document_title: Autobahn

question_text: where in europe is there no speed limit

question_tokens: where in europe is there no speed limit

text: Autobahn

text: Names[edit]

text: Only federally built controlled-access highways with certain construction standards including at least two lanes per direction are called Bundesautobahn. They have their own, white-on-blue signs and numbering system. In the 1930s, when construction began on the system, the official name was Reichsautobahn. Various other controlled-access highways exist on the federal (Bundesstraße), state (Landesstraße), district, and municipal level but are not part of the Autobahn network and are officially referred to as Kraftfahrstraße (with rare exceptions, like A 995 Munich-Giesing–Brunntal). These highways are considered autobahnähnlich (autobahn-like) and are sometimes colloquially called Gelbe Autobahn (yellow autobahn) because most of them are Bundesstraßen (federal highways) with yellow signs. Some controlled-access highways are classified as "Bundesautobahn" in spite of not meeting the autobahn construction standard (for example the A 62 near Pirmasens).

text: Construction[edit]

text: Similar to high-speed motorways in other countries, autobahns have multiple lanes of traffic in each direction, separated by a central barrier with grade-separated junctions and access restricted to motor vehicles with a top speed of more than 60 km/h (37 mph). Nearly all exits are to the right. The earliest motorways were flanked by shoulders about 60 centimetres (24 in) in width, constructed of varying materials; right-hand shoulders on many autobahns were later retrofitted to 120 centimetres (47 in) in width when it was realized cars needed the additional space to pull off the autobahn safely. In the postwar years, a thicker asphaltic concrete cross-section with full paved hard shoulders came into general use. The top design speed was approximately 160 km/h (99 mph) in flat country but lower design speeds were used in hilly or mountainous terrain. A flat-country autobahn that was constructed to meet standards during the Nazi period, could support the speed of up to 150 km/h (93 mph) on curves.

text: The current autobahn numbering system in use in Germany was introduced in 1974. All autobahns are named by using the capital letter A, which simply stands for "Autobahn" followed by a blank and a number (for example A 8). The main autobahns going all across Germany have a single digit number. Shorter autobahns that are of regional importance (e.g. connecting two major cities or regions within Germany) have a double digit number (e.g. A 24, connecting Berlin and Hamburg). The system is as follows:

text:
A 10 to A 19 are in eastern Germany (Berlin, Saxony-Anhalt, parts of Saxony and Brandenburg)
A 20 to A 29 are in northern and northeastern Germany
A 30 to A 39 are in Lower Saxony (northwestern Germany) and Thuringia
A 40 to A 49 are in the Rhine-Ruhr to Frankfurt Rhine-Main
A 50 to A 59 are in the Lower Rhine region to Cologne
A 60 to A 69 are in Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Hesse and northern Baden-Württemberg
A 70 to A 79 are in Thuringia, northern Bavaria and parts of Saxony
A 80 to A 89 are in Baden-Württemberg
A 90 to A 99 are in (southern) Bavaria

text: There are also some very short autobahns built just for local traffic (e.g. ring roads or the A 555 from Cologne to Bonn) that usually have three digits for numbering. The first digit used is similar to the system above, depending on the region. East-west routes are always even-numbered, north-south routes are always odd-numbered.

text: The north-south autobahns are generally numbered using odd numbers from west to east; that is to say, the more easterly roads are given higher numbers. Similarly, the east-west routes are numbered using even numbers from north (lower numbers) to south (higher numbers).

text: History[edit]

text: The idea for the construction of the autobahn was first conceived in the mid-1920s during the days of the Weimar Republic, but the construction was slow, and most projected sections did not progress much beyond the planning stage due to economic problems and a lack of political support. One project was the private initiative HaFraBa which planned a "car-only road" crossing Germany from Hamburg in the north via central Frankfurt am Main to Basel in Switzerland. Parts of the HaFraBa were completed in the late 1930s and early 1940s, but construction eventually was halted by World War II. The first public road of this kind was completed in 1932 between Cologne and Bonn and opened by Konrad Adenauer (Lord Mayor of Cologne and future Chancellor of West Germany) on 6 August 1932.[7] Today, that road is the Bundesautobahn 555.[8][9][10] This road was not yet called Autobahn and lacked a center median like modern motorways, but instead was termed a Kraftfahrstraße ("motor vehicle road") with two lanes each direction without intersections, pedestrians, bicycles, or animal-powered transportation.[11]

text: Just days after the 1933 Nazi takeover, Adolf Hitler enthusiastically embraced an ambitious autobahn construction project, appointing Fritz Todt, the Inspector General of German Road Construction, to lead it. By 1936, 130,000 workers were directly employed in construction, as well as an additional 270,000 in the supply chain for construction equipment, steel, concrete, signage, maintenance equipment, etc. In rural areas, new camps to house the workers were built near construction sites.[12] The job creation program aspect was not especially important because full employment was almost reached by 1936. The autobahns were not primarily intended as major infrastructure improvement of special value to the military as often stated. Their military value was limited as all major military transports in Germany were done by train to save fuel. The propaganda ministry turned the construction of the autobahns into a major media event that attracted international attention.[13]

text: The autobahns formed the first limited-access, high-speed road network in the world, with the first section from Frankfurt am Main to Darmstadt opening in 1935. This straight section was used for high-speed record attempts by the Grand Prix racing teams of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union until a fatal accident involving popular German race driver Bernd Rosemeyer in early 1938. The world record of 432 kilometres per hour (268 mph) set by Rudolf Caracciola on this stretch just prior to the accident remains one of the highest speeds ever achieved on a public motorway. A similar intent in the 1930s existed for a ten-kilometre stretch of what is today Bundesautobahn 9 just south of Dessau—called the Dessauer Rennstrecke—had bridges with no piers, meant for land speed record cars like the Mercedes-Benz T80 to have made a record attempt in January 1940, abandoned due to the outbreak of World War II in Europe four months earlier.

text:
Overall length

Year
km

Year
km

1935
108

1975
5,742

1936
1,086

1980
7,292

1937
2,010

1985
8,198

1938
3,046

1990
8,822

1939
3,300

1995
11,143

1940
3,736

2000
11,515

1950
2,128

2005
12,174

1955
2,187

2010
12,813

1960
2,551

2015
12,949

1965
3,204

2016
12,993

1970
4,110

text: During World War II, the median strips of some autobahns were paved over to allow their conversion into auxiliary airstrips. Aircraft were either stashed in numerous tunnels or camouflaged in nearby woods. However, for the most part during the war, the autobahns were not militarily significant. Motor vehicles, such as trucks, could not carry goods or troops as quickly or in as much bulk and in the same numbers as trains could, and the autobahns could not be used by tanks as their weight and caterpillar tracks damaged the road surface. The general shortage of petrol in Germany during much of the war, as well as the low number of trucks and motor vehicles needed for direct support of military operations, further decreased the autobahn's significance. As a result, most military and economic freight was carried by rail. After the war, numerous sections of the autobahns were in bad shape, severely damaged by heavy Allied bombing and military demolition. Furthermore, thousands of kilometres of autobahns remained unfinished, their construction brought to a halt by 1943 due to the increasing demands of the war effort.[14][15]

text: In West Germany (FRG), most existing autobahns were repaired soon after the war. During the 1950s, the West German government restarted the construction program. It invested in new sections and in improvements to older ones. Finishing the incomplete sections took longer, with some stretches opened to traffic by the 1980s. Some sections cut by the Iron Curtain in 1945 were only completed after German reunification in 1990. Others were never completed, as more advantageous routes were found. Some of these incomplete sections to this very day stretch across the landscape forming a unique type of modern ruin, often easily visible on satellite photographs.

text: The autobahns of East Germany (GDR) were neglected in comparison to those in West Germany after 1945. East German autobahns were used primarily for GDR military traffic and for state-owned farming or manufacturing vehicles. The speed limit on the GDR autobahns was 100 km/h; however, lower speed limits were frequently encountered due to poor or quickly changing road conditions. The speed limits on the GDR autobahns were rigorously enforced by the Volkspolizei, whose patrol cars were frequently found hiding under camouflage tarpaulins waiting for speeders.

text: The last four kilometres of remaining original Reichsautobahn, a section of A 11 northeast of Berlin near Gartz built in 1936—the westernmost remainder of the never-finished Berlinka—are scheduled for replacement around 2015.[16][17] Roadway condition is described as "deplorable"; the 25-metre-long concrete slabs, too long for proper expansion, are cracking under the weight of the traffic as well as the weather.[18]

text: German-built Reichsautobahnen in other countries[edit]

text: The first autobahn in Austria was the West Autobahn from Wals near Salzburg to Vienna. Building started by command of Adolf Hitler shortly after the Anschluss in 1938. It extended the Reichsautobahn 26 from Munich (the present-day A8), however only 16.8 km (10.4 mi) including the branch-off of the planned Tauern Autobahn was opened to the public on 13 September 1941.[19] Construction works discontinued the next year and were not resumed until 1955.

text: There are sections of the former German Reichsautobahn system in the former eastern territories of Germany, i.e. East Prussia, Farther Pomerania and Silesia; these territories became parts of Poland and the Soviet Union with the implementation of the Oder–Neisse line after World War II. Parts of the planned autobahn from Berlin to Königsberg (the Berlinka) were completed as far as Stettin (Szczecin) on 27 September 1936. After the war, they were incorporated as the A6 autostrada of the Polish motorway network. A single-carriageway section of the Berlinka east of the former "Polish Corridor" and the Free City of Danzig opened in 1938; today it forms the Polish S22 expressway from Elbląg (Elbing) to the border with the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, where it is continued by the R516 regional road. Also on 27 September 1936, a section from Breslau (Wrocław) to Liegnitz (Legnica) in Silesia was inaugurated, which today is part of the Polish A4 autostrada, followed by the (single vehicle) Reichsautobahn 9 from Bunzlau (Bolesławiec) to Sagan (Żagań) the next year, today part of the Polish A18 autostrada.

text: After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, plans for a motorway connecting Breslau with Vienna via Brno (Brünn) in the "Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia" were carried out from 1939 until construction works discontinued in 1942. A section of the former Strecke 88 near Brno is today part of the R52 expressway of the Czech Republic.

text: Current density[edit]

text: As of 2016[update], Germany's autobahn network has a total length of about 12,993 km. From 2009 Germany has embarked on a massive widening and rehabilitation project, expanding the lane count of many of its major arterial routes, such as the A5 in the southwest and A8 going east-west.

text: Most sections of Germany's autobahns are modern, containing two or three, sometimes four lanes in addition to an emergency lane (hard shoulder). A few other sections remain in an old state, with two lanes, no emergency lane, and short slip-roads and ramps.

text: Facilities[edit]

text: Emergency telephones[edit]

text: About 16,000 emergency telephones are distributed at regular intervals all along the autobahn network, with triangular stickers on the armco barriers pointing the way to the nearest one. Despite the increasing use of mobile phones, there are still some 700 calls made each day on average.

text: For the Emergency service or Roadside assistance to come to the right location, the road kilometre must be given as part of the emergency call.[20]

text: Parking, rest areas and truck stops[edit]

text: For breaks during longer journeys, parking sites, rest areas and truck stops are distributed over the complete Autobahn network. Parking on the autobahn is prohibited in the strictest terms outside these designated areas. There is a distinction between "managed" and "unmanaged" rest areas. (German: bewirtschaftet / unbewirtschaftet).

text: Unmanaged rest areas are basically only parking spaces, sometimes with toilets. They form a part of the German highway system; the plots of land are federal property. Autobahn exits leading to such parking areas are marked 200 metres in advance with a blue sign with the white letter "P". They are found every few kilometres.

text: A managed rest area (German: Autobahnraststätte or Raststätte for short) usually also includes a filling station, charging station, lavatories, toilets and baby changes. Many rest areas also have restaurants, shops, public telephones, internet access and a playground. Some have hotels. Mandated every 50 km or so, rest areas are usually open all night.

text: Both kinds of rest areas are directly on the autobahn, with their own exits, and any service roads connecting them to the rest of the road network are usually closed to general traffic. The autobahn must not be left at rest areas.

text: Truck stops (German Autohof, plural Autohöfe) are far rarer. Located at general exits, usually at a small distance from the autobahn, they have no ramps of their own.

text: Rest areas and truck stops are marked several times, starting several kilometres in advance, and with larger signs that often include icons announcing what kinds of facilities travellers can expect.

text: Speed limits[edit]

text: Germany's autobahns are famous for being among the few public roads in the world without blanket speed limits for cars and motorcycles. As such, they are important German cultural identifiers, "... often mentioned in hushed, reverential tones by motoring enthusiasts and looked at with a mix of awe and terror by outsiders."[1] Some speed limits are implemented on different autobahns.[22]

text: Certain limits are imposed on some classes of vehicles:

text:
60 km/h (37 mph)

Buses carrying standing passengers
Motorcycles pulling trailers

80 km/h (50 mph)

Vehicles with maximum allowed weight exceeding 3.5 t (except passenger cars)
Passenger cars and trucks with trailers
Buses

100 km/h (62 mph)

Passenger cars pulling trailers certified for 100 km/h
Buses certified for 100 km/h not towing trailers[23]

text: Additionally, speed limits are posted at most on- and off-ramps and interchanges[24] and other danger points like sections under construction or in need of repair.

text: Where no general limit is required, the advisory speed limit is 130 km/h (81 mph), referred to in German as the Richtgeschwindigkeit. The advisory speed is not enforceable; however, being involved in an accident driving at higher speeds can lead to the driver being deemed at least partially responsible due to "increased operating danger" (Erhöhte Betriebsgefahr).

text: The Federal Road Research Institute (Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen) solicited information about speed regulations on autobahns from the sixteen States and reported the following, comparing the years 2006 and 2008:

text:
Parameter[25]
2006
2008
Change

Autobahn Carriageway-Km
24,735 km
25,240 km
+505 km

Advisory Limit Only
69.2%
65.5%
-580 km

Variable Limit (with Advisory Maximum)
4.2%
4.1%
-5 km

Permanent or Conditional Speed Limit
26.7%
30.4%
+1,090 km

text: Except at construction sites, the general speed limits, where they apply, are usually between 100 km/h (62 mph) and 130 km/h (81 mph); construction sites usually have a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph) but the limit may be as low as 60 km/h (37 mph).[26] In rare cases, sections may have limits of 40 km/h (25 mph),[27] or on one ramp 30 km/h (19 mph).[28] Certain stretches have lower speed limits during wet weather. Some areas have a speed limit of 120 km/h (75 mph) in order to reduce noise pollution during overnight hours (usually 10pm – 6am) or because of increased traffic during daytime (6am – 8pm).

text: Some limits were imposed to reduce pollution and noise. Limits can also be temporarily put into place through dynamic traffic guidance systems that display the according message. More than half of the total length of the German autobahn network has no speed limit, about one third has a permanent limit, and the remaining parts have a temporary or conditional limit.

text: Some cars with very powerful engines can reach speeds of well over 300 km/h (190 mph). Major German car manufacturers, except Porsche, follow a gentlemen's agreement by electronically limiting the top speeds of their cars—with the exception of some top of the range models or engines—to 250 km/h (155 mph).[29] These limiters can be deactivated, so speeds up to 300 km/h (190 mph) might arise on the German autobahn, but due to other traffic, such speeds are generally not attainable except during certain times like between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. or on Sundays (when trucks drivers have to rest by law). Furthermore, there are certain autobahn sections which are known for having light traffic, making such speeds attainable during most days (especially some of those located in Eastern Germany). Most unlimited sections of the autobahn are located outside densely populated areas.

text: Vehicles with a top speed less than 60 km/h (37 mph) (such as quads, low-end microcars, and agricultural/construction equipment) are not allowed to use the autobahn, nor are motorcycles and scooters with low engine capacity regardless of top speed (mainly applicable to mopeds which are typically limited to 25 or 45 km/h anyway). To comply with this limit, heavy-duty trucks in Germany (e.g. mobile cranes, tank transporters etc.) often have a maximum design speed of 62 km/h (39 mph) (usually denoted by a round black-on-white sign with "62" on it), along with flashing orange beacons to warn approaching cars that they are travelling slowly. There is no general minimum speed but drivers are not allowed to drive at an unnecessarily low speed as this would lead to significant traffic disturbance and an increased collision risk.

text: Public debate[edit]

text: German national speed limits have a historical association[30] with war-time restrictions and deprivations, the Nazi era, and the Soviet era in East Germany. "Free driving for free citizens" ("freie Fahrt für freie Bürger"), a slogan promoted by the German Auto Club since the 1970s,[31] is a popular slogan among those opposing autobahn speed restrictions.[32][33][34] Tarek Al-Wazir, head of the Green Party in Hesse, and currently the Hessian Transport Minister has stated that "the speed limit in Germany has a similar status as the right to bear arms in the American debate... At some point, a speed limit will become reality here, and soon we will not be able to remember the time before. It's like the smoking ban in restaurants."[35]

text: Early history[edit]

text: The Weimar Republic had no federally required speed limits. The first crossroads-free road for motorized vehicles only, now A555 between Bonn and Cologne, had a 120 km/h (75 mph) limit when it opened in 1932.[36] In October 1939, the Nazis instituted the first national maximum speed limit, throttling speeds to 80 km/h (50 mph) in order to conserve gasoline for the war effort.[37] After the war, the four Allied occupation zones established their own speed limits until the divided East German and West German republics were constituted in 1949; initially, the Nazi speed limits were restored in both East and West Germany.[38]

text: After the World Wars[edit]

text: In December 1952 the West German legislature voted to abolish all national speed limits, seeing them as Nazi relics,[39] reverting to State-level decisions. National limits were reestablished incrementally. The 50 km/h (31 mph) urban limit was enacted in 1956, effective in 1957.[40] The 100 km/h (62 mph) limit on rural roads—except autobahns—became effective in 1972.

text: Oil crisis of the 1970s[edit]

text: Just prior to the 1973 oil crisis, Germany, Switzerland,[41] and Austria[42][43] all had no general speed restriction on autobahns. During the crisis, like other nations, Germany imposed temporary speed restrictions; for example, 100 km/h (62 mph) on autobahns effective November 13, 1973.[44] Automakers projected a 20% plunge in sales, which they attributed in part to the lowered speed limits.[45] The 100 km/h limit championed by Transportation Minister Lauritz Lauritzen lasted 111 days.[46] Adjacent nations with unlimited speed autobahns, Austria[42][43] and Switzerland,[41] imposed permanent 130 km/h (81 mph) limits after the crisis.

text: However, after the crisis eased in 1974, the upper house of the German parliament, which was controlled by conservative parties, successfully resisted the imposition of a permanent mandatory limit supported by Chancellor Brandt.[47] The upper house insisted on a 130 km/h (81 mph) recommended limit until a thorough study of the effects of a mandatory limit could be conducted.[48] Accordingly, the Federal Highway Research Institute conducted a multiple-year experiment, switching between mandatory and recommended limits on two test stretches of autobahn. In the final report issued in 1977, the Institute stated the mandatory speed limit could reduce the autobahn death toll but there would be economic impacts, so a political decision had to be made due to the trade-offs involved.[49] At that time, the Federal Government declined to impose a mandatory limit.[50] The fatality rate trend on the German autobahn mirrored those of other nations' motorways that imposed a general speed limit.[51]

text: Environmental concerns of the 1980s[edit]

text: In the mid-1980s, acid rain and sudden forest destruction renewed debate on whether or not a general speed limit should be imposed on autobahns.[52][53] A car's fuel consumption increases with high speed, and fuel conservation is a key factor in reducing air pollution. Environmentalists argued that enforcing limits of 100 km/h (62 mph) limit on autobahns and 80 km/h (50 mph) on other rural roads would save lives as well as the forest, reducing the annual death toll by 30% (250 lives) on autobahns and 15% (1,000 lives) on rural roads;[54] the German motor vehicle death toll was about 10,000 at the time.[55] The Federal Government sponsored a large-scale experiment with a 100 km/h (62 mph) speed limit in order to measure the impact of reduced speeds on emissions and compliance.[56] Afterward, again, the Federal Government declined to impose a mandatory limit, deciding the modest measured emission reduction would have no meaningful effect on forest loss.[57] By 1987 all restrictions on test sections had been removed, even in Hesse where the state government was controlled by a "red-green" coalition.[58]

text: German reunification[edit]

text: Prior to German reunification in 1990, eastern German states focused on restrictive traffic regulation such as a 100 km/h (62 mph) autobahn speed limit and of 80 km/h (50 mph) on other rural roads. Within two years after the opening, availability of high-powered vehicles and a 54% increase in motorized traffic led to a doubling of annual traffic deaths,[59] despite "interim arrangements [which] involved the continuation of the speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph) on autobahns and of 80 km/h (50 mph) outside cities". An extensive program of the four Es (enforcement, education, engineering, and emergency response) brought the number of traffic deaths back to pre-unification levels after a decade of effort while traffic regulations were conformed to western standards (e.g., 130 km/h (81 mph) freeway advisory limit, 100 km/h (62 mph) on other rural roads, and 0.05 percent BAC).[60]

text: Since reunification[edit]

text: In 1993, the Social democratic-Green Party coalition controlling the State of Hesse experimented with a 90 km/h (56 mph) limit on autobahns and 80 km/h (50 mph) on other rural roads.[61] These limits were attempts to reduce ozone pollution.

text: During his term of office (1998 to 2005) as Chancellor of Germany, Gerhard Schröder opposed an autobahn speed limit, famously referring to Germany as an Autofahrernation (a "nation of drivers").

text: In October 2007, at a party congress held by the Social Democratic Party of Germany, delegates narrowly approved a proposal to introduce a blanket speed limit of 130 km/h (81 mph) on all German autobahns.[62] While this initiative is primarily a part of the SPD's general strategic outline for the future and, according to practices, not necessarily meant to affect immediate government policy, the proposal had stirred up a debate once again; Germany's chancellor since 2005, Angela Merkel, and leading cabinet members expressed outspoken disapproval of such a measure.[63]

text: In 2008, the Social Democratic-Green Party coalition controlling Germany's smallest State, the paired City-State of Bremen & Bremerhaven, imposed a 120-kilometre-per-hour (75 mph) limit on its last 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) of speed-unlimited autobahn[64] in hopes of leading other States to do likewise.[65]

text: In 2011, the first ever Green minister-president of any German state, Winfried Kretschmann of Baden-Württemberg initially argued for a similar, state-level 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph) limit.[66] However, Baden-Württemberg is an important location for the German motor industry, including the headquarters of Daimler AG and Porsche;[67] the ruling coalition ultimately decided against a state-level limit on its 675 kilometres (419 mi) of speed-unlimited roads—arguing for nationwide speed limit instead.[68][69][70]

text: In 2014, the conservative-liberal ruling coalition of Saxony confirmed its rejection of a general speed limit on autobahns, instead advocating dynamic traffic controls where appropriate.[71] Between 2010 and 2014 in the State of Hesse, transportation ministers Dieter Posch[72] and his successor[73] Florian Rentsch,[74] both members of the Free Democratic Party, removed or raised speed limits on several sections of autobahn following regular 5-year reviews of speed limit effectiveness; some sections just prior to the installation of Tarek Al-Wazir (Green Party) as Transportation Minister in January 2014[75][76] as part of an uneasy CDU-green coalition government. In 2015, the left-green coalition government of Thuringia declared that a general autobahn limit was a Federal matter; Thuringia would not unlaterally impose a general Statewide limit, although the Thuringian environmental minister had recommended a 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph) limit.[77]

text: In late 2015, Winfried Hermann, Baden-Württemberg's Green minister of transportation, promised to impose a trial speed limit of 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph) on about 10% of the state's autobahns beginning in May 2016.[78] However, the ruling green-social democratic coalition lost its majority in the March 2016 elections;[79] while Mr Hermann retained his post in the new Green – Christian Democratic government, he put aside preparations for a speed limit due to opposition from his new coalition partners.[80]

text: Safety[edit]

text: In 2014, autobahns carried 31% of motorized road traffic while accounting for 11% of Germany's traffic deaths. The autobahn fatality rate of 1.6 deaths per billion travel-kilometres compared favorably with the 4.6 rate on urban streets and 6.5 rate on rural roads.[55]

text: Between 1970 and 2010, overall German road fatalities decreased by almost 80% from 19,193 to 3,648; over the same time period, autobahn deaths halved from 945 to 430 deaths.[55] Statistics for 2013 show total German traffic deaths had declined to the lowest count ever recorded: 3,340 (428 on autobahns); a representative of the Federal Statistical Office attributed the general decline to harsh winter weather that delayed the start of the motorcycle-riding season.[55][81] In 2014, there was a total of 3,377 road fatalities, while autobahn deaths dropped to 375.[82]

text:
Road Class
Injury Crashes
Fatalities
Injury Rate*
Fatality Rate*
Fatalities per 1000 Injury Crashes

Autobahn
18,901
375
0.082
1.6
19.8

Urban
209,618
983
1.052
4.9
4.7

Rural
73,916
2,019
0.238
6.5
27.3

Total
302,435
3,377
0.408
4.6
11.2

text: * per 1,000,000,000 travel-kilometres

text: In 2012, the leading cause of autobahn accidents was "excessive speed (for conditions)": 6,587 so-called "speed related" crashes claimed the lives of 179 people, which represents almost half (46.3%) of 387 autobahn fatalities that year.[83] However, "excessive speed" does not mean that a speed limit has been exceeded, but that police determined at least one party travelled too fast for existing road[84] or weather conditions.[83] On autobahns 22 people died per 1,000 injury crashes; a lower rate than the 29 deaths per 1,000 injury accidents on conventional rural roads, which in turn is five times higher than the risk on urban roads—speeds are higher on rural roads and autobahns than urban roads, increasing the severity potential of a crash.[83]

text: Safety: international comparison[edit]

text: A few countries publish the safety record of their motorways; the Federal Highway Research Institute[85] provided IRTAD statistics for the year 2012:

text:
International
Killed per 1,000,000,000 veh·km

Country
All roads
Motorways

Austria
6.88
1.73

Belgium
7.67
2.07

Czech Republic
15.73
2.85

Denmark
3.40
0.72

Finland
4.70
1.94

France

1.70

Germany
5.00
1.74

Slovenia
7.77
3.17

Switzerland
5.60
2.90

United Kingdom
3.56
1.16

United States
7.02
3.38

text: For example, a person yearly traversing 15,000 kilometres (9,300 mi) on regular roads and 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) on motorways has an approximately 1 in 11,000 chance of dying in a car accident on a German road in any particular year (1 in 57,000 on an autobahn), compared to 1 in 3,800 in Czech Republic, 1 in 17,000 in Denmark, or 1 in 7,200 in the United States.

text: However, there are many differences between countries in their geography, economy, traffic growth, highway system size, degree of urbanization and motorization, and so on.

text: Travel speeds[edit]

text: The Federal government does not regularly measure or estimate travel speeds.[86] One study reported in a transportation engineering journal offered historical perspective on the increase in travel speeds over a decade, as shown below.

text:
Parameters
Year

(for light vehicles)
1982
1987
1992

Average (mean) speed
112.3 km/h (70 mph)
117.2 km/h (73 mph)
120.4 km/h (75 mph)

85th percentile speed
139.2 km/h (86 mph)
145.1 km/h (90 mph)
148.2 km/h (92 mph)

Percentage exceeding 130 km/h
25.0%
31.3%
35.9%

text: Source: Kellermann, G: Geschwindigkeitsverhalten im Autobahnnetz 1992. Straße+Autobahn,[87] Issue 5/1995.[88]

text: The Federal Environmental Office reported that, on a free-flowing section in 1992, the recorded average speed was 132 km/h (82 mph) with 51% of drivers exceeding the recommended speed.[88]

text: In 2006, speeds were recorded using automated detection loops in the State of Brandenburg at two points: on a six-lane section of A9 near Niemegk with a 130 km/h (81 mph) advisory speed limit; and on a four-lane section of A10 bypassing Berlin near Groß Kreutz with a 120 km/h (75 mph) mandatory limit.[3] The results are shown below:

text:
Average speed
Autobahn cross-section

Speed regulation
130 km/h advisory
120 km/h mandatory

Vehicle class
A9 (6 lanes)
A10 (4 lanes)

Automobiles
141.8 km/h (88 mph)
116.5 km/h (72 mph)

Trucks
88.2 km/h (55 mph)
88.0 km/h (55 mph)

Buses
97.7 km/h (61 mph)
94.4 km/h (59 mph)

All vehicles
131.9 km/h (82 mph)
110.1 km/h (68 mph)

text: At peak times on the "free-flowing" section of A9, over 60% of road users exceeded the recommended 130 km/h (81 mph) maximum speed, more than 30% of motorists exceeded 150 km/h (93 mph), and more than 15% exceeded 170 km/h (106 mph)—in other words the so-called "85th-percentile speed" was in excess of 170 km/h.[89]

text: Toll roads[edit]

text: On 1 January 2005, a new system came into effect for mandatory tolls (Mautpflicht) on heavy trucks (those weighing more than 12 t) while using the German autobahn system (LKW-Maut). The German government contracted with a private company, Toll Collect GmbH, to operate the toll collection system, which has involved the use of vehicle-mounted transponders and roadway-mounted sensors installed throughout Germany. The toll is calculated depending on the toll route, as well as based on the pollution class of the vehicle, its weight and the number of axles on the vehicles. Certain vehicles, such as emergency vehicles and buses, are exempt from the toll. An average user is charged €0.15 per kilometre, or about $0.31 per mile (Toll Collect, 2007).

text: Traffic laws and enforcement[edit]

text: Driving in Germany is regulated by the Straßenverkehrs-Ordnung (road traffic regulations,[90] abbreviated StVO). Enforcement on the federal Autobahnen is handled by each state's Highway Patrol (Autobahnpolizei), often using unmarked police cars and motorcycles and usually equipped with video cameras,[91][92] thus allowing easier enforcement of laws such as tailgating. Notable laws include the following.

text:
The right lane should be used when it is free (Rechtsfahrgebot) and the left lane is generally intended only for overtaking unless traffic is too dense to justify driving only on the right lane. It is legal to give a short horn or light signal (flashing headlights or Lichthupe) in order to indicate the intention of overtaking, but a safe distance to the vehicle in front must be maintained,[93] otherwise this might be regarded as an act of coercion.
Penalties for tailgating were increased in May 2006 to a maximum of €375 and three months' license suspension:[94] "drivers must keep a distance in metres that is equal to half their speed. For example, a driver going 100 km/h on the autobahn must keep a distance of at least 50 metres (165 feet)". The penalty increase followed uproar after an infamous fatal crash on Autobahn 5 in 2003.[95]
In a traffic jam, drivers must form an emergency lane (Rettungsgasse) to allow emergency services to reach the scene of an accident. This improvised alley is to be created on the dividing line between the two leftmost lanes.[96]
It is unlawful to stop for any reason on the autobahn, except for emergencies and when unavoidable, like traffic jams or being involved in an accident. This includes stopping on emergency lanes. Running out of fuel is considered an avoidable occurrence, as by law there are petrol stations directly on the autobahn approximately every 50–55 km (31–34 mi). Drivers may face fines and up to six months' suspension, should it come to a stop that was deemed unnecessary by the police. In some cases (if there is a direct danger to life and limb or property e.g. cars and highway infrastructure) it may also be considered a crime and the driver could receive a prison sentence (up to 5 years).
Overtaking on the right (undertaking) is strictly forbidden, except when stuck in traffic jams. Up to a speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) it is permitted to pass cars on the right side if the speed difference is not greater than 20 km/h (12 mph) or the vehicle on the left lane is stationary. This is not referred to as overtaking, but driving past. Even if the car overtaken is illegally occupying the left-hand lane, it is not an acceptable excuse; in such cases, the police will routinely stop and fine both drivers. However, exceptions can and have sometimes been made.

text: In popular culture[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Film and television[edit]

text:
Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei (Alarm for Cobra 11 – The Autobahn Police, 1996–), a famous German TV series focusing on the work of a team of motorway police officers and their investigations, set in the autobahn-intertwined Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area.
Reichsautobahn (documentary/b&w) by Hartmut Bitomsky (West Germany, 1986)

text: Music[edit]

text: "Autobahn", a song and album by German electronic band Kraftwerk (1974)

text: Video games[edit]

text: Need for Speed: ProStreet, Burnout 3: Takedown, and Burnout Dominator use autobahn as one of their tracks. Euro Truck Simulator 2 features the Autobahn in its open world map. Burnout 3: Takedown named them as Alpine while Burnout Dominator divided them into two (Autobahn and Autobahn Loop). Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed also had a track that had the player drive across different sections of the autobahn. The entire game world of Crash Time: Autobahn Pursuit is set on the autobahn. On Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo 6, a trophy is awarded to those who have driven the same distance as the autobahn total length. In December 2010 video game developer Synetic GmbH and Conspiracy Entertainment released the title Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei featuring real world racing and mission-based gameplay. It is taken from the popular German television series about a two-man team of Autobahnpolizei first set in Berlin then later in North Rhine-Westphalia.


question_text: when was the last time the death penalty was used in the us

root

text: List of offenders executed in the United States in 2017[edit]

text:
Number

Date of execution

Name

Date of birth

Age of offender

Gender

Ethnicity

State

Method

Source

At execution

At offense

Age difference

1

January 11, 2017

Christopher Chubasco Wilkins

September 29, 1968

48

37

11

Male

White

Texas

Lethal injection

[1]

2

January 18, 2017

Ricky Javon Gray

March 9, 1977

39

28

Black

Virginia

3

January 26, 2017

Terry Darnell Edwards

August 10, 1973

43

15

Texas

[2]

4

January 31, 2017

Mark Anthony Christeson

February 20, 1979

37

18

19

White

Missouri

5

March 7, 2017

Rolando Ruiz, Jr.

July 4, 1972

44

20

24

Hispanic

Texas

[3][4]

6

March 14, 2017

James Eugene Bigby

April 8, 1955

61

32

29

White

[5][6]

7

April 20, 2017

Ledell T. Lee

July 31, 1965

51

27

24

Black

Arkansas

[7]

8

April 24, 2017

Jack Harold Jones, Jr.

August 10, 1964

52

30

22

White

9

Marcel Wayne Williams

August 20, 1970

46

24

Black

10

April 27, 2017

Kenneth Dewayne Williams

February 23, 1979

38

20

18

[8]

11

May 17, 2017

John W. Ledford III

December 29, 1971

45

25

White

Georgia

12

May 26, 2017

Thomas Douglas "Tommy" Arthur

December 20, 1941

75

40

35

Alabama

[9]

13

June 8, 2017

Robert Bryant Melson

June 5, 1971

46

22

24

Black

[10]

14

July 6, 2017

William Charles Morva

February 9, 1982

35

24

11

White

Virginia

[11]

15

July 26, 2017

Ronald Ray Phillips

October 10, 1973

43

19

24

Ohio

[12]

16

July 27, 2017

Taichin Preyor

September 2, 1970

46

33

13

Black

Texas

[13][14]

17

August 24, 2017

Mark James Asay

March 12, 1964

53

23

30

White

Florida

[15]

18

September 13, 2017

Gary Wayne Otte

December 21, 1971

45

20

25

Ohio

[16]

19

October 5, 2017

Michael Ray Lambrix

March 29, 1960

57

22

35

Florida

[17]

20

October 12, 2017

Robert Lynn Pruett

September 18, 1979

38

20

18

Texas

[18]

21

October 19, 2017

Torrey Twane McNabb

June 9, 1977

40

20

Black

Alabama

[19]

22

November 8, 2017

Patrick Charles Hannon

October 24, 1964

53

26

27

White

Florida

[20]

23

Ruben Cardenas Ramirez

April 7, 1970

47

21

Hispanic

Texas

[21][22]

Average:

47 years

25 years

22 years

tag: table

text: Demographics[edit]

text:
Gender

Male

23

100%

Female

0

0%

Ethnicity

White

13

56%

Black

8

35%

Hispanic

2

9%

State

Texas

7

30%

Arkansas

4

17%

Alabama

3

13%

Florida

3

13%

Ohio

2

9%

Virginia

2

9%

Georgia

1

4%

Missouri

1

4%

Month

January

4

17%

February

0

0%

March

2

9%

April

4

17%

May

2

9%

June

1

4%

July

3

13%

August

1

4%

September

1

4%

October

3

13%

November

2

9%

December

0

0%

Age

30 - 39

5

22%

40 - 49

11

48%

50 - 59

5

22%

60 - 69

1

4%

70 - 79

1

4%

Day

Monday

2

9%

Tuesday

3

13%

Wednesday

7

30%

Thursday

10

43%

Friday

1

4%

Saturday

0

0%

Sunday

0

0%

Total

23

100%

text: Executions in recent years[edit]

text:
Number of executions

2018

18

2017

23

2016

20

Total

61

text: Double execution in Arkansas[edit]

text: On April 24, 2017, Arkansas carried out back-to-back executions.  Convicted rapist and murderer Jack Jones, age 52, was pronounced dead at 7:20 pm Monday.  Approximately three hours later, convicted rapist and murderer Marcel Williams, age 46, was pronounced dead at 10:33 pm.  Jones was sentenced to death for the 1995 rape and murder of Mary Phillips (August 18, 1959 - June 6, 1995) and the near-fatal assault of her then-10-year-old daughter, Lacy Phillips (born July 9, 1984), during a botched robbery in Bald Knob, Arkansas.  Williams was sent to death row for the 1994 rape and murder of 22-year-old Stacy Errickson, whom he kidnapped from a gas station in central Arkansas.

tag: p

text: The last double execution in Arkansas was on September 8, 1999.[23]  By conducting the double execution in 2017, Arkansas became the first U.S. state to put more than one inmate to death on the same day in 17 years.  The last state to do so was Texas, which executed two murderers in August 2000.  Oklahoma planned a double execution in 2014 but scrapped plans for the second one after the first (the execution of Clayton Lockett) went awry.[24]

text: Arkansas executed four men in an eight-day period in 1960. The only quicker pace included quadruple executions in 1926 and 1930.[24]


document_title: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958 film)

question_text: cast of cat on a hot tin roof film

question_tokens: cast of cat on a hot tin roof film

text: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958 film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: Late one night, a drunken Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman) is out trying to recapture his glory days of high school sports by leaping hurdles on a track field, dreaming about his moments as a youthful athlete. Unexpectedly, he falls and breaks his leg, leaving him dependent on a crutch. Brick, along with his wife, Maggie "the Cat" (Elizabeth Taylor), are seen the next day visiting his family's estate in eastern Mississippi, there to celebrate Big Daddy's (Burl Ives) 65th birthday.

text: Depressed, Brick has spent the last few years drinking, while resisting the affections of his wife, who taunts him about the inheritance of Big Daddy's wealth. This has resulted in an obviously tempestuous marriage—there are speculations as to why Maggie does not yet have a child while Brick's brother Gooper (Jack Carson) and his wife Mae (Madeleine Sherwood) have a whole pack of children.

text: Big Daddy and Big Mama (Judith Anderson) arrive home from the hospital via their private airplane and are greeted by Gooper and his wife—and all their kids—along with Maggie. Despite the efforts of Mae, Gooper and their kids to draw his attention to them, Big Daddy has eyes only for Maggie. The news is that Big Daddy is not dying from cancer. However, the doctor later meets privately with first Gooper and then Brick where he divulges that it is a deception. Big Daddy has inoperable cancer and will likely be dead within a year, and the truth is being kept from him. Brick later confides in Maggie with the truth about Big Daddy's health, and she is heartbroken. Maggie wants Brick to take an interest in his father—for both selfish and unselfish reasons, but Brick stubbornly refuses.

text: As the party winds down for the night, Big Daddy meets with Brick in his room and reveals that he is fed up with his alcoholic son's behavior, demanding to know why he is so stubborn. At one point Maggie joins them and reveals what happened a few years ago on the night Brick's best friend and football teammate Skipper committed suicide. Maggie was jealous of Skipper because he had more of Brick's time, and says that Skip was lost without Brick at his side. She decided to ruin their relationship "by any means necessary", intending to seduce Skipper and put the lie to his loyalty to her husband. However, Maggie ran away without completing the plan. Brick had blamed Maggie for Skipper's death, but actually blames himself for not helping Skipper when he repeatedly phoned Brick in a hysterical state.

text: After an argument, Brick lets it slip that Big Daddy will die from cancer and that this birthday will be his last. Shaken, Big Daddy retreats to the basement. Meanwhile, Gooper, who is a lawyer, and his wife argue with Big Mama about the family's cotton business and Big Daddy's will. Brick descends into the basement, a labyrinth of antiques and family possessions hidden away. He and Big Daddy confront each other before a large cut-out of Brick in his glory days as an athlete, and ultimately reach a reconciliation of sorts.

text: The rest of the family begins to crumble under pressure, with Big Mama stepping up as a strong figure. Maggie says that she'd like to give Big Daddy her birthday present: the announcement of her being pregnant. After the jealous Mae calls Maggie a liar, Big Daddy and Brick defend her, even though Brick knows the statement is untrue and Big Daddy thinks the statement may be untrue. Even Gooper finds himself admitting, "That girl's got life in her, alright." Maggie and Brick reconcile, and the two kiss, with the implication that they will possibly make Maggie's "lie" become "truth".

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie "the Cat" Pollitt
Paul Newman as Brick Pollitt
Burl Ives as Harvey "Big Daddy" Pollitt
Judith Anderson as Ida "Big Mama" Pollitt
Jack Carson as Cooper "Gooper" Pollitt
Madeleine Sherwood as Mae Flynn "Sister Woman" Pollitt
Larry Gates as Dr. Baugh
Vaughn Taylor as Deacon Davis

tag: ul

text: Production notes[edit]

text: The original stage production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opened on Broadway March 24, 1955, with Ives and Sherwood in the roles they subsequently played in the movie. Ben Gazzara played Brick in the stage production and rejected the film role as did Elvis Presley.[citation needed] Athlete turned film star Floyd Simmons also tested for the role.[5]

text: Lana Turner[6] and Grace Kelly[7]  were both considered for the part of Maggie before the role went to Taylor.

text: Production began on March 12, 1958, and by March 19, Taylor had contracted a virus which kept her off the shoot.  On March 21, she canceled plans to fly with her husband Mike Todd to New York, where he was to be honored the following day by the New York Friars' Club.  The plane crashed, and all passengers, including Todd, were killed.  Beset with grief, Taylor remained off the film until April 14, 1958, at which time she returned to the set in a much thinner and weaker condition.[8]

text: Music and soundtrack[edit]

text: The music score, "Love Theme from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," was composed by Charles Wolcott in 1958. He was an accomplished music composer, having worked for Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Rudy Vallee and George Burns and Gracie Allen. From 1934 to 1944, he worked at Walt Disney Studios. In 1950, he transferred to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios where he became the general music director and composed the theme for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The remaining songs on the soundtrack are composed by a variety of artists such as Andre Previn, Daniel Decatur Emmett and Ludwig van Beethoven.

text: Song list[edit]

text:
"Lost in a Summer Night" by André Previn and Milton Raskin
"Nice Layout" by André Previn
"Love Theme from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Charles Wolcott
"Dixie" by Daniel Decatur Emmett, played by the children on various instruments
"Skina Marinka", adapted by Marguerite Lamkin, sung by the children
"I'll Be a Sunbeam" by E.O. Excell, sung by the children
"Boom, Boom and It Makes Me Crazy", adapted by Marguerite Lamkin, sung by the children
"Kermit Returns" by André Previn
"Fourth Movement, Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67" by Ludwig van Beethoven, played on a radio
"For He's a Jolly Good Fellow", traditional, sung by the family
"Some Folks" by Stephen Foster, played on a phonograph
"Soothe My Lonely Heart" by Jeff Alexander

text: Reception[edit]

text: Tennessee Williams was reportedly unhappy with the screenplay, which removed almost all of the homosexual themes and revised the third act section to include a lengthy scene of reconciliation between Brick and Big Daddy. Paul Newman, the film's star, had also stated his disappointment with the adaptation. The Hays Code limited Brick's portrayal of sexual desire for Skipper, and diminished the original play's critique of homophobia and sexism. Williams so disliked the toned-down film adaptation of his play that he told people in the queue, "This movie will set the industry back 50 years. Go home!"[9]

text: Despite this, the film was highly acclaimed by critics. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that although "Mr. Williams' original stage play has been altered considerably, especially in offering explanation of why the son is as he is," he still found the film "a ferocious and fascinating show," and deemed Newman's performance "an ingratiating picture of a tortured and tested young man" and Taylor "terrific."[10] Variety called the picture "a powerful, well-seasoned film produced within the bounds of good, if 'adults only,' taste ... Newman again proves to be one of the finest actors in films, playing cynical underacting against highly developed action."[11] Harrison's Reports declared it "an intense adult drama, superbly acted by a formidable cast."[12] Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post wrote, "'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' has been transposed to the screen with almost astonishing skill ... Paul Newman does his finest work in the rich role of Brick, catching that remarkable fact of film acting—the illusion of the first time. It's a superlative performance and he's bound to be nominated for an Oscar."[13] Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times declared, "It was a powerful stage drama and it is a powerful screen drama, and Brooks has exacted—and extracted—stunningly real and varied performances from his players ... You may not like it but you won't forget it readily."[14]

text: Not all reviews were as positive. John McCarten of The New Yorker wrote of the characters that "although it is interesting for a while to listen to them letting off emotional steam, their caterwauling (boosted Lord knows how many decibels by stereophonic sound) eventually becomes severely monotonous." McCarten also lamented that the filmmakers were "unable to indicate more than fleetingly the real problem of the hero—homosexuality, which is, of course, a taboo subject in American movies."[15] The Monthly Film Bulletin shared that regret, writing, "Censorship difficulties admittedly make it impossible to show homosexuality as the root of Brick's problem, but Brooks does not appear to have the skill to make convincing the motives he has substituted. Most of Williams' exhilarating dialogue has been left out or emasculated, and the screenplay fails to harmonise the revised characterisation of Brick with the author's original conception."[16]

text: The film received six Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Newman), Best Actress (Taylor), Best Director (Brooks), Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, and Best Cinematography, Color (William Daniels). Cat may have been too controversial for the Academy voters; the film eventually didn't win any Oscars and the Best Picture award went to Gigi, another Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, that year. Ives won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The Big Country at the same ceremony.

text: Box office[edit]

text: The film was a hit with audiences. According to MGM records the film earned $7,660,000 in the US and Canada and $3,625,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $2,428,000.[2]


document_title: Battle of Fort Sumter

question_text: where was the first shot of civil war fired

text: Battle of Fort Sumter

text: Background

text: Secession

text: On December 20, 1860, shortly after Abraham Lincoln's victory in the presidential election of 1860, South Carolina adopted an ordinance declaring its secession from the United States of America and, by February 1861, six more Southern states had adopted similar ordinances of secession. On February 7, the seven states adopted a provisional constitution for the Confederate States of America and established their temporary capital at Montgomery, Alabama. A February peace conference met in Washington, D.C., but failed to resolve the crisis. The remaining eight states declined pleas to join the Confederacy.[5][6]

text: The seceding states seized numerous Federal properties within their boundaries, including buildings, arsenals, and fortifications. President James Buchanan protested but took no military action in response. Buchanan was concerned that an overt action could cause the remaining slave states to leave the Union, and while he acknowledged there was no constitutional authority for a state to secede, he could find no constitutional authority for him to act to prevent it.[7][8]

text: Forts of Charleston

text: Several forts had been constructed in Charleston's harbor, including Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie, which were not among the sites seized initially. Fort Moultrie on Sullivan Island was the oldest—it was the site of fortifications since 1776—and was the headquarters of the U.S. Army garrison. However, it had been designed as a gun platform for defending the harbor, and its defenses against land-based attacks were feeble; during the crisis, the Charleston newspapers commented that sand dunes had piled up against the walls in such a way that the wall could easily be scaled. When the garrison began clearing away the dunes, the papers objected.[9][10][11]

text: Major Robert Anderson of the 1st U.S. Artillery regiment had been appointed to command the Charleston garrison that fall because of rising tensions. A native of Kentucky, he was a protégé of Winfield Scott, the general in chief of the Army, and was thought more capable of handling a crisis than the garrison's previous commander, Col. John L. Gardner, who was nearing retirement. Anderson had served an earlier tour of duty at Fort Moultrie and his father had been a defender of the fort (then called Fort Sullivan) during the American Revolutionary War. Throughout the fall, South Carolina authorities considered both secession and the expropriation of federal property in the harbor to be inevitable. As tensions mounted, the environment around the fort increasingly resembled a siege, to the point that the South Carolina authorities placed picket ships to observe the movements of the troops and threatened to attack when forty rifles were transferred to one of the harbor forts from the U.S. arsenal in the city.[1][12][13][11]

text: In contrast to Moultrie, Fort Sumter dominated the entrance to Charleston Harbor and, though unfinished, was designed to be one of the strongest fortresses in the world. In the fall of 1860 work on the fort was nearly completed, but the fortress was thus far garrisoned by a single soldier, who functioned as a lighthouse keeper, and a small party of civilian construction workers. Under the cover of darkness on December 26, six days after South Carolina declared its secession, Anderson abandoned the indefensible Fort Moultrie, ordering its guns spiked and its gun carriages burned, and surreptitiously relocated his command by small boats to Sumter.[14][15]

text: President Buchanan and the Star of the West

text: South Carolina authorities considered Anderson's move to be a breach of faith. Governor Francis W. Pickens believed that President Buchanan had made implicit promises to him to keep Sumter unoccupied and suffered political embarrassment as a result of his trust in those promises. Buchanan, a former U.S. Secretary of State and diplomat, had used carefully crafted ambiguous language to Pickens, promising that he would not "immediately" occupy it.[16] From Major Anderson's standpoint, he was merely moving his existing garrison troops from one of the locations under his command to another. He had received instructions from the War Department on December 11, written by Major General Don Carlos Buell, Assistant Adjutant General of the Army, approved by Secretary of War John B. Floyd:[16][17]

text: ... you are to hold possession of the forts in this harbor, and if attacked you are to defend yourself to the last extremity. The smallness of your force will not permit you, perhaps, to occupy more than one of the three forts, but an attack on or attempt to take possession of any one of them will be regarded as an act of hostility, and you may then put your command into either of them which you may deem most proper to increase its power of resistance. You are also authorized to take similar steps whenever you have tangible evidence of a design to proceed to a hostile act.[18]

text: Governor Pickens therefore ordered that all remaining Federal positions except Fort Sumter were to be seized. State troops quickly occupied Fort Moultrie (capturing 56 guns), Fort Johnson on James Island, and the battery on Morris Island. On December 27, an assault force of 150 men seized the Union-occupied Castle Pinckney fortification, in the harbor close to downtown Charleston, capturing 24 guns and mortars without bloodshed. On December 30, the Federal arsenal in Charleston was captured, resulting in the acquisition of more than 22,000 weapons by the militia. The Confederates promptly made repairs at Fort Moultrie and dozens of new batteries and defense positions were constructed throughout the Charleston harbor area, including an unusual floating battery, and armed with weapons captured from the arsenal.[N 1]

text: President Buchanan was surprised and dismayed at Anderson's move to Sumter, unaware of the authorization Anderson had received. Nevertheless, he refused Pickens's demand to evacuate Charleston harbor. Since the garrison's supplies were limited, Buchanan authorized a relief expedition of supplies, small arms, and 200 soldiers. The original intent was to send the Navy sloop-of-war USS Brooklyn, but it was discovered that Confederates had sunk some derelict ships to block the shipping channel into Charleston and there was concern that Brooklyn had too deep a draft to negotiate the obstacles. Instead, it seemed prudent to send an unarmed civilian merchant ship, Star of the West, which might be perceived as less provocative to the Confederates. As Star of the West approached the harbor entrance on January 9, 1861, it was fired upon by a battery on Morris Island, which was staffed by cadets from The Citadel, among them William Stewart Simkins, who were the only trained artillerymen in the service of South Carolina at the time. Batteries from Fort Moultrie joined in and Star of the West was forced to withdraw. Major Anderson prepared his guns at Sumter when he heard the Confederate fire, but the secrecy of the operation had kept him unaware that a relief expedition was in progress and he chose not to start a general engagement.[22][23][24][1]

text: In a letter delivered January 31, 1861, Governor Pickens demanded of President Buchanan that he surrender Fort Sumter because, "I regard that possession is not consistent with the dignity or safety of the State of South Carolina."[25]

text: Preparations for war

text: Conditions at the fort were difficult during the winter of 1860–61. Rations were short and fuel for heat was limited. The garrison scrambled to complete the defenses as best they could. Fort Sumter was designed to mount 135 guns, operated by 650 officers and men, but construction had met with numerous delays for decades and budget cuts had left it only about 90 percent finished in early 1861. Anderson's garrison consisted of just 85 men, primarily made up of two small artillery companies: Company E, 1st U.S. Artillery, commanded by Capt. Abner Doubleday, and Company H, commanded by Capt. Truman Seymour. There were six other officers present: Surgeon Samuel W. Crawford, First Lt. Theodore Talbot of Company H, First Lt. Jefferson C. Davis of the 1st U.S. Artillery, and Second Lt. Norman J. Hall of Company H. Capt. John G. Foster and First Lt. George W. Snyder of the Corps of Engineers were responsible for construction of the Charleston forts, but they reported to their headquarters in Washington, not directly to Anderson. The remaining personnel were 68 noncommissioned officers and privates, eight musicians, and 43 noncombatant workmen.[1]

text: By April the Union troops had positioned 60 guns, but they had insufficient men to operate them all. The fort consisted of three levels of enclosed gun positions, or casemates. The second level of casemates was unoccupied. The majority of the guns were on the first level of casemates, on the upper level (the parapet or barbette positions), and on the center parade field. Unfortunately for the defenders, the original mission of the fort—harbor defense—meant that it was designed so that the guns were primarily aimed at the Atlantic, with little capability of protecting from artillery fire from the surrounding land or from infantry conducting an amphibious assault.[26][27][28]

text: In March, Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard took command of South Carolina forces in Charleston; on March 1, President Jefferson Davis had appointed him the first general officer in the armed forces of the new Confederacy,[29] specifically to take command of the siege. Beauregard made repeated demands that the Union force either surrender or withdraw and took steps to ensure that no supplies from the city were available to the defenders, whose food was running low. He also increased drills amongst the South Carolina militia, training them to operate the guns they manned. Major Anderson had been Beauregard's artillery instructor at West Point; the two had been especially close, and Beauregard had become Anderson's assistant after graduation. Both sides spent March drilling and improving their fortifications to the best of their abilities.[30]

text: Beauregard, a trained military engineer, built-up overwhelming strength to challenge Fort Sumter. Fort Moultrie had three 8-inch Columbiads, two 8-inch howitzers, five 32-pound smoothbores, and four 24-pounders. Outside of Moultrie were five 10-inch mortars, two 32-pounders, two 24-pounders, and a 9-inch Dahlgren smoothbore. The floating battery next to Fort Moultrie had two 42-pounders and two 32-pounders on a raft protected by iron shielding. Fort Johnson on James Island had one 24-pounder and four 10-inch mortars. At Cummings Point on Morris Island, the Confederates had emplaced seven 10-inch mortars, two 42-pounders, an English Blakely rifled cannon, and three 8-inch Columbiads, the latter in the so-called Iron Battery, protected by a wooden shield faced with iron bars. About 6,000 men were available to man the artillery and to assault the fort, if necessary, including the local militia, young boys and older men.[31]

text: Decisions for war

text: On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as president. He was almost immediately confronted with the surprise information that Major Anderson was reporting that only six weeks of rations remained at Fort Sumter. A crisis similar to the one at Fort Sumter had emerged at Pensacola, Florida, where Confederates threatened another U.S. fortification—Fort Pickens. Lincoln and his new cabinet struggled with the decisions of whether to reinforce the forts, and how. They were also concerned about whether to take actions that might start open hostilities and which side would be perceived as the aggressor as a result. Similar discussions and concerns were occurring in the Confederacy.[32][33]

text: After the formation of the Confederate States of America in early February, there was some debate among the secessionists whether the capture of the fort was rightly a matter for South Carolina or for the newly declared national government in Montgomery, Alabama. South Carolina governor Pickens was among the states' rights advocates who thought that all property in Charleston harbor had reverted to South Carolina upon that state's secession as an independent commonwealth. This debate ran alongside another discussion about how aggressively the installations—including Forts Sumter and Pickens—should be obtained. President Davis, like his counterpart in Washington, preferred that his side not be seen as the aggressor. Both sides believed that the first side to use force would lose precious political support in the border states, whose allegiance was undetermined; before Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, five states had voted against secession, including Virginia, and Lincoln openly offered to evacuate Fort Sumter if it would guarantee Virginia's loyalty.[N 2]

text: The South sent delegations to Washington, D.C., and offered to pay for the Federal properties and enter into a peace treaty with the United States. Lincoln rejected any negotiations with the Confederate agents because he did not consider the Confederacy a legitimate nation and making any treaty with it would be tantamount to recognition of it as a sovereign government. However, Secretary of State William H. Seward, who wished to give up Sumter for political reasons—as a gesture of good will—engaged in unauthorized and indirect negotiations that failed.[35]

text: On April 4, as the supply situation on Sumter became critical, President Lincoln ordered a relief expedition, to be commanded by former naval captain (and future Assistant Secretary of the Navy) Gustavus V. Fox, who had proposed a plan for nighttime landings of smaller vessels than the Star of the West. Fox's orders were to land at Sumter with supplies only, and if he was opposed by the Confederates, to respond with the U.S. Navy vessels following and to then land both supplies and men. This time, Maj. Anderson was informed of the impending expedition, although the arrival date was not revealed to him. On April 6, Lincoln notified Governor Pickens that "an attempt will be made to supply Fort Sumter with provisions only, and that if such attempt be not resisted, no effort to throw in men, arms, or ammunition will be made without further notice, [except] in case of an attack on the fort."[36][37][38][39][1]

text: Lincoln's notification had been made to the governor of South Carolina, not the new Confederate government, which Lincoln did not recognize. Pickens consulted with Beauregard, the local Confederate commander. Soon President Davis ordered Beauregard to repeat the demand for Sumter's surrender, and if it did not, to reduce the fort before the relief expedition arrived. The Confederate cabinet, meeting in Montgomery, endorsed Davis's order on April 9. Only Secretary of State Robert Toombs opposed this decision: he reportedly told Jefferson Davis the attack "will lose us every friend at the North. You will only strike a hornet's nest. ... Legions now quiet will swarm out and sting us to death. It is unnecessary. It puts us in the wrong. It is fatal."[40]

text: Beauregard dispatched aides—Col. James Chesnut, Col. James A. Chisholm, and Capt. Stephen D. Lee—to Fort Sumter on April 11 to issue the ultimatum. Anderson refused, although he reportedly commented, "I shall await the first shot, and if you do not batter us to pieces, we shall be starved out in a few days." The aides returned to Charleston and reported this comment to Beauregard. At 1 a.m. on April 12, the aides brought Anderson a message from Beauregard: "If you will state the time which you will evacuate Fort Sumter, and agree in the meantime that you will not use your guns against us unless ours shall be employed against Fort Sumter, we will abstain from opening fire upon you." After consulting with his senior officers, Maj. Anderson replied that he would evacuate Sumter by noon, April 15, unless he received new orders from his government or additional supplies. Col. Chesnut considered this reply to be too conditional and wrote a reply, which he handed to Anderson at 3:20 a.m.: "Sir: by authority of Brigadier General Beauregard, commanding the Provisional Forces of the Confederate States, we have the honor to notify you that he will open fire of his batteries on Fort Sumter in one hour from this time." Anderson escorted the officers back to their boat, shook hands with each one, and said "If we never meet in this world again, God grant that we may meet in the next."[41][42][43][44]

text: Bombardment

text: At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, Lt. Henry S. Farley, acting upon the command of Capt. George S. James,[45][46] fired a single 10-inch mortar round from Fort Johnson. (James had offered the first shot to Roger Pryor, a noted Virginia secessionist, who declined, saying, "I could not fire the first gun of the war.") The shell exploded over Fort Sumter as a signal to open the general bombardment from 43 guns and mortars at Fort Moultrie, Fort Johnson, the floating battery, and Cummings Point. Under orders from Beauregard, the guns fired in a counterclockwise sequence around the harbor, with 2 minutes between each shot; Beauregard wanted to conserve ammunition, which he calculated would last for only 48 hours. Edmund Ruffin, another noted Virginia secessionist, had traveled to Charleston to be present for the beginning of the war, and fired one of the first shots at Sumter after the signal round, a 64-pound shell from the Iron Battery at Cummings Point. The shelling of Fort Sumter from the batteries ringing the harbor awakened Charleston's residents (including diarist Mary Chesnut), who rushed out into the predawn darkness to watch the shells arc over the water and burst inside the fort.[47][N 3]

text: Major Anderson held his fire, awaiting daylight. His troops reported for a call at 6 a.m. and then had breakfast. At 7 a.m., Capt. Abner Doubleday fired a shot at the Ironclad Battery at Cummings Point. He missed. Given the available manpower, Anderson could not take advantage of all of his 60 guns. He deliberately avoided using guns that were situated in the fort where casualties were most likely. The fort's best cannons were mounted on the uppermost of its three tiers—the barbette tier—where his troops were most exposed to incoming fire from overhead. The fort had been designed to withstand a naval assault, and naval warships of the time did not mount guns capable of elevating to shoot over the walls of the fort. However, the land-based cannons manned by the Confederates were capable of high-arcing ballistic trajectories and could therefore fire at parts of the fort that would have been out of naval guns' reach. Fort Sumter's garrison could only safely fire the 21 working guns on the lowest level, which themselves, because of the limited elevation allowed by their embrasures, were largely incapable of delivering fire with trajectories high enough to seriously threaten Fort Moultrie. Moreover, although the Federals had moved as many of their supplies to Fort Sumter as they could manage, the fort was quite low on ammunition, and was nearly out at the end of the 34-hour bombardment. A more immediate problem was the scarcity of cloth gunpowder cartridges or bags; only 700 were available at the beginning of the battle and workmen sewed frantically to create more, in some cases using socks from Anderson's personal wardrobe. Because of the shortages, Anderson reduced his firing to only six guns: two aimed at Cummings Point, two at Fort Moultrie, and two at the Sullivan's Island batteries.[49][50]

text: Ships from Fox's relief expedition began to arrive on April 12. Although Fox himself arrived at 3 a.m. on his steamer Baltic, most of the rest of his fleet was delayed until 6 p.m., and one of the two warships, USS Powhatan, never did arrive. Unbeknownst to Fox, it had been ordered to the relief of Fort Pickens in Florida. As landing craft were sent toward the fort with supplies, the artillery fire deterred them and they pulled back. Fox decided to wait until after dark and for the arrival of his warships. The next day, heavy seas made it difficult to load the small boats with men and supplies and Fox was left with the hope that Anderson and his men could hold out until dark on April 13.[51]

text: Although Sumter was a masonry fort, there were wooden buildings inside for barracks and officer quarters. The Confederates targeted these with Heated shot (cannonballs heated red hot in a furnace), starting fires that could prove more dangerous to the men than explosive artillery shells. At 7 p.m. on April 12, a rain shower extinguished the flames and at the same time the Union gunners stopped firing for the night. They slept fitfully, concerned about a potential infantry assault against the fort. During the darkness, the Confederates reduced their fire to four shots each hour. The following morning, the full bombardment resumed and the Confederates continued firing hot shot against the wooden buildings. By noon most of the wooden buildings in the fort and the main gate were on fire. The flames moved toward the main ammunition magazine, where 300 barrels of gunpowder were stored. The Union soldiers frantically tried to move the barrels to safety, but two-thirds were left when Anderson judged it was too dangerous and ordered the magazine doors closed. He ordered the remaining barrels thrown into the sea, but the tide kept floating them back together into groups, some of which were ignited by incoming artillery rounds. He also ordered his crews to redouble their efforts at firing, but the Confederates did the same, firing the hot shots almost exclusively. Many of the Confederate soldiers admired the courage and determination of the Yankees. When the fort had to pause its firing, the Confederates often cheered and applauded after the firing resumed and they shouted epithets at some of the nearby Union ships for failing to come to the fort's aid.[52][53]

text: Surrender

text:
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Major Anderson's telegram announcing the surrender

text: The fort's central flagpole was knocked down at 1 p.m. on April 13, raising doubts among the Confederates about whether the fort was ready to surrender. Col. Louis Wigfall, a former U.S. senator, had been observing the battle and decided that this indicated the fort had had enough punishment. He commandeered a small boat and proceeded from Morris Island, waving a white handkerchief from his sword, dodging incoming rounds from Sullivan's Island. Meeting with Major Anderson, he said, "You have defended your flag nobly, Sir. You have done all that it is possible to do, and General Beauregard wants to stop this fight. On what terms, Major Anderson, will you evacuate this fort?" Anderson was encouraged that Wigfall had said "evacuate," not "surrender." He was low on ammunition, fires were burning out of control, and his men were hungry and exhausted. Satisfied that they had defended their post with honor, enduring over 3,000 Confederate rounds without losing a man, Anderson agreed to a truce at 2:00 p.m.[54][55]

text: Fort Sumter raised Wigfall's white handkerchief on its flagpole as Wigfall departed in his small boat back to Morris Island, where he was hailed as a hero. The handkerchief was spotted in Charleston and a delegation of officers representing Beauregard—Stephen D. Lee, Porcher Miles, a former mayor of Charleston, and Roger Pryor—sailed to Sumter, unaware of Wigfall's visit. Anderson was outraged when these officers disavowed Wigfall's authority, telling him that the former senator had not spoken with Beauregard for two days, and he threatened to resume firing. Meanwhile, General Beauregard himself had finally seen the handkerchief and sent a second set of officers, offering essentially the same terms that Wigfall had presented, so the agreement was reinstated.[54][56][57]

text: The Union garrison formally surrendered the fort to Confederate personnel at 2:30 p.m., April 13. No one from either side was killed during the bombardment. During the 100-gun salute to the U.S. flag—Anderson's one condition for withdrawal—a pile of cartridges blew up from a spark, mortally wounding privates Daniel Hough and Edward Galloway, and seriously wounding the other four members of the gun crew; these were the first military fatalities of the war. The salute was stopped at fifty shots. Hough was buried in the Fort Sumter parade ground within two hours after the explosion. Galloway and Private George Fielding were sent to the hospital in Charleston, where Galloway died a few days later; Fielding was released after six weeks.[58][59] The other wounded men and the remaining Union troops were placed aboard a Confederate steamer, the Isabel, where they spent the night and were transported the next morning to Fox's relief ship Baltic, resting outside the harbor bar.[60]

text: Anderson carried the Fort Sumter Flag with him North, where it became a widely known symbol of the battle, and rallying point for supporters of the Union.[61] This inspired Frederic Edwin Church to paint Our Banner in the Sky, described as a "symbolic landscape embodying the stars and stripes." A chromolithograph was then created and sold to benefit the families of Union soldiers.[62]

text: Aftermath

text: The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the first military action of the American Civil War. Following the surrender, Northerners rallied behind Lincoln's call for all states to send troops to recapture the forts and preserve the Union. With the scale of the rebellion apparently small so far, Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers for 90 days.[63] Some Northern states filled their quotas quickly. There were so many volunteers in Ohio that within 16 days they could have met the full call for 75,000 men by themselves.[64] Other governors from border states were undiplomatic in their responses. For example, Gov. Claiborne Jackson wrote, "Not one man will the state of Missouri furnish to carry on any such unholy crusade", and Gov. Beriah Magoffin wrote, "Kentucky will furnish no troops for the wicked purpose of subduing her sister Southern states."[65] The governors of other states still in the Union were equally unsupportive. The call for 75,000 troops triggered four additional slave states to declare their secession from the Union and join the Confederacy.[66] The ensuing war lasted four years, effectively ending in April 1865 with the surrender of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Appomatox Courthouse.[67]

text: Charleston Harbor was completely in Confederate hands for almost the entire four-year duration of the war, leaving a hole in the Union naval blockade. Union forces conducted major operations in 1862 and 1863 to capture Charleston, first overland on James Island (the Battle of Secessionville, June 1862), then by naval assault against Fort Sumter (the First Battle of Charleston Harbor, April 1863), then by seizing the Confederate artillery positions on Morris Island (beginning with the Second Battle of Fort Wagner, July 1863, and followed by a siege until September). After pounding Sumter to rubble with artillery fire, a final amphibious operation attempted to occupy it (the Second Battle of Fort Sumter, September 1863), but was repulsed and no further attempts were made. The Confederates evacuated Fort Sumter and Charleston in February 1865 as Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman outflanked the city in the Carolinas Campaign. On April 14, 1865, four years to the day after lowering the Fort Sumter Flag in surrender, Robert Anderson (by then a major general, although ill and in retired status) returned to the ruined fort to raise the flag he had lowered in 1861.[68]

text: Two of the cannons used at Fort Sumter were later presented to Louisiana State University by General William Tecumseh Sherman, who was president of the university before the war began.[69]

text: Tributes

text: The U.S. Post Office Department released the Fort Sumter Centennial issue as the first in the series of five stamps marking the Civil War Centennial on April 12, 1961, at the Charleston post office.[70]

text: The stamp was designed by Charles R. Chickering. It illustrates a seacoast gun from Fort Sumter aimed by an officer in a typical uniform of the time. The background features palmetto leaves akin to bursting shells. The state tree of South Carolina, the palmettos suggest the geopolitical area opening Civil War hostilities.[71]

text: This stamp was produced by an engraving and printed by the rotary process in panes of fifty stamps each. The Postal Department authorized an initial printing of 120 million stamps.[71]

text: Footnotes


document_title: List of English football champions

question_text: who has won the most premier league titles since 1992

text: List of English football champions

text: List[edit]

text: Teams in bold are those who won the double of League Championship and FA Cup, or the European Double of League Championship and European Cup in that season.

text: Football League (1888–1892)[edit]

text:
Year
Champions
(number of titles)
Runners-up
Third place
Leading goalscorer
Goals

1888–89
Preston North End[1]
Aston Villa
Wolverhampton Wanderers
 John Goodall (Preston North End)
21

1889–90
Preston North End (2)
Everton
Blackburn Rovers
 Jimmy Ross (Preston North End)
24

1890–91
Everton
Preston North End
Notts County
 Jack Southworth (Blackburn Rovers)
26

1891–92
Sunderland
Preston North End
Bolton Wanderers
 John Campbell (Sunderland)
32

text: Football League First Division (1892–1992)[edit]

text:
Year
Champions
(number of titles)
Runners-up
Third place
Leading goalscorer
Goals

1892–93
Sunderland (2)
Preston North End
Everton
 John Campbell (Sunderland)
31

1893–94
Aston Villa
Sunderland
Derby County
 Jack Southworth (Everton)
27

1894–95
Sunderland (3)
Everton
Aston Villa
 John Campbell (Sunderland)
22

1895–96
Aston Villa (2)
Derby County
Everton
 Johnny Campbell (Aston Villa)
 Steve Bloomer (Derby County)
20

1896–97
Aston Villa (3)
Sheffield United
Derby County
 Steve Bloomer (Derby County)
22

1897–98
Sheffield United
Sunderland
Wolverhampton Wanderers
 Fred Wheldon (Aston Villa)
21

1898–99
Aston Villa (4)
Liverpool
Burnley
 Steve Bloomer (Derby County)
23

1899–1900
Aston Villa (5)
Sheffield United
Sunderland
 Billy Garraty (Aston Villa)
27

1900–01
Liverpool
Sunderland
Notts County
 Steve Bloomer (Derby County)
23

1901–02
Sunderland (4)
Everton
Newcastle United
 Jimmy Settle (Everton)
18

1902–03
The Wednesday[8]
Aston Villa
Sunderland
 Sam Raybould (Liverpool)
31

1903–04
The Wednesday[8] (2)
Manchester City
Everton
 Steve Bloomer (Derby County)
20

1904–05
Newcastle United
Everton
Manchester City
 Arthur Brown (Sheffield United)
22

1905–06
Liverpool (2)
Preston North End
The Wednesday
 Albert Shepherd (Bolton Wanderers)
26

1906–07
Newcastle United (2)
Bristol City
Everton
 Alex Young (Everton)
30

1907–08
Manchester United
Aston Villa
Manchester City
 Enoch West (Nottingham Forest)
27

1908–09
Newcastle United (3)
Everton
Sunderland
 Bert Freeman (Everton)
38

1909–10
Aston Villa (6)
Liverpool
Blackburn Rovers
 Jack Parkinson (Liverpool)
30

1910–11
Manchester United (2)
Aston Villa
Sunderland
 Albert Shepherd (Newcastle United)
25

1911–12
Blackburn Rovers
Everton
Newcastle United
 Harry Hampton (Aston Villa)
 George Holley (Sunderland)
 David McLean (The Wednesday)
25

1912–13
Sunderland (5)
Aston Villa
The Wednesday
 David McLean (The Wednesday)
30

1913–14
Blackburn Rovers (2)
Aston Villa
Middlesbrough
 George Elliot (Middlesbrough)
32

1914–15
Everton (2)
Oldham Athletic
Blackburn Rovers
 Bobby Parker (Everton)
35

1915/16–1918/19
League suspended owing to the First World War

1919–20
West Bromwich Albion
Burnley
Chelsea
 Fred Morris (West Bromwich Albion)
37

1920–21
Burnley
Manchester City
Bolton Wanderers
 Joe Smith (Bolton Wanderers)
38

1921–22
Liverpool (3)
Tottenham Hotspur
Burnley
 Andy Wilson (Middlesbrough)
31

1922–23
Liverpool (4)
Sunderland
Huddersfield Town
 Charlie Buchan (Sunderland)
30

1923–24
Huddersfield Town
Cardiff City
Sunderland
 Wilf Chadwick (Everton)
28

1924–25
Huddersfield Town (2)
West Bromwich Albion
Bolton Wanderers
 Frank Roberts (Manchester City)
31

1925–26
Huddersfield Town (3)
Arsenal
Sunderland
 Ted Harper (Blackburn Rovers)
43

1926–27
Newcastle United (4)
Huddersfield Town
Sunderland
 Jimmy Trotter (The Wednesday)
37

1927–28
Everton (3)
Huddersfield Town
Leicester City
 Dixie Dean (Everton)
60

1928–29
The Wednesday[8] (3)
Leicester City
Aston Villa
 Dave Halliday (Sunderland)
43

1929–30
Sheffield Wednesday (4)
Derby County
Manchester City
 Vic Watson (West Ham United)
41

1930–31
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Sheffield Wednesday
 Tom Waring (Aston Villa)
49

1931–32
Everton (4)
Arsenal
Sheffield Wednesday
 Dixie Dean (Everton)
44

1932–33
Arsenal (2)
Aston Villa
Sheffield Wednesday
 Jack Bowers (Derby County)
35

1933–34
Arsenal (3)
Huddersfield Town
Tottenham Hotspur
 Jack Bowers (Derby County)
34

1934–35
Arsenal (4)
Sunderland
Sheffield Wednesday
 Ted Drake (Arsenal)
42

1935–36
Sunderland (6)
Derby County
Huddersfield Town
 W. G. Richardson (West Bromwich Albion)
39

1936–37
Manchester City
Charlton Athletic
Arsenal
 Freddie Steele (Stoke City)
33

1937–38
Arsenal (5)
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Preston North End
 Tommy Lawton (Everton)
28

1938–39
Everton (5)
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Charlton Athletic
 Tommy Lawton (Everton)
35

1939/40–1945/46
League suspended owing to the Second World War

1946–47
Liverpool (5)
Manchester United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
 Dennis Westcott (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
37

1947–48
Arsenal (6)
Manchester United
Burnley
 Ronnie Rooke (Arsenal)
33

1948–49
Portsmouth
Manchester United
Derby County
 Willie Moir (Bolton Wanderers)
25

1949–50
Portsmouth (2)
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sunderland
 Dickie Davis (Sunderland)
25

1950–51
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United
Blackpool
 Stan Mortensen (Blackpool)
30

1951–52
Manchester United (3)
Tottenham Hotspur
Arsenal
 George Robledo (Newcastle United)
33

1952–53
Arsenal (7)
Preston North End
Wolverhampton Wanderers
 Charlie Wayman (Preston North End)
24

1953–54
Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Bromwich Albion
Huddersfield Town
 Jimmy Glazzard (Huddersfield Town)
29

1954–55
Chelsea
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Portsmouth
 Ronnie Allen (West Bromwich Albion)
27

1955–56
Manchester United (4)
Blackpool
Wolverhampton Wanderers
 Nat Lofthouse (Bolton Wanderers)
33

1956–57
Manchester United (5)
Tottenham Hotspur
Preston North End
 John Charles (Leeds United)
38

1957–58
Wolverhampton Wanderers (2)
Preston North End
Tottenham Hotspur
 Bobby Smith (Tottenham Hotspur)
36

1958–59
Wolverhampton Wanderers (3)
Manchester United
Arsenal
 Jimmy Greaves (Chelsea)
33

1959–60
Burnley (2)
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Tottenham Hotspur
 Dennis Viollet (Manchester United)
32

1960–61
Tottenham Hotspur (2)
Sheffield Wednesday
Wolverhampton Wanderers
 Jimmy Greaves (Chelsea)
41

1961–62
Ipswich Town
Burnley
Tottenham Hotspur
 Ray Crawford (Ipswich Town)
 Derek Kevan (West Bromwich Albion)
33

1962–63
Everton (6)
Tottenham Hotspur
Burnley
 Jimmy Greaves (Tottenham Hotspur)
37

1963–64
Liverpool (6)
Manchester United
Everton
 Jimmy Greaves (Tottenham Hotspur)
35

1964–65
Manchester United (6)
Leeds United
Chelsea
 Andy McEvoy (Blackburn Rovers)
 Jimmy Greaves (Tottenham Hotspur)
29

1965–66
Liverpool (7)
Leeds United
Burnley
 Willie Irvine (Burnley)
29

1966–67
Manchester United (7)
Nottingham Forest
Tottenham Hotspur
 Ron Davies (Southampton)
37

1967–68
Manchester City (2)
Manchester United
Liverpool
 George Best (Manchester United)
 Ron Davies (Southampton)
28

1968–69
Leeds United
Liverpool
Everton
 Jimmy Greaves (Tottenham Hotspur)
27

1969–70
Everton (7)
Leeds United
Chelsea
 Jeff Astle (West Bromwich Albion)
25

1970–71
Arsenal (8)
Leeds United
Tottenham Hotspur
 Tony Brown (West Bromwich Albion)
28

1971–72
Derby County
Leeds United
Liverpool
 Francis Lee (Manchester City)
33

1972–73
Liverpool[2] (8)
Arsenal
Leeds United
 Pop Robson (West Ham United)
28

1973–74
Leeds United (2)
Liverpool
Derby County
 Mick Channon (Southampton)
21

1974–75
Derby County (2)
Liverpool
Ipswich Town
 Malcolm Macdonald (Newcastle United)
21

1975–76
Liverpool[2] (9)
Queens Park Rangers
Manchester United
 Ted MacDougall (Norwich City)
23

1976–77
Liverpool[3] (10)
Manchester City
Ipswich Town
 Malcolm Macdonald (Arsenal)
 Andy Gray (Aston Villa)
25

1977–78
Nottingham Forest[4]
Liverpool
Everton
 Bob Latchford (Everton)
30

1978–79
Liverpool (11)
Nottingham Forest
West Bromwich Albion
 Frank Worthington (Bolton Wanderers)
24

1979–80
Liverpool (12)
Manchester United
Ipswich Town
 Phil Boyer (Southampton)
23

1980–81
Aston Villa (7)
Ipswich Town
Arsenal
 Peter Withe (Aston Villa)
 Steve Archibald (Tottenham Hotspur)
20

1981–82 [5]
Liverpool[5](13)
Ipswich Town
Manchester United
 Kevin Keegan (Southampton)
26

1982–83
Liverpool[4] (14)
Watford
Manchester United
 Luther Blissett (Watford)
27

1983–84
Liverpool[3][4] (15)
Southampton
Nottingham Forest
 Ian Rush (Liverpool)
32

1984–85
Everton[6] (8)
Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur
 Kerry Dixon (Chelsea)
 Gary Lineker (Leicester City)
24

1985–86
Liverpool (16)
Everton
West Ham United
 Gary Lineker (Everton)
30

1986–87
Everton (9)
Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur
 Clive Allen (Tottenham Hotspur)
33

1987–88
Liverpool (17)
Manchester United
Nottingham Forest
 John Aldridge (Liverpool)
26

1988–89
Arsenal (9)
Liverpool
Nottingham Forest
 Alan Smith (Arsenal)
23

1989–90
Liverpool (18)
Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur
 Gary Lineker (Tottenham Hotspur)
24

1990–91
Arsenal (10)
Liverpool
Crystal Palace
 Alan Smith (Arsenal)
22

1991–92
Leeds United (3)
Manchester United
Sheffield Wednesday
 Ian Wright (Crystal Palace/Arsenal)
29

text: Premier League (1992–present)[edit]

text:
Year
Champions
(number of titles)
Points
Runners-up
Points
Third place
Points
Top goalscorer
Goals

1992–93
Manchester United (8)

84

Aston Villa

74

Norwich City

72

 Teddy Sheringham (Nottingham Forest/Tottenham)
22

1993–94
Manchester United (9)

92

Blackburn Rovers

84

Newcastle United

77

 Andrew Cole (Newcastle United)
34

1994–95
Blackburn Rovers (3)

89

Manchester United

88

Nottingham Forest

77

 Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers)
34

1995–96
Manchester United (10)

82

Newcastle United

78

Liverpool

71

 Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers)
31

1996–97
Manchester United (11)

75

Newcastle United

68

Arsenal

68

 Alan Shearer (Newcastle United)
25

1997–98
Arsenal (11)

78

Manchester United

77

Liverpool

65

 Chris Sutton (Blackburn Rovers)
 Dion Dublin (Coventry City)
 Michael Owen (Liverpool)
18

1998–99
Manchester United[7] (12)

79

Arsenal

78

Chelsea

75

 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Leeds United)
 Michael Owen (Liverpool)
 Dwight Yorke (Manchester United)
18

1999–2000
Manchester United (13)

91

Arsenal

73

Leeds United

69

 Kevin Phillips (Sunderland)
30

2000–01
Manchester United (14)

80

Arsenal

70

Liverpool

69

 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Chelsea)
23

2001–02
Arsenal (12)

87

Liverpool

80

Manchester United

77

 Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
24

2002–03
Manchester United (15)

83

Arsenal

78

Newcastle United

69

 Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United)
25

2003–04
Arsenal[1] (13)

90

Chelsea

79

Manchester United

75

 Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
30

2004–05
Chelsea[4] (2)

95

Arsenal

83

Manchester United

77

 Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
25

2005–06
Chelsea (3)

91

Manchester United

83

Liverpool

82

 Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
27

2006–07
Manchester United (16)

89

Chelsea

83

Liverpool

68

 Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
20

2007–08
Manchester United[3] (17)

87

Chelsea

85

Arsenal

83

 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
31

2008–09
Manchester United[4] (18)

90

Liverpool

86

Chelsea

83

 Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
19

2009–10
Chelsea (4)

86

Manchester United

85

Arsenal

75

 Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
29

2010–11
Manchester United (19)

80

Chelsea

71

Manchester City

71

 Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United)
 Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)
20

2011–12
Manchester City (3)

89

Manchester United

89

Arsenal

70

 Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
30

2012–13
Manchester United (20)

89

Manchester City

78

Chelsea

75

 Robin van Persie (Manchester United)
26

2013–14
Manchester City[4] (4)

86

Liverpool

84

Chelsea

82

 Luis Suárez (Liverpool)
31

2014–15
Chelsea[4] (5)

87

Manchester City

79

Arsenal

75

 Sergio Agüero (Manchester City)
26

2015–16
Leicester City

81

Arsenal

71

Tottenham Hotspur

70

 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
25

2016–17
Chelsea (6)

93

Tottenham Hotspur

86

Manchester City

78

 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
29

text: Bold indicates Double winners – i.e. League and FA Cup winners OR League and European Cup winners

text: Bold Italic indicates Treble winners – i.e. League, FA Cup and European Cup winners

text: Total titles won[edit]

text: Teams in bold compete in the Premier League as of the 2017–18 season.

text:
Club
Winners
Runners-up
Winning seasons

Manchester United

20

15

1907–08, 1910–11, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13

Liverpool

18

13

1900–01, 1905–06, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1946–47, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90

Arsenal

13

9

1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1970–71, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04

Everton

9

7

1890–91, 1914–15, 1927–28, 1931–32, 1938–39, 1962–63, 1969–70, 1984–85, 1986–87

Aston Villa

7

10

1893–94, 1895–96, 1896–97, 1898–99, 1899–1900, 1909–10, 1980–81

Sunderland

6

5

1891–92, 1892–93, 1894–95, 1901–02, 1912–13, 1935–36

Chelsea

6

4

1954–55, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2014–15, 2016–17

Manchester City

4

5

1936–37, 1967–68, 2011–12, 2013–14

Newcastle United

4

2

1904–05, 1906–07, 1908–09, 1926–27

Sheffield Wednesday

4

1

1902–03, 1903–04, 1928–29, 1929–30

Leeds United

3

5

1968–69, 1973–74, 1991–92

Wolverhampton Wanderers

3

5

1953–54, 1957–58, 1958–59

Huddersfield Town

3

3

1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26

Blackburn Rovers

3

1

1911–12, 1913–14, 1994–95

Preston North End

2

6

1888–89, 1889–90

Tottenham Hotspur

2

5

1950–51, 1960–61

Derby County

2

3

1971–72, 1974–75

Burnley

2

2

1920–21, 1959–60

Portsmouth

2

0

1948–49, 1949–50

Ipswich Town

1

2

1961–62

Nottingham Forest

1

2

1977–78

Sheffield United

1

2

1897–98

West Bromwich Albion

1

2

1919–20

Leicester City

1

1

2015–16

Bristol City

0

1

Oldham Athletic

0

1

Cardiff City

0

1

Charlton Athletic

0

1

Blackpool

0

1

Queen's Park Rangers

0

1

Watford

0

1

Southampton

0

1

text: Total titles won by region[edit]

text:
Region
Number of titles
Clubs

North West

58

Manchester United (20), Liverpool (18), Everton (9), Manchester City (4) Blackburn Rovers (3), Burnley (2), Preston North End (2)

London

21

Arsenal (13), Chelsea (6), Tottenham Hotspur (2)

Yorkshire

11

Sheffield Wednesday (4), Huddersfield Town (3), Leeds United (3), Sheffield United (1)

West Midlands

11

Aston Villa (7), Wolverhampton Wanderers (3), West Bromwich Albion (1)

North East

10

Sunderland (6), Newcastle United (4)

East Midlands

4

Derby County (2), Leicester City (1), Nottingham Forest (1)

South East

2

Portsmouth (2)

East of England

1

Ipswich Town (1)

South West

–

Wales

–

text: By City / Town[edit]

text:
City / Town
Championships
Clubs

Liverpool

27

Liverpool (18), Everton (9)

Manchester

24

Manchester United (20), Manchester City (4)

London

21

Arsenal (13), Chelsea (6), Tottenham Hotspur (2)

Birmingham

7

Aston Villa (7)

Sunderland

6

Sunderland (6)

Sheffield

5

Sheffield Wednesday (4), Sheffield United (1)

Newcastle

4

Newcastle United (4)

Blackburn

3

Blackburn Rovers (3)

Huddersfield

3

Huddersfield Town (3)

Leeds

3

Leeds United (3)

Wolverhampton

3

Wolverhampton Wanderers (3)

Burnley

2

Burnley (2)

Derby

2

Derby County (2)

Portsmouth

2

Portsmouth (2)

Preston

2

Preston North End (2)

Ipswich

1

Ipswich Town (1)

Leicester

1

Leicester City (1)

Nottingham

1

Nottingham Forest (1)

West Bromwich

1

West Bromwich Albion (1)

text: Multiple trophy wins[edit]

text: See The Double and The Treble.