WILLIAM CROFT ~ Baptized December 30, 1678 ~ August 14, 1727

William Croft (baptized 30 December 1678 – 14 August 1727) was an English composer and organist.

Croft was born at the Manor House, Nether Ettington, Warwickshire. He was educated at the Chapel Royal, under the instruction of John Blow, and remained there until 1698. Two years after this departure, he became organist of St. Anne's Church, Soho. In 1707, he took over the Chapel Royal's "Master of the Children" post, which had been left vacant by the suicide of Jeremiah Clarke (one of Croft's pupils in this capacity was Maurice Greene). The following year, Croft succeeded Blow (who had lately died) as organist of Westminster Abbey. He composed works for the funeral of Queen Anne (1714) and for the coronation of King George I (1715).

In 1724, Croft published Musica Sacra, a collection of church music, the first such collection to be printed in the form of a score. It contains a Burial Service, which may have been written for Queen Anne or for the Duke of Marlborough; it has been used at state funerals in the United Kingdom ever since. Shortly afterwards his health deteriorated, and he died while visiting Bath.

One of Croft's most enduring pieces is the hymn tune "St Anne" written to the poem O God, Our Help in Ages Past by Isaac Watts. Other composers subsequently incorporated the tune in their own works. Handel used it, for instance, in an anthem entitled O Praise the Lord. Bach's Fugue in E-flat major BWV 552 is often called the "St. Anne", due to the similarity (coincidental in this case) of its subject to the hymn melody's first phrase. Croft also wrote various violin sonatas, which are not nearly as often performed as is his religious music, but which deserve revival and have been occasionally recorded.

Image & text;wikipedia.com

I have used Croft's hymn tune "St. Anne" with Isaac Watts' poem at the funerals for my Father, Mother and Dennis ...and plan to have it sung at my own.

PRINCE RUPERT & ROSE ~ December 29th

Although there's not room in the heading, it looks as though I should add another category for this blog:.... DOGS........ or at least Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

My handsome Cavaliers, Prince Rupert and his sister Rose, would have been fifteen years old today.

I first met Rose and Rupert the day of my Mother's memorial service fourteen years ago this coming March. After Mother died three days before her birthday, I returned to San Francisco. Then Dennis and I went back for her memorial service a few weeks later.

Before leaving, I leafed through the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club yearbook and pointed out to Dennis a black and white photo of a beautiful black and tan cavalier. "That's just the kind of black and tan I'd like to have." Her name was Polly. Then I noticed that the breeder lived in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, about eighteen miles from Harrisburg, my hometown. Dillsburg was where my Mother played golf at a public golf club. (Mother loved golf, but was always careful with her expenses.)

So after the big memorial service at Grace Church, when Chanticleer sang the Biebl Ave Maria as a prelude before the service, and before their flight from Middletown 45 minutes later (more about that in March) and the symbolic interment on the hillside cemetary in Woolrich (Mother had donated her body for research, so we initially buried only a lock of her hair ... and three golf balls) Dennis and I drove back from my Mother's family's Hunting Camp and visited Mary Louise Gregg at her home and kennel, Stellar Cavaliers, in Dillsburg.

Cynthia had already given Dennis India Pudding and I was looking for an assertive dog, who could stand up to her. My introduction to Rupert was observing him bite the tail of his sister Celine. I thought: "That's the little guy for me!" There was a Titanic movie theme to that litter. Rupert's real name is "Stellar Coeur de Leon." And Rose is "Stellar Coeur de la Mer" -- the name of the blue diamond in the movie. So of course, Celine was appropriate as well!

Eight weeks or so later my Prince Rupert (named for Prince Rupert of the Rhine, nephew of Charles I during the English Civil War, and commander of the Cavalier cavalry --- a somewhat fitting name for a Cavalier dog, I thought) flew cross country to Sacramento with a friend of Mary Louise's and the judge for a Sacramento dog show.

Debbie Cornue drove Dennis, me and India Pudding to meet him at the Sacramento airport. Dennis never let me forget that I caused us to drive twenty miles out of our way, because I wrongly assumed there would be clearly marked signs to the airport on the highway to the California State Capital.

Rupert acted as though he owned his sister at times. In a way he did. A few years after he arrived in San Francisco, Rupert went back to Dillsburg to become a daddy, and the fee for his services was his sister Rose!

My Christmas miracle three years ago was the survival of my precious Rose. The vet didn't discover the peach pit blockage for six days. Mary Louise Gregg tells me that most dogs with a similar blockage don't survive unless surgery is performed before the third day. Dear Rose had an amazing desire to live... and her wonderful appetite completely returned two years ago. I am still so grateful that she had another eleven good months to live.

I lost dear Rose just before Thanksgiving three years ago. And my boy Rupert departed two years ago this past August. How I miss them both, and dear Bette, who died last August. Now I have my Blenheim boy, Renzo. Life goes on.

PUCK's BIRTHDAY

Today is Puck's birthday. It was because of her that I live in my spacious present apartment - a seven room flat I occupy with a good friend, one dog... and lots of rugs, antiques and books.

Carol Rineheimer was an only child whose older parents belonged to my father's church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Her father was president of Pennsylvania Blue Shield. Carol and I went to kindergarten together at the Catherine Sweeney Day School and were in MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship) through junior high. Then I went away to boarding school at The Mercersburg Academy and she, to high School on the Camp Hill side of the river. After that I really wasn't in touch with her for several years.

While I was in New Haven, Carol went to art school at RISD, Rhode Island School of Design, but transferred to the Art Institute in Kansas City, Missouri, because her parents wanted to break up what they thought was a bad relationship. It didn't work. He just followed her to Kansas City. It was there that Carol adopted the name 'Puck' from Midsummer's Night Dream.

In the winter of 1972/73 I lived at home in Harrisburg to help my parents get resettled after Hurricane Agnes, but was planning to move to San Francisco in the Spring. Puck was living in the avenues with a med student at UCSF. When she heard from her parents that I was moving to San Francsico, she offered to find a place to live together. She had just broken up with her boyfriend. I agreed and asked only for two things, a bay window in which I could put a baby grand piano, and a place that would allow dogs. My Dad was lending me his cocker spaniel EZ Dandy for the trip. (That's a separate story sometime.) So I've never had to look for an apartment in San Francisco. Puck found the place on 23rd Street. Then she was back East and gave me keys to the place before I even left. I was a renter as of May 1st, but didn't move in until Memorial day weekend 1973.

Puck lived here through Thanksgiving, then moved to Marin. She met her future husband Greg Erikson while living here. Puck asked me to play my 'cello at her wedding on the patio at her future in-laws' horse ranch in Solvang, a cutsey Danish community near Santa Barbara. (Dennis once rode his bianchi bike in the Solvang Century.)

Puck wanted me to play Pavane for a Dead Princess by Maurice Ravel. It really means dance in an antique style, rather than something funereal. Still it is rather subtle. I didn't want to play it as 'cello solo, so I asked a flautist friend, Dennis Parlotto, from Grace Cathedral choir to join me.

We drove down together, then afterwards he dropped me off in Long Beach by the Queen Mary to meet somebody I had met on a weekend in San Francisco.

I clearly remember a conversation I had with Dennis Parlotto in Huntington Park between services, more than thirty-five years ago. I forget how we got on to it-- probably a discussion of my traumatic past-- but Dennis said he concluded that sexual orientation was more nature than nurture. His reasoning: he was from a family with a dominant, over-bearing mother and absent father; he was a tenor, a flute player, a ballet dancer, and had a lot of gay friends. By all rights, he felt he should be gay. Yet he was completely straight. Dennis had married and was divorced, and had a young child, whom he adored. He later moved to New York to dance professionally.

Puck-- probably Carol again-- got divorced herself. She had a beautiful baby girl, Jennifer, who's probably in her thirties now. She looked like a Gerber baby. I remember how Puck said she felt sorry for Jennifer. She would never have to develop her personality as did her mother. I've completely lost touch with them. This post may encourage me to try to reestablish communication. In any case, Happy Birthday to Puck!!

Image: cse.sc.edu/~vargasje/GerberBaby.jpg

WESTMINSTER ABBEY Consecrated December 28, 1065 CE

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English, later British and later still (and currently) monarchs of the Commonwealth Realms. It briefly held the status of a cathedral from 1546–1556, and is a Royal Peculiar.

Westminster Abbey is governed by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, as established by Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I in 1560, which created it as the Collegiate Church of St Peter Westminster and a Royal Peculiar under the personal jurisdiction of the Sovereign. The members of the Chapter are the Dean and four residentiary Canons, assisted by the Receiver General and Chapter Clerk. One of the Canons is also Rector of St Margaret’s Church Westminster Abbey (who also holds the post of Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons). In addition to the Dean and Canons there are at present two full time minor canons, one precentor the other succentor. The office of Priest Vicar was created in the 1970s for those who assist the minor canons. Together with the Clergy and Receiver General and Chapter Clerk various Lay Officers constitute the College, including the Organist and Master of the Choristers, the Registrar, the Auditor, the Legal Secretary, the Surveyor of the Fabric, the Head Master of the Choir School, the Keeper of the Muniments and the Clerk of the Works, as well as twelve Lay Vicars and ten of the choristers and the High Steward and High Bailiff. There are also forty Queen’s Scholars who are pupils at Westminster School (the School has its own Governing Body). Those most directly concerned with liturgical and ceremonial matters are the two Minor Canons and the Organist and Master of the Choristers.

History

According to a tradition first reported by Sulcard in about 1080, the Abbey was first founded in the time of Mellitus (d. 624), Bishop of London, on the present site, then known as Thorn Ey (Thorn Island); based on a late 'tradition' that a fisherman called ' Aldrich ' on the River Thames saw a vision of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to be quoted to justify the gifts of salmon from Thames fishermen that the Abbey received in later years. The proven origins are that in the 960s or early 970s, Saint Dunstan, assisted by King Edgar, planted a community of Benedictine monks here. A stone Abbey was built around 1045–1050 by King Edward the Confessor as part of his palace there: it was consecrated on December 28, 1065, only a week before the Confessor's death and subsequent funeral and burial. It was the site of the last coronation prior to the Norman Invasion, that of his successor King Harold. It was later rebuilt by Henry III from 1245, who had selected the site for his burial.

The only extant depiction of the original Abbey, in the Romanesque style that is called Norman in England, together with the adjacent Palace of Westminster, is in the Bayeux Tapestry. Increased endowments supported a community increased from a dozen monks in Dunstan's original foundation, to about eighty monks.

The Abbot and learned monks, in close proximity to the Royal Palace of Westminster, the seat of government from the later twelfth century, became a powerful force in the centuries after the Norman Conquest: the Abbot was often employed on royal service and in due course took his place in the House of Lords as of right. Released from the burdens of spiritual leadership, which passed to the reformed Cluniac movement after the mid-tenth century, and occupied with the administration of great landed properties, some of which lay far from Westminster, "the Benedictines achieved a remarkable degree of identification with the secular life of their times, and particularly with upper-class life", Barbara Harvey concluded, to the extent that her depiction of daily life. provides a wider view of the concerns of the English gentry in the High and Late Middle Ages. The proximity of the Palace of Westminster did not extend to providing monks or abbots with high royal connections; in social origin the Benedictines of Westminster were as modest as most of the order. The abbot remained Lord of the Manor of Westminster as a town of two to three thousand persons grew around it: as a consumer and employer on a grand scale the monastery helped fuel the town economy, and relations with the town remained unusually cordial, but no enfranchising charter was issued during the Middle Ages. The abbey built shops and dwellings on the west side, encroaching upon the sanctuary.

The Abbey became the coronation site of Norman kings, but none were buried there until Henry III, intensely devoted to the cult of the Confessor, rebuilt the Abbey in Anglo-French Gothic style as a shrine to honour St Edward the Confessor and as a suitably regal setting for Henry's own tomb, under the highest Gothic nave in England. The Confessor's shrine subsequently played a great part in his canonisation. The work continued between 1245 and 1517 and was largely finished by the architect Henry Yevele in the reign of King Richard II. Henry VII added a Perpendicular style chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1503 (known as the Henry VII Chapel). Much of the stone came from Caen, in France (Caen stone), the Isle of Portland (Portland stone) and the Loire Valley region of France (tuffeau limestone).

1535, the Abbey's annual income of £2400–2800 during the assessment attendant on the Dissolution of the Monasteries rendered it second in wealth only to Glastonbury Abbey. Henry VIII had assumed direct royal control in 1539 and granted the Abbey cathedral status by charter in 1540, simultaneously issuing letters patent establishing the Diocese of Westminster. By granting the Abbey cathedral status Henry VIII gained an excuse to spare it from the destruction or dissolution which he inflicted on most English abbeys during this period. Westminster was a cathedral only until 1550. The expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul" may arise from this period when money meant for the Abbey, which was dedicated to St Peter, was diverted to the treasury of St Paul's Cathedral.

The Abbey was restored to the Benedictines under the Roman Catholic Queen Mary, but they were again ejected under Queen Elizabeth I in 1559. In 1579, Elizabeth re-established Westminster as a "Royal Peculiar"—a church responsible directly to the sovereign, rather than to a diocesan bishop—and made it the Collegiate Church of St Peter, (that is a church with an attached chapter of canons, headed by a dean). The last Abbot was made the first Dean. It suffered damage during the turbulent 1640s, when it was attacked by Puritan iconoclasts, but was again protected by its close ties to the state during the Commonwealth period. Oliver Cromwell was given an elaborate funeral there in 1658, only to be disinterred in January 1661 and posthumously hanged from a nearby gibbet.

The abbey's two western towers were built between 1722 and 1745 by Nicholas Hawksmoor, constructed from Portland stone to an early example of a Gothic Revival design. Further rebuilding and restoration occurred in the 19th century under Sir George Gilbert Scott. A narthex for the west front was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in the mid C20 but was not executed.

Until the 19th century, Westminster was the third seat of learning in England, after Oxford and Cambridge. It was here that the first third of the King James Bible Old Testament and the last half of the New Testament were translated. The New English Bible was also put together here in the 20th century. Westminster suffered minor damage during the Blitz on November 15, 1940.

Coronations

King Edward's ChairSince the coronations in 1066 of both King Harold and William the Conqueror, all English and British monarchs (except Edward V and Edward VIII, who did not have coronations) have been crowned in the Abbey. Henry III was unable to be crowned in London when he first came to the throne because Prince Louis of France had taken control of the city, and so the king was crowned in Gloucester Cathedral. However, this coronation was deemed by the Pope to be improper, and a further coronation was held in the Abbey on 17 May 1220. Lady Jane Grey, whose reign lasted just nine days and was of doubtful legality, was also never crowned. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the traditional cleric in the coronation ceremony.

King Edward's Chair (or St Edward's Chair), the throne on which British sovereigns are seated at the moment of coronation, is housed within the Abbey and has been used at every coronation since 1308; from 1301 to 1996 (except for a short time in 1950 when it was temporarily stolen by Scottish nationalists), the chair also housed the Stone of Scone upon which the kings of Scotland are crowned, but pending another coronation the Stone is now kept in Scotland.

Image & text:wikipedia.com

Note: the abbey was consecrated only a year before the Norman Conquest. Also the West towers (as shown above) were built at the beginning of the 18th Century in early Gothic Revival style.

HAGIA SOPHIA ~ Completed December 27, 537 CE

Hagia Sophia (Turkish: Ayasofya, from the Greek: γία Σοφία, "Holy Wisdom"; Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia) is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and to have "changed the history of architecture."

It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral in 1520. The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 A.D. on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and was in fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site (the previous two had both been destroyed by riots). It was designed by two architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The Church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 15m (49 foot) silver iconostasis. It was the seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly one thousand years. It was the church in which Cardinal Humbert marched up to the altar and excommunicated Cerularius, marking the official start of the Great Schism.

In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into a mosque. The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels were removed, and many of the mosaics were eventually plastered over. The Islamic features — such as the mihrab, the minbar, and the four minarets outside — were added over the course of its history under the Ottomans. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by the Republic of Turkey.

For almost 500 years the principal mosque of Istanbul, Hagia Sophia served as a model for many of the Ottoman mosques such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque of Istanbul), the Şehzade Mosque, the Süleymaniye Mosque, the Rüstem Pasha Mosque, and the Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque.

Although it is sometimes referred to as Santa Sophia, the Greek name in full is Ναός ς γίας το Θεο Σοφίας, Church of the Holy Wisdom of God, the Church being dedicated to Jesus Christ, in Eastern Orthodox theology, the Holy Wisdom of God ("Sophia" being the phonetic spelling in Latin of the Greek word for wisdom). So Santa Sophia should be understood as the italianate title of the church, Holy Wisdom.

Image & text:wikipedia.com

Twice have I spent time in this extraordinary and glorious space. Both were with my friend Umer -- in 2000 with Dennis on our Mediterranean cruise, and in 2007 on a weekend jaunt in the middle of a return trip to Italy. I telephoned Umer yesterday morning after he had left a message on Christmas Eve. He invited me back to visit soon. If only I could afford it! Eventually I will.

BOXING DAY ~ DECEMBER 26th

Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. It falls on December 26th, which is also St. Stephen's Day.

St. Stephen was a little known saint who achieved eternal fame by being the first Christian to be martyred for his faith, and he met his death by stoning.

Boxing Day is so called because on this day it was customary for tradesmen to collect their Christmas boxes or gifts in return for good service throughout the year. Also, it included giving money and other gifts to charitable institutions, and the needy. The holiday may date from as early as the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is not known. It may have begun with the Lords and Ladies of England, who gave Christmas boxes/gifts to their servants on December 26, or maybe by priests, who opened the church's alms (charity boxes), and distributed the contents to the poor and needy.

In England this day has become part of the celebrations of being with family-- a day to visit other relations, and to have a rest from the day before, to play fun games. Some families buy a new game each year, but still bring out the old favorites. For some it is good to have the two days, as on one of the days you can visit with your parents, and the other day your in-laws. St. Stephen is the patron saint of horses, so Boxing Day became associated with horse-racing and hunting. Other sports are also held on this day like football and rugby.

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day is the Christmas season for many people in England.

Image & text:homepages.tesco.net

Boxing Day is a bank holiday or a public holiday in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada Germany, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and countries in the Commonwealth of Nations with a mainly Christian population. In South Africa this public holiday is now known as the Day of Goodwill.

Etymology
The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon tradition giving seasonal gifts (in the form of a "Christmas box") to less wealthy people and slaves. In the United Kingdom this was later extended to various workpeople such as labourers, servants, tradespeople and postal workers.

Boxing day is on December 26th in 2009

Public holiday
Boxing Day is traditionally celebrated on 26 December, St. Stephen's Day, the day after Christmas Day. Unlike St. Stephen's Day, Boxing Day is a secular holiday and is not always on 26 December: the public holiday is generally moved to the following Monday if 26 December is a Saturday. If 25 December is a Saturday then both the Monday and Tuesday may be public holidays. However the date of observance of Boxing Day varies between countries.

In Ireland—when it was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland—the UK's Bank Holidays Act 1871 established the feast day of St Stephen as a non-moveable public holiday on 26 December. Since Partition, the name "Boxing Day" is used only by the authorities in Northern Ireland (which remained part of the United Kingdom). Their Boxing Day is a moveable public holiday in line with the rest of the United Kingdom.

The Banking and Financial Dealings Act of 1971 established "Boxing Day" as a public holiday in Scotland. In the Australian state of South Australia, 26 December is a public holiday known as Proclamation Day.

Text:wikipedia.com

JEAN RACINE ~ December 22, 1639 ~ April 21, 1699

Jean Racine (December 22, 1639 – April 21, 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th century France (along with Molière and Corneille), and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition. Racine was primarily a tragedian, though he did write one comedy.

In his own time, Racine found himself compared constantly with his contemporaries, especially the great Pierre Corneille. In his own plays, Racine sought to abandon the ornate and almost otherworldly intricacy that Corneille so favored. Audiences and critics were divided over the worth of Racine as an up and coming playwright. Audiences admired his return to simplicity and their ability to relate to his more human characters, while critics insisted on judging him according to the traditional standards of Aristotle and his Italian commentators from which he tended to stray. Attitudes shifted, however, as Racine began to eclipse Corneille. In 1674 the highly respected poet and critic Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (also known simply as "Boileau") published his Art Poétique which deemed Racine's model of tragedy superior to that of Corneille. This erased all doubts as to Racine's abilities as a dramatist and established him as one of the period's great literary minds.

Butler describes this period as Racine's "apotheosis," his highest point of admiration. Racine's ascent to literary fame coincided with other prodigious cultural and political events in French history. This period saw the rise of literary giants like Molière, Jean de La Fontaine, Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, and François de La Rochefoucauld as well as Louis Le Vau's historic expansion of the Palace of Versailles, Jean-Baptiste Lully's revolution in Baroque music, and most importantly, the ascension of Louis XIV to the throne of France.

Under Louis XIV's revolutionary reign, France rose up from a long period of civil discord to new heights of international prominence. Political achievement coincided with cultural and gave birth to an evolution of France's national identity, known as l'esprit français. This new self perception acknowledged the superiority of all things French; the French believed France was home to the greatest king, the greatest armies, the greatest people, and, subsequently, the greatest culture. In this new national mindset, Racine and his work were practically deified, established as the perfect model of dramatic tragedy by which all other plays would be judged. Butler blames the consequential "withering" of French drama on Racine's idolized image, saying that such rigid adherence to one model eventually made all new French drama a stale imitation.

Image & text:wikipedia.com

Al Gore's Concession Speech ~ December 13, 2000

2000 – American Vice President Al Gore delivers his concession speech effectively ending his hopes of becoming the 43rd President of the United States.

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is the former 45th Vice President of the United States who served from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He is currently an author, businessperson, and American environmental activist who starred in the 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which won an Academy Award in 2007. Gore also wrote the book An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It, which won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in February 2009.

He was involved in American politics for 24 years, serving first in the U.S. House of Representatives (1977–85) and later in the U.S. Senate (1985–93) (representingTennessee) before becoming vice president. Gore was the Democratic nominee for president in the 2000 presidential election. He won the popular vote by approximately 500,000 votes, but ultimately lost the electoral college to Republican candidate George W. Bush when the legal controversy over the Florida election recount was eventually settled in the U.S. Supreme Court by a 5–4 margin in favor of Bush.

Gore is the recipient of a number of awards. He and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. In addition, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Current TV in 2007, a Webby Award in 2005, and was named as a runner-up for Time's 2007 Person of the Year.

He is currently the founder and chair of Alliance for Climate Protection, the co-founder and chair of Generation Investment Management, the co-founder and chair of Current TV, a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc., and a senior advisor to Google. Gore is also a partner in the venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, heading that firm's climate change solutions group. In addition, he is on the faculty of Middle Tennessee State University as a visiting professor, and was a visiting professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Fisk University, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Image & text:wikipedia.com