], [[Karl Popper]], and [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]].
-Following the [[Second World War]] reconstruction went through a variety of phases, but was heavily influenced by [[Modernism]], especially from the late [[1950s]] to the early [[1970s]]. Many bleak town centre redevelopments—criticised for featuring hostile, [[concrete]]-lined "windswept plazas"—were the fruit of this interest, as were many equally bleak public buildings, such as the [[Hayward Gallery]]. Many Modernist inspired town centres are today in the process of being redeveloped, [[Bracknell]] town centre being a case in point. +=== Science, engineering and innovation ===
 +The United Kingdom and the countries that preceded it have produced scientists and engineers credited with important advances, including;
 +* The modern [[scientific method]], developed by [[English people|English]] philosopher [[Francis Bacon]]
 +* The [[Newton's laws of motion|laws of motion]] and illumination of [[gravitation|gravity]], by [[English people|English]] [[physicist]], [[mathematician]], [[Astronomy|astronomer]], [[Natural philosophy|natural philosopher]], [[Alchemy|alchemist]] and [[Theology|theologian]], Sir [[Isaac Newton]]
 +* The unification of [[electromagnetism]], by [[James Clerk Maxwell]]
 +* The discovery of [[hydrogen]], by [[Henry Cavendish]]
 +* The [[steam locomotive]], by [[Richard Trevithick]] and [[Andrew Vivian]]
 +* The world's first working [[television]] system, by [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[engineer]] and inventor [[John Logie Baird]]
 +* Evolution by [[natural selection]], by [[Charles Darwin]]
 +* The [[Turing machine]], by [[Alan Turing]], the basis of modern [[computer]]s
 +* The structure of [[DNA]], by [[Francis Crick]] and others
 +* The development of the [[World Wide Web#Origins|World Wide Web]], largely attributed to [[Tim Berners-Lee]]
 +* The discovery of [[penicillin]], by Scottish [[biologist]] and [[pharmacologist]], [[Sir Alexander Fleming]]
 +* The invention of the first practical [[telephone]], by [[Alexander Graham Bell]]
-However, it should not be forgotten that in the immediate post-War years many thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of [[council house]]s in vernacular style were built, giving [[working class]] people their first experience of private [[garden]]s and indoor [[sanitation]].+Notable [[civil engineering]] projects, whose pioneers included [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]], contributed to the world's first national railway transport system. Other advances pioneered in the UK include the [[marine chronometer]], the [[jet engine]], the modern [[bicycle]], [[Lamp (electrical component)|electric lighting]], the [[electric motor]], the [[propeller|screw propeller]], the [[internal combustion engine]], military [[radar]], the electronic [[computer]], [[vaccination]] and [[antibiotic]]s.
-Modernism remains a significant force in UK architecture, although its influence is felt predominantly in commercial buildings. The two most prominent proponents are [[Lord Rogers of Riverside]] and [[Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank|Lord Foster of Thames Bank]]. Rogers' iconic London buildings are probably [[Lloyd's Building]] and the [[Millennium Dome]], while Foster created the [[30 St Mary Axe|Swiss Re Buildings]] (aka The Gherkin) and the [[City Hall (London)|Greater London Authority H.Q]].+Scientific journals produced in the UK include ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', the ''[[British Medical Journal]]'' and ''[[The Lancet]]''. In 2006, it was reported that the UK provided 9% of the world's scientific research papers and a 12% share of citations, the second highest in the world after the US.
 +=== Visual art ===
 +The [[Royal Academy]] is located in London. Other major schools of art include the [[Slade School of Fine Art]]; the six-school [[University of the Arts London]], which includes the [[Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design]] and [[Chelsea College of Art and Design]]; the [[Glasgow School of Art]], and [[Goldsmiths, University of London]]. This commercial venture is one of Britain's foremost visual arts organisations. Major British artists include Sir [[Joshua Reynolds]], [[Thomas Gainsborough]], [[John Constable]], [[William Blake]], [[J. M. W. Turner]], [[William Morris]], [[L. S. Lowry]], [[Francis Bacon]], [[Lucian Freud]], [[David Hockney]], [[Gilbert and George]], [[Richard Hamilton (artist)|Richard Hamilton]], [[Peter Blake (artist)|Peter Blake]], [[Howard Hodgkin]], [[Antony Gormley]], and [[Anish Kapoor]]. During the late 1980s and 1990s, the [[Saatchi Gallery]] in London brought to public attention a group of multigenre artists who would become known as the [[Young British Artists]]. [[Damien Hirst]], [[Chris Ofili]], [[Rachel Whiteread]], [[Tracey Emin]], [[Mark Wallinger]], [[Steve McQueen (artist)|Steve McQueen]], [[Sam Taylor-Wood]], and the [[Jake and Dinos Chapman|Chapman Brothers]] are among the better known members of this loosely affiliated movement.
-== See ==+{{GFDL}}
-* [[Censorship in the United Kingdom]]+
-* [[English erotica]]+

Revision as of 11:17, 4 September 2018

This structure, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851, symbolizes the rise of consumer culture and the start of industrial design.
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This structure, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851, symbolizes the rise of consumer culture and the start of industrial design.

"What’s heaven? Heaven is where the police are British, the chefs are French, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and the bankers are Swiss.

So then, what’s hell? Hell is where the police are German, the chefs are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss and the bankers are Italian." [...]

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Formally "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". The United Kingdom comprises the islands England, Scotland, Wales and the six counties of Northern Ireland. The UK is situated off the western coast of mainland Europe.

Contents

Culture of the United Kingdom

Culture of the United Kingdom

The culture of the United Kingdom—British culture— may be described as informed by the UK's history as a developed island country, major power , monarchy and, particularly, as a political union of four countries, which each have preserved and distinctive heritages, customs and symbolism. As a result of the British Empire, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies such as Canada, Australia, India, and the United States.

Cinema

The United Kingdom has been influential in the development of cinema, with the Ealing Studios claiming to be the oldest studios in the world. Despite a history of important and successful productions, the industry is characterised by an ongoing debate about its identity, and the influences of American and European cinema. Particularly between British and American film, many films are often co-produced or share actors with many British actors now featuring regularly in Hollywood films. The BFI Top 100 British films is a poll conducted by the British Film Institute which ranks what they consider to be the 100 greatest British films of all time.

Literature

'British literature' refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands as well as to literature from England, Wales and Scotland prior to the formation of the United Kingdom. Most British literature is in the English language.

The English playwright and poet William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest dramatist of all time. Among the earliest English writers are Geoffrey of Monmouth (12th century), Geoffrey Chaucer (14th century), and Thomas Malory (15th century). In the 18th century, Samuel Richardson is often credited with inventing the modern novel. In the 19th century, there followed further innovation by Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, the social campaigner Charles Dickens, the naturalist Thomas Hardy, the visionary poet William Blake and romantic poet William Wordsworth. Twentieth century writers include the science fiction novelist H. G. Wells, the controversial D. H. Lawrence, the modernist Virginia Woolf, the satirist, Evelyn Waugh, the prophetic novelist George Orwell, the popular novelist, Graham Greene, and the poets John Betjeman and Ted Hughes. Most recently, the children's fantasy Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling has recalled the popularity of J. R. R. Tolkien.

Scotland's contribution includes the detective writer Arthur Conan Doyle, romantic literature by Sir Walter Scott and the epic adventures of Robert Louis Stevenson. It has also produced the celebrated poet Robert Burns, as well as William McGonagall, regarded by many as one of the world's worst. More recently, the modernist and nationalist Hugh MacDiarmid and Neil M. Gunn contributed to the Scottish Renaissance. A more grim outlook is found in Ian Rankin's stories and the psychological horror-comedy of Iain Banks. Scotland's capital, Edinburgh, is UNESCO's first worldwide city of literature.

In the early medieval period, Welsh writers composed the Mabinogion. In modern times, the poets R. S. Thomas and Dylan Thomas have brought Welsh culture to an international audience.

Authors from other nationalities, particularly from Ireland, or from Commonwealth countries, have lived and worked in the UK. Significant examples through the centuries include Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, George Bernard Shaw, Joseph Conrad, T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, and more recently British authors born abroad such as Kazuo Ishiguro and Sir Salman Rushdie.

In theatre, Shakespeare's contemporaries Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson added depth. More recently Alan Ayckbourn, Harold Pinter, Michael Frayn, Tom Stoppard and David Edgar have combined elements of surrealism, realism and radicalism.

Media

The prominence of the English language gives the UK media a widespread international dimension.

Broadcasting

There are five major nationwide television channels in the UK: BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Five - currently transmitted by analogue terrestrial, free-to-air signals with the latter three channels funded by commercial advertising. In Wales, S4C the Welsh Fourth Channel replaces Channel 4, carrying Welsh language programmes at peak times. It also transmits Channel 4 programmes at other times.

The BBC is the UK's publicly funded radio, television and internet broadcasting corporation, and is the oldest and largest broadcaster in the world. It operates several television channels and radio stations in both the UK and abroad. The BBC's international television news service, BBC World News, is broadcast throughout the world and the BBC World Service radio network is broadcast in thirty-three languages globally, as well as services in Welsh on BBC Radio Cymru and programmes in Gaelic on BBC Radio nan Gàidheal in Scotland and Irish in Northern Ireland.

The domestic services of the BBC are funded by the television licence. The BBC World Service Radio is funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the television stations are operated by BBC Worldwide on a commercial subscription basis over cable and satellite services. It is this commercial arm of the BBC that forms half of UKTV along with Virgin Media.

The UK now has a large number of digital terrestrial channels including a further six from the BBC, five from ITV and three from Channel 4, and one from S4C which is solely in Welsh, among a variety of others.

The vast majority of digital cable television services are provided by Virgin Media with satellite television available from Freesat or British Sky Broadcasting and free-to-air digital terrestrial television by Freeview. The entire UK will switch to digital by 2012.

Radio in the UK is dominated by BBC Radio, which operates ten national networks and over forty local radio stations. The most popular radio station, by number of listeners, is BBC Radio 2, closely followed by BBC Radio 1. There are hundreds of mainly local commercial radio stations across the country offering a variety of music or talk formats.

Print

Traditionally, British newspapers could be split into quality, serious-minded newspaper (usually referred to as "broadsheets" due to their large size) and the more populist, tabloid varieties. For convenience of reading, many traditional broadsheets have switched to a more compact-sized format, traditionally used by tabloids. The Sun has the highest circulation of any daily newspaper in the UK: 3.1 million, approximately a quarter of the market. Its sister paper, the News of the World has the highest circulation in the Sunday newspaper market, and traditionally focuses on celebrity-led stories. The Daily Telegraph, a right wing broadsheet paper, is the highest-selling of the "quality" newspapers. The Guardian is a more liberal "quality" broadsheet and the Financial Times is the main business newspaper, printed on distinctive salmon-pink broadsheet paper.

First printed in 1737, The News Letter from Belfast, is the oldest known English-language daily newspaper still in publication today. One of its fellow Northern Irish competitors, The Irish News, has been twice ranked as the best regional newspaper in the United Kingdom, in 2006 and 2007.

Aside from newspapers, British magazines and journals have achieved worldwide circulation including The Economist and Nature.

Scotland has a distinct tradition of newspaper readership (see list of newspapers in Scotland). The tabloid Daily Record has the highest circulation of any daily newspaper outselling the Scottish Sun by four to one while its sister paper, the Sunday Mail similarly leads the Sunday newspaper market. The leading "quality" daily newspaper in Scotland is The Herald, though it is the sister paper of The Scotsman, the Scotland on Sunday, that leads in the Sunday newspaper market.

Music

English music

Various styles of music are popular, from the indigenous folk music of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, to Heavy metal. Glasgow's contribution to the music scene was recognised in 2008 when it was named a United Nations City of Music, one of only three cities in the world to have this honour.

Prominent among the UK contributors to the development of rock music in the 1960s and 1970s were The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Status Quo, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Queen, and Black Sabbath. UK artists have made significant contributions to other worldwide genres such as heavy metal, hard rock, punk rock, New Wave, New Romantic, indie rock, techno, and electronica. Notable artists have been the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Smiths, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, Massive Attack and The Prodigy. There are also a number of popular music genres which have emerged from the UK and have been exported to the rest of the world. Examples of these are 2-Tone, trip hop, indie pop, Britpop, shoegaze, hard house and dubstep. Most recently, internationally popular music artists have included Radiohead, the Spice Girls, Coldplay, Amy Winehouse and Leona Lewis.

Notable composers of classical music from the United Kingdom and the countries that preceded it include William Byrd, Henry Purcell, Sir Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, Sir Arthur Sullivan (most famous for working with librettist Sir W. S. Gilbert), Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Benjamin Britten, pioneer of modern British opera. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies is one of the foremost living composers and current Master of the Queen's Music. The UK is also home to world-renowned symphonic orchestras and choruses such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Chorus. Notable conductors include Sir Simon Rattle, John Barbirolli and Sir Malcolm Sargent.

Philosophy

The United Kingdom is famous for the tradition of "British Empiricism", a branch of the philosophy of knowledge that states that only knowledge verified by experience is valid. The most famous philosophers of this tradition are John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume. Britain is notable for a theory of moral philosophy, Utilitarianism, first used by Jeremy Bentham and later by John Stuart Mill, in his short work Utilitarianism. Other eminent philosophers from the UK and the states that preceded it include Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, Thomas Hobbes, Bertrand Russell, Adam Smith and Alfred Ayer. Foreign-born philosophers who settled in the UK include Isaiah Berlin, Karl Marx, Karl Popper, and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Science, engineering and innovation

The United Kingdom and the countries that preceded it have produced scientists and engineers credited with important advances, including;

Notable civil engineering projects, whose pioneers included Isambard Kingdom Brunel, contributed to the world's first national railway transport system. Other advances pioneered in the UK include the marine chronometer, the jet engine, the modern bicycle, electric lighting, the electric motor, the screw propeller, the internal combustion engine, military radar, the electronic computer, vaccination and antibiotics.

Scientific journals produced in the UK include Nature, the British Medical Journal and The Lancet. In 2006, it was reported that the UK provided 9% of the world's scientific research papers and a 12% share of citations, the second highest in the world after the US.

Visual art

The Royal Academy is located in London. Other major schools of art include the Slade School of Fine Art; the six-school University of the Arts London, which includes the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and Chelsea College of Art and Design; the Glasgow School of Art, and Goldsmiths, University of London. This commercial venture is one of Britain's foremost visual arts organisations. Major British artists include Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, William Blake, J. M. W. Turner, William Morris, L. S. Lowry, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, David Hockney, Gilbert and George, Richard Hamilton, Peter Blake, Howard Hodgkin, Antony Gormley, and Anish Kapoor. During the late 1980s and 1990s, the Saatchi Gallery in London brought to public attention a group of multigenre artists who would become known as the Young British Artists. Damien Hirst, Chris Ofili, Rachel Whiteread, Tracey Emin, Mark Wallinger, Steve McQueen, Sam Taylor-Wood, and the Chapman Brothers are among the better known members of this loosely affiliated movement.




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "United Kingdom" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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