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Society of Friends of Music in Vienna
The Society of Friends of Music in Vienna (briefly : Wiener Musikverein) is a traditional club in Vienna to promote musical culture. It was founded in 1812.
(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of the site!)
Founded Concert 1812
Foundation
On 29 November and 3 December 1812 was performed in the Winter Riding School of the Hofburg the Handel oratorio Timothy. This concert can be considered as a trigger for the founding of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna. As the founder of the association is Joseph Sonnleithner (1766-1835) then secretary of the imperial Viennese court theater (Burgtheater and Kärntnertortheater). The proceeds of the concert should benefit the newly founded institution. Emperor Franz I donated 1,000 guilders, the net profit amounted to 25,934 florins finally Viennese currency. First office of the company was the Lobkowitz Palace today Lobkowitzplatz.
Goals
According to its statutes, which originated in 1814, is the "Empor renewed progress on music in all its branches" primary purpose of the Company.
The Friends of Music Society reaches(d) this in three ways:
The establishment of a conservatory,
The systematic collection of musicological documents (archive)
Organizing their own concerts.
To date, private commitment of individual members shapes the functioning of the Company. Since January 2000, all editions of the monthly appearing club newspaper "music lovers" on the website of the company are available .
Concerts
On the initiative of Antonio Salieri's first choral activities at the Musikverein go back, for example, also in 1824 at the Vienna initial or first performances of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and 9th Symphony was involved. After there had been choral concerts of the Association for many years, then in 1858 was the official establishment of the Concert Choir held as a branch association of the Vienna Musikverein. The first principal conductor of the Vienna Singing Society was Johann von Herbeck, directs the choir since 1991, Johannes Prinz.
Musikverein (1831-1870) to the Tuchlauben (home to the Red Hedgehog), first building on the right, then No. 558, now No. 12
First concert hall of the society
1829 , the Company purchased a scoring for Kärnthnerviertl house on the Tuchlauben (home to the Red Hedgehog, rented from 1822, then House # 558, today Tuchlauben 12) with several business offices and apartments, it had the house demolished and gave at Franz Lossl (Site Manager: Carl Högl) by around 88,000 guilders (including equipment) the construction of a three storey new building with a concert hall on the 1st Floor in order. The site was approximately opposite the former Ofenlochgasse, since 1863 Kleeblattgasse. The Brandstätte that time not yet branched of from the Tuchlauben, but was a small place near the St. Stephen's Cathedral.
The festival opening concert of the hall took place on 4 November 1831 instead (then the cholera raged in Vienna). The Musikverein contributed among other things at this location (visitor concerts were still highly popular in the large ball room of the Hofburg ) essentially to the public concert life in Vienna.
The hall proved with 700 seats soon to be too small, but was still used for almost 40 years. 1846 gas lighting was installed. In the upper floors of the Conservatory and the archives of the Society, offices and rehearsal rooms were located.
The Society of Friends of Music in 1870 moved into their new house and sold its first house in the same year. In the subsequent use of it emerged inter alia the Strampfer-Theatre. The building was demolished in 1885.
Vienna Musikverein in 1898
Today's office of the Company
1863, Emperor Franz Joseph I donates the society from the state capital, the area on the bank of the river opposite the Vienna Karlskirche (church). It was on the former glacis of the 1858 demolished city walls around the old town. 1861-1869 emerged near the present-day Vienna State Opera, on the neighboring construction site on the riverbank 1865-1868 the Vienna Künstlerhaus, on the direction of ring road adjacent square 1862-1865 today's Imperial Hotel.
The of Theophil Hansen, who later built the Parliament, designed house, shortened to Vienna Musikverein, was on 6 January 1870 opened with a celebratory concert. That same year, the High Steward of the Emperor, Prince Constantine zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, was in gratitude for the favor of the imperial court for the new building project appointed as a honorary member of the society.
1869 Carl Heissler was the first conductor of the orchestra of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna. 187, and 1872 was the Russian composer Anton Rubinstein artistic director of the company. After a short time he was replaced by Johannes Brahms.
Children and Youth Projects
In order to convey the joy of music and access to classical culture children and adolescents, the Friends of Music Society offers a pertinent program: In April 1989, it was the first "Celebration for Children" in all the rooms of the Musikverein building, since the offer has been steadily expanded and now includes more than 150 projects for all ages 3-19 years. The 20-year anniversary of the youth concerts was celebrated with a big party at the Vienna Musikverein in 2009. Symbol of child and youth concerts of the Society of Friends of Music is the concert clown Allegretto.
Artistic performances will be processed in accordance with the relevant age requirements paying particular attention to opportunities for active contribution. These include sing and dance along to the little ones, a gallery of children's drawings on the Internet and artist talks under the slogan "meet the artist" with internationally renowned conductors, soloists and composers for 15- to 19- year-old.
Conservatory of the Society of Music Lovers
The Conservatory was the first public music school in Vienna and was founded in 1819 by the violinist Joseph Böhm. As early as 1818, the Court Kapellmeister Antonio Salieri began to form a singing class. The general musical newspaper wrote here about 7 January 1818: "As the beginning of a newly established Conservatory imparts our worthy Hofkapellm. (chapel masteer) Salieri already to 12 girls and 12 boys gratuitous singing lessons."
On 19 April, the first 24 students of the Conservatory presented themselves in a collective concert of the Friends of Music to the public and sing an A cappella choral of Salieri. The dedication on the autograph reads: "Ringraziamento because farsi alli Benefattori del Conservatorio della musica nazionale inglese dalli primi Ventiquattro allieve dodici Ragazzi e dodici Ragazze, di detto luogo, nella quarta accademia dei dilettanti il giorno 19 Aprile 1818".
In the 19th Century, this facility has been significantly expanded, in the 1890s it had more than 1,000 students and found imitation in Vienna in other such facilities. In 1909, the private institute was to resolution of the emperor as "k.k. Academy of Music and Dramatic Art" nationalized. Thus, it is predecessor of today's University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
Archive
The archives of the Society of Friends of Music is one of the most important music collections in the world.
Personalities
Musikverein building of 1870 (2006)
Musikverein building at night
Founder
Joseph Sonnleithner (1766-1835)
Co-Founder
Fanny von Arnstein (1758-1818)
Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz (1772-1816) , Major General, art lover and patron
Famous members
Leopold of Sonnleithner (1797-1873), lawyer and music collector
January Václav Voříšek (1791-1825), composer, pianist and organist, as a member in 1818.
Franz Schubert (1797-1828), full member from 12 June 1827
Concert directors
Carl Heissler, lithography by Joseph Kriehuber, 1866
Carl Heissler (1823-1878), Artistic Director 1869-1871
Anton Rubinstein, Artistic Director 1871-1872
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), concert director 1872-1875
Eduard Schön (1825-1879), Ministerialrat and composer, director in 1870
Johann von Herbeck (1831-1877), conductor and composer
Hans Richter (1843-1916), conductor, director until 1900
Franz Schalk (1863-1931), concert director 1904-1921
Ferdinand Löwe (1865-1925), concert director
Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954), concert director 1921-1927 (jointly with Leopold Reichwein)
Leopold Reichwein (1878-1945), concert director 1921-1927 (together with Wilhelm Furtwängler)
Robert Heger (1886-1978), concert director 1925-1933
Walter Legge (1906-1979), director from 1946
Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989), last concert director 1948-1964
Vice Presidents
Raphael Georg Kiesewetter (1773-1850), privy councillor and musician, vice president 1821-1843
Nikolaus Dumba (1830-1900), industrialist, vice president in 1880
Gustav Ortner (born 1935) , diplomat, vice president since 2001
Directorate members
Heinrich Eduard Josef von Lannoy (1787-1853), conductor and composer, member
Martin Gustav Nottebohm (1817-1882), musicologist and composer, member from 1858
Anthony van Hoboken (1887-1983), musicologist and collector, member since 1957
Brothers Czartoryski, circa 1870
Secretaries
Leopold Alexander Zellner, general secretary in 1880
Botstiber Hugo (1875-1941), secretary and office director 1905-1912
Angyan Thomas (born 1953), general and artistic director since 1988
Archivist
Martin Gustav Nottebohm in 1864
Eusebius Mandyczewski (1857-1929), musicologist and composer, from 1887
Karl Geiringer (1899-1989), musicologist and librarian, 1930-1938
Otto Biba (born 1946), musicologist and director of the archive, since 1979
A trigger plant (Stylidium graminifolium in Manly Dam. The pollen is stored on the nd of a lever which springs forwards and pollinates any insect visitor.
My first (2nd for that night) attempt at time-lapse photography compiled into a video. There is no sound but the lights are pretty.
Five minutes of taking a photo every two seconds (Pluto Trigger is great at doing this) = ~8 second video clip.
I plan on doing more of these in the near future; hopefully with some sound/music added into the mix.
Shooting a pellet gun through a water balloon.
Strobist Info:
Canon 580exII at 4 o'clock, 1/8 power
Canon 430exII at 8 o'clock, 1/8 power
Flashes triggered with Hiviz sound trigger
Dopo l’annuncio di aver firmato per la Rise Records, i T.S.O.L., storica punk hardcore band californiana, presenta il primo singolo estratto: Satellites, che potete ascoltare cliccando qui sotto:
clrvynt.com/tsol-satellites-lyric-video/
“The Trigger Complex” è uscito in...
GUARDA TUTTE LE FOTO SU www.punkadeka.it/t-s-l-primo-estratto-the-trigger-complex/
Famous Hollywood horse "Trigger" and his human friend Roy Rogers (rt) - cowboy singer, performer and all round good-guy. Roy gained early notereity as a talented Western singer in the original Sons of the Pioneers troupe in the 1930s. He became a movie star in short-serial feature films in the 1940s, and went on with a Cowboy TV show in the 1950s.
I like to think of Roy as one of the nicest people I've never met.
Dear UserThanks for choosing our Network DVR.This email is recorded and sent automatically by DVR.Reason as follows:Motion detection.Triggered channel:4,Time:2016-03-16 00:04:10You are suggested to check the recorded files, thanks for cooperation.
Girl, Goth, Gothic, Steampunk, Black, Brown, Gold, Corset, Dress, Blouse, Arm Guards, Cow Boy Hat, Hat, Goggles, Aperture, Aperture Blades, Gun, Wood, Metal, Barrel, Lion, Trigger, Necklace, Lipstick, Makeup,
Fotos: Fernando Bustos
Producción: Ailen Herrera - Brenda Barbero
Modelo: Camila Santos
MakeUp: Agustina Otero
Strobist info:
Canon 430 EX with Softbox, shoted with CTR-301P Wireless Flash Trigger.
This is my cat Trigger. Her brother, Dakota, unexpectedly died in August. He
used to be my dress up cat and now Trigger has had to take over that role
and I don't really think she's impressed. These are Lobster Claw Mittens I
made for a friends one-year old and wanted to have a picture of before I
hand them over. As I don't have a child or doll, the cat gets to model for
me.
Shannon in Oxford, UK
A strobist fun with a Campbell's Soup Mug.
Strobist Info:
YN460@1/64, camera left.
YN465@1/8, camera right cto gel
Christmas lights in a tree behind the table with mug.
CTR-301P Wireless Flash Trigger
Timer Remote Shutter
This is another attempt at lighting glass. I haven't come close to mastering the technique, but the book "Light Science and Magic - An introduction to Photographic Lighting" has an entire chapter devoted to this difficult subject, and what I've learned has come from this excellent book.
As a side benefit of working on lighting a beer bottle, I did get to drink a very good bottle of Double Stout from the Green Flash Brewing Co. of San Diego. We are fortunate to have so many good craft breweries in this area. And I do my part to support our local brewing companies. It's a dirty job ......etc., etc., etc.
I lit it by placing a YongnuoSB560 in a softbox behind the bottle, and then put a piece of black foam board a little bigger than the bottle, to act as a gobo, in front of the softbox, but behind the bottle. There was a little clean up work in Photoshop. The flash was in manual mode, and was triggered by a Tiny Trigger from scottrobertstudio.com.
Hey Flickr,
I hate how absent I've been to upload. It's been a busy few weeks.
This is my good buddy Mike, who is in the TV Production Academy next door to my Photo academy. He's doing a short film on photo shoots, or something like that. Today, me and my teacher found an old role of white seamless in the corner of our studio. So after taping it up, I had to jump on shooting with it. I love shooting on white, you can literally do whatever you want with it. I hope you like this shot.
Like Me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/melatphoto
Follow Me on Twitter: twitter.com/#!/prmelat0
Camera info:
Canon T1i, Canon EF 85mm f/1.8, f/1.8, 1/200s, ISO 100 (FOR ALL SHOTS)
Strobist Info:
-AlienBee B800 shot through a white beauty dish camera right and in front of subject. 5 feet high and varying distances away from subject. 1/32 Power
-Flash trigged with Cactus V5 triggers
Comments? Crit?
Trigger alerts. Willy is proud of his body, in a Borat mankini sort of way. This is the one that nearly pushed me over the edge. It's funny to me but still wrong. Wrong as a man in a thong. Which i've seen and wish i could unsee.
For those just joining us and wondering what the ?? i was hired to illustrate for a cardgame called Nutpunch by 1x5 Games. The name of the game is the object. Punch (metaphorically.... i hope) your opponent in the delicates whilst not being hit yourself.
Strobits: Shot using an Olympus FL40 in a shoot-thru umbrella to the right left of the camera, triggered via a YongNuo CTR-301P. The lights in the room were off and the curtains closed to reduce the amount of ambient light and I set the shutter speed high enough to ensure that the exposure was not affected by the ambient. I kept the aperture fairly wide to minimise depth of field, and as a result, the flash would've had to have been on pretty much the lowest setting possible. The umbrella will have been fairly close to the subject (no more than a meter away) to make the light as soft as possible by increasing the relative size of the source. I tried several placements of the flash but as long as I could keep it the same distance from Stacey each time, I didn't have to readjust the exposure. However, as the flash was so close, there was a lot of light fall off, as you can see in the difference of exposure between her right and left shoulders, so it was important to check each time to make sure that her face was still correctly exposed.
Both of them love to be in front of the camera.. :)) Perfect Aquarians..!! :)
Thats my sis and Sraddha..! (Kausthub's lovely lil daughter!)
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I just can't resist uploading these Trigger images as she is so full of personality and gets a lot of different expressions with all those wrinkles..
The art of war or the tools of Collateral Damage
Any weapon that has triggers, buttons, LCD screens, joysticks, levers, switches, pedals or any other form of ‘human delegates to machine to kill human’ mode of operation is a weapon to be used mostly against civilians.
For the 1000 comments I received that rime with ‘terrorists hiding between civilians’, and regardless of the interpretation of the intentions of the people pulling the triggers, all modern weaponry are fundamentally designed to kill civilians, not soldiers! It’s with much hypocrisy that countries, defense contractors and armies say that they are out there to minimize civilian casualty, for they have never been able to! Battles are never confined to a field in the desert, they are always fought over and/or to control civilian areas!
With the smallest automatic weapon, one man can shoot 40 bullets in few minutes, 40 bullets can potentially kill 40 men. If each solider can potentially kill 40 men, then an army equipped with the smallest weapons can potentially kill 40 times its size! Those weapons have an ‘intrinsic’ potential allowing them to always extend their reach beyond the opponents ‘protected’ army and to extort a much higher cost from the more ‘vulnerable’ civilians!
The Math of modern warfare and weapons is freaky, and regardless of the declared intentions, these little geeky marvels with fancy names (and smart adjectives), auto-manage, every time, to claim back their role as mass civilian exterminators! And this always happens despite the sour, the sorry and the apologetic... All of them!
At the end, Soldiers are the only collateral damage in wars! The rest is the real intended damage…
Dissuasive arms and preemptive wars
The race for those increasingly more lethal weapons is always made while convincing the masses with the hypocritical alibi of strategic balance, dissuasion and strategic peace! In reality it is only a mater of postponing a conflict until you get a much bigger stick!
From the womb of dissuasion, mad-strategists (scarier than mad-scientists) who think straight out of their butts have been preaching the ‘benefits’ and ‘moral correctness’ of preemptive strikes. BS on the side, this is only fostered by their arrogant belief that having a much, much, much longer stick (that happens to work by pushing buttons nowadays) can neutralize a potentially, potential, potentialicious threat. As for verifying whether the potential for the threat would concretize! Why bother?! ‘If you have the strategic dissuasive advantage, don’t sleep on it! Use it!’, it’s cheaper than verifying anything… and it’s boring to wait anyway! Not to forget that, at some point, they also need a ‘when and where’ to test the XXX Billion dollars in offense (defense for them) technology invested every year and to generate new demand! (…And what country boasts about its huge defense industry despite its little size?)
One of the dimensions of the latest war over Lebanon was, also, a pre-emptive strike to neutralize the elusive potential of Iran waging war against Israel and using the ridiculously long stick of the Israeli air force against Hizbollah bases. Needless to say, that once again, the collateral damage on the armed Hizbollah soldiers was low, while the real and painful damage was only imposed on civilians and their infrastructure.
My ‘last war related post’ wish list
When I wrote my first anti-war posting, I didn’t suspect the aggression would last that long nor I thought that I would transform my photo stream into an open anti-war blog.
As the circle of violence expanded, my anger and my pessimism grew with it. The latest events since the 2nd Intifada and the Iraq invasion were not good indicators that such adventures in our region and especially under the current worldwide power imbalance could be mastered at all.
Having the Neo-Cons in charge in the US, a mayor in charge in Tel-Aviv, another mayor in Tehran, weak and visibly resigned (to an un-dead peace) Arab governments and a weak “false” majority in charge in Lebanon were not at all reassuring factors.
I was fearing for the worst, I’m still somehow holding my breath and hoping that things would fall into place until all Israeli soldiers are out of Lebanon and the Lebanese army (and UN forces) take control of the south... But before I can breath a sigh of relief, I will also be crossing my fingers all the long it takes to:
- Israel stopping its regular aggressions into Lebanese territorial airspace and waters
- Lebanese prisoners in Israel (and newly abducted) being swapped against the abducted Israeli soldiers
- Israel refraining from any new -rash- actions such as the ones preached in the last defeat speech of its mayor, for under these conditions Hizbollah will not disarm!
- Lebanese democracy growing stronger as the dynamic forces of the country claim again the power from the current corrupted corruptors and their associates the lords of darkness and civil war
- Hizbollah and Palestinian camps disarm peacefully and a Lebanese national defense force is allowed to rise to the height of the threats and to constitute a stabilizing factor
And my extended wish list
But things being connected the way they are in our regional village, I figured, I will need to keep crossing my fingers even longer! For, as dreamy as the previous wishes are, their concretization will not -unfortunately- be enough to end our plight! We also would need in a not so distant future for:
- Zionism discovering that it made a historical mistake in assessment for the past 100 years and apologizing to its Arab and Jewish victims alike (could be a silent apology even, a thought would suffice maybe!)
- Zionism and Israel denouncing territorial expansion and accepting Israel into the pre-1967 borders (while curbing their drive for negotiatory acrobatics as it has been the case since Madrid accords)
- A Palestinian state under equitable terms is hatched (illegal settlements unsettled etc.)
- A just solution is offered for the Palestinian refugees, duly compensating them for their 60 years predicament and allowing them to -at least- optionally exercise the right of return to their motherland
- The US pulls out gracefully from a ‘civil-war free’ Iraq
- The Middle-East becomes WMD free (…and maybe the rest of the world could follow the next day)
- The clash of civilizations is remembered as a reference to a ‘McDonalds shops fight Falafel joints over market share’ type of situation or to the Olympic Games.
And other wishes too… such as the NeoCons in Washington renouncing to their pipe dreams and scheming and starting to comprehend that the real world is more intricate than what their ‘war games’ and ‘probabilities’ can show them. And while those games can be, nevertheless, a good form of entertainment to the expensive ‘Think tanks’ and ‘strategic consultants’, those people shouldn’t be encouraged to Think anymore that they can apply them to the rest of us each now and then.
I guess whoever is still reading up to here gets the point of why I’m pessimistic, for maybe the 1st bunch of wishes are realizable with lots of good luck but the 2nd are only wishful wishes in the current state of affairs… And meanwhile, the strategic luminaries are still thinking ‘Maybe the stick needs to grow longer’ before the next strike!
Yet there is stuff to feel good about
Flickr has given me the opportunity to meet lots of nice talented photographers, but this time and with this latest wave of war blogging, it gave me the opportunity to dramatically widen my circle. It was heart warming to read all the people from around the world that supported and defended Lebanon (and Palestine) and understood to a great degree the essence of the conflict. I am particularly thankful to the Israelis that did it (and all Israelis who left comments).
Maybe awareness and rising public opinion to the real issues are the magic cure! Maybe this last unique worldwide phenomenon in the history of Arab-Israeli conflict was what contributed into accelerating this happy ending (regardless of its fragility). Despite the sad and hefty toll, seeing the displaced go back to their villages so fast was in itself the most comforting scene!
The more the world public opinion gains insight into the roots and realities of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the more power is taken away from the scheming schemers and given to the real courageous peace builders on both sides of the divide... And that is not a wish this time but the duty for all!
----
This anti-war poem was sent to me by a good friend. The text, written by an Israeli poet (Chanoch Levin), is very beautiful and eloquent. I already posted one of his poems earlier. Using his strong words again, was the best way for me to end this series.
Chess Game
Where is my child, my child where has he gone?
A black pawn is striking a white pawn.
Will not return my dad, my dad will not come home.
A white pawn is striking a black pawn.
Mourning in the rooms, and the garden is serene,
The king is playing with his queen.
My child will never wake, he shall sleep forevermore.
A black pawn is striking a white pawn.
My dad is in the dark, and will never see the sun.
A white pawn is striking a black pawn.
Mourning in the rooms, and the garden is serene,
The king is playing with his queen.
My child who's in my lap, now he's in a cloud.
A black pawn is striking a white pawn.
My dad's warm heart, now his heart is cold.
A white pawn is striking a black pawn.
Mourning in the rooms, and the garden is serene,
The king is playing with his queen.
Where is my child, my child where has he gone?
Fell down both black and white pawns.
Will not return my dad, my dad will not come home.
And there are no white or black pawns.
Mourning in the rooms, and the garden is serene;
On empty board remain just king and queen.
Chanoch Levin, 1968
Open to Quick Critique
Canon 600D
Canon L 4.0 17-40mm
Strobist info
Lumodi beauty dish, with Canon 430ex II just above camera slightly to the right.
Yongnuo triggers
My Facebook Page
From Reuben Margolins studio. This parts drawer reminded me of my American grandfathers basement workshop, he was a teacher, photographer and carpenter. My clearest memories of him were from that workshop.
Imagen del MakingOff de la sesión con Judit y Edgar... ahí colaboramos todos!!! que nadie se aburra!!! :)))
Technical for Strobist:
Two softboxes with 150 W/S strobe camera left and 110 W/S for camera right.
On the portraits of Tara alone, I added a shoot through umbrella to the camera right with another 150 W/S strobe, and a hair light with barn doors - 110 W/S behind and above to her right. Triggered by inexpensive e-bay radio triggers.
Kent State University May 4 Memorial, Kent, Portage County, Ohio
THE MAY 4 SHOOTINGS AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY: THE SEARCH FOR HISTORICAL ACCURACY
BY JERRY M. LEWIS and THOMAS R. HENSLEY
On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students. The impact of the shootings was dramatic. The event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close. H. R. Haldeman, a top aide to President Richard Nixon, suggests the shootings had a direct impact on national politics. In The Ends of Power, Haldeman (1978) states that the shootings at Kent State began the slide into Watergate, eventually destroying the Nixon administration. Beyond the direct effects of the May 4, the shootings have certainly come to symbolize the deep political and social divisions that so sharply divided the country during the Vietnam War era.
In the nearly three decades since May 4, l970, a voluminous literature has developed analyzing the events of May 4 and their aftermath. Some books were published quickly, providing a fresh but frequently superficial or inaccurate analysis of the shootings (e.g., Eszterhas and Roberts, 1970; Warren, 1970; Casale and Paskoff, 1971; Michener, 1971; Stone, 1971; Taylor et al., 1971; and Tompkins and Anderson, 1971). Numerous additional books have been published in subsequent years (e.g., Davies, 1973; Hare, 1973; Hensley and Lewis, 1978; Kelner and Munves, 1980; Hensley, 1981; Payne, 1981; Bills, 1988; and Gordon, 1997). These books have the advantage of a broader historical perspective than the earlier books, but no single book can be considered the definitive account of the events and aftermath of May 4, l970, at Kent State University.(1)
Despite the substantial literature which exists on the Kent State shootings, misinformation and misunderstanding continue to surround the events of May 4. For example, a prominent college-level United States history book by Mary Beth Norton et al. (1994), which is also used in high school advanced placement courses.(2) contains a picture of the shootings of May 4 accompanied by the following summary of events: "In May 1970, at Kent State University in Ohio, National Guardsmen confronted student antiwar protestors with a tear gas barrage. Soon afterward, with no provocation, soldiers opened fire into a group of fleeing students. Four young people were killed, shot in the back, including two women who had been walking to class." (Norton et al., 1994, p. 732) Unfortunately, this short description contains four factual errors: (1) some degree of provocation did exist; (2) the students were not fleeing when the Guard initially opened fire; (3) only one of the four students who died, William Schroeder, was shot in the back; and (4) one female student, Sandy Schreuer, had been walking to class, but the other female, Allison Krause, had been part of the demonstration.
This article is an attempt to deal with the historical inaccuracies that surround the May 4 shootings at Kent State University by providing high school social studies teachers with a resource to which they can turn if they wish to teach about the subject or to involve students in research on the issue. Our approach is to raise and provide answers to twelve of the most frequently asked questions about May 4 at Kent State. We will also offer a list of the most important questions involving the shootings which have not yet been answered satisfactorily. Finally, we will conclude with a brief annotated bibliography for those wishing to explore the subject further.
WHY WAS THE OHIO NATIONAL GUARD CALLED TO KENT?
The decision to bring the Ohio National Guard onto the Kent State University campus was directly related to decisions regarding American involvement in the Vietnam War. Richard Nixon was elected president of the United States in 1968 based in part on his promise to bring an end to the war in Vietnam. During the first year of Nixon's presidency, America's involvement in the war appeared to be winding down. In late April of 1970, however, the United States invaded Cambodia and widened the Vietnam War. This decision was announced on national television and radio on April 30, l970, by President Nixon, who stated that the invasion of Cambodia was designed to attack the headquarters of the Viet Cong, which had been using Cambodian territory as a sanctuary.
Protests occurred the next day, Friday, May 1, across United States college campuses where anti-war sentiment ran high. At Kent State University, an anti-war rally was held at noon on the Commons, a large, grassy area in the middle of campus which had traditionally been the site for various types of rallies and demonstrations. Fiery speeches against the war and the Nixon administration were given, a copy of the Constitution was buried to symbolize the murder of the Constitution because Congress had never declared war, and another rally was called for noon on Monday, May 4.
Friday evening in downtown Kent began peacefully with the usual socializing in the bars, but events quickly escalated into a violent confrontation between protestors and local police. The exact causes of the disturbance are still the subject of debate, but bonfires were built in the streets of downtown Kent, cars were stopped, police cars were hit with bottles, and some store windows were broken. The entire Kent police force was called to duty as well as officers from the county and surrounding communities. Kent Mayor Leroy Satrom declared a state of emergency, called Governor James Rhodes' office to seek assistance, and ordered all of the bars closed. The decision to close the bars early increased the size of the angry crowd. Police eventually succeeded in using tear gas to disperse the crowd from downtown, forcing them to move several blocks back to the campus.
The next day, Saturday, May 2, Mayor Satrom met with other city officials and a representative of the Ohio National Guard who had been dispatched to Kent. Mayor Satrom then made the decision to ask Governor Rhodes to send the Ohio National Guard to Kent. The mayor feared further disturbances in Kent based upon the events of the previous evening, but more disturbing to the mayor were threats that had been made to downtown businesses and city officials as well as rumors that radical revolutionaries were in Kent to destroy the city and the university. Satrom was fearful that local forces would be inadequate to meet the potential disturbances, and thus about 5 p.m. he called the Governor's office to make an official request for assistance from the Ohio National Guard.
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS ON SATURDAY MAY 2 AND SUNDAY MAY 3 AFTER THE GUARDS ARRIVED ON CAMPUS?
Members of the Ohio National Guard were already on duty in Northeast Ohio, and thus they were able to be mobilized quickly to move to Kent. As the Guard arrived in Kent at about 10 p.m., they encountered a tumultuous scene. The wooden ROTC building adjacent to the Commons was ablaze and would eventually burn to the ground that evening, with well over 1,000 demonstrators surrounding the building. Controversy continues to exist regarding who was responsible for setting fire to the ROTC building, but radical protestors were assumed to be responsible because of their actions in interfering with the efforts of firemen to extinguish the fire as well as cheering the burning of the building. Confrontations between Guardsmen and demonstrators continued into the night, with tear gas filling the campus and numerous arrests being made.
Sunday, May 3 was a day filled with contrasts. Nearly 1,000 Ohio National Guardsmen occupied the campus, making it appear like a military war zone. The day was warm and sunny, however, and students frequently talked amicably with Guardsmen. Ohio Governor James Rhodes flew to Kent on Sunday morning, and his mood was anything but calm. At a press conference, he issued a provocative statement calling campus protestors the worst type of people in America and stating that every force of law would be used to deal with them. Rhodes also indicated that he would seek a court order declaring a state of emergency. This was never done, but the widespread assumption among both Guard and University officials was that a state of martial law was being declared in which control of the campus resided with the Guard rather than University leaders and all rallies were banned. Further confrontations between protesters and guardsmen occurred Sunday evening, and once again rocks, tear gas, and arrests characterized a tense campus.
WHAT TYPE OF RALLY WAS HELD AT NOON ON MAY 4?
At the conclusion of the anti-war rally on Friday, May 1, student protest leaders had called for another rally to be held on the Commons at noon on Monday, May 4. Although University officials had attempted on the morning of May 4 to inform the campus that the rally was prohibited, a crowd began to gather beginning as early as 11 a.m. By noon, the entire Commons area contained approximately 3,000 people. Although estimates are inexact, probably about 500 core demonstrators were gathered around the Victory Bell at one end of the Commons, another 1,000 people were "cheerleaders" supporting the active demonstrators, and an additional 1,500 people were spectators standing around the perimeter of the Commons. Across the Commons at the burned-out ROTC building stood about 100 Ohio National Guardsmen carrying lethal M-1 military rifles.
Substantial consensus exists that the active participants in the rally were primarily protesting the presence of the Guard on campus, although a strong anti-war sentiment was also present. Little evidence exists as to who were the leaders of the rally and what activities were planned, but initially the rally was peaceful.
WHO MADE THE DECISION TO BAN THE RALLY OF MAY 4?
Conflicting evidence exists regarding who was responsible for the decision to ban the noon rally of May 4. At the 1975 federal civil trial, General Robert Canterbury, the highest official of the Guard, testified that widespread consensus existed that the rally should be prohibited because of the tensions that existed and the possibility that violence would again occur. Canterbury further testified that Kent State President Robert White had explicitly told Canterbury that any demonstration would be highly dangerous. In contrast, White testified that he could recall no conversation with Canterbury regarding banning the rally.
The decision to ban the rally can most accurately be traced to Governor Rhodes' statements on Sunday, May 3 when he stated that he would be seeking a state of emergency declaration from the courts. Although he never did this, all officials -- Guard, University, Kent -- assumed that the Guard was now in charge of the campus and that all rallies were illegal. Thus, University leaders printed and distributed on Monday morning 12,000 leaflets indicating that all rallies, including the May 4 rally scheduled for noon, were prohibited as long as the Guard was in control of the campus.
WHAT EVENTS LED DIRECTLY TO THE SHOOTINGS?
Shortly before noon, General Canterbury made the decision to order the demonstrators to disperse. A Kent State police officer standing by the Guard made an announcement using a bullhorn. When this had no effect, the officer was placed in a jeep along with several Guardsmen and driven across the Commons to tell the protestors that the rally was banned and that they must disperse. This was met with angry shouting and rocks, and the jeep retreated. Canterbury then ordered his men to load and lock their weapons, tear gas canisters were fired into the crowd around the Victory Bell, and the Guard began to march across the Commons to disperse the rally. The protestors moved up a steep hill, known as Blanket Hill, and then down the other side of the hill onto the Prentice Hall parking lot as well as an adjoining practice football field. Most of the Guardsmen followed the students directly and soon found themselves somewhat trapped on the practice football field because it was surrounded by a fence. Yelling and rock throwing reached a peak as the Guard remained on the field for about 10 minutes. Several Guardsmen could be seen huddling together, and some Guardsmen knelt and pointed their guns, but no weapons were shot at this time. The Guard then began retracing their steps from the practice football field back up Blanket Hill. As they arrived at the top of the hill, 28 of the more than 70 Guardsmen turned suddenly and fired their rifles and pistols. Many guardsmen fired into the air or the ground. However, a small portion fired directly into the crowd. Altogether between 61 and 67 shots were fired in a 13-second period.
HOW MANY DEATHS AND INJURIES OCCURRED?
Four Kent State students died as a result of the firing by the Guard. The closest student was Jeffrey Miller, who was shot in the mouth while standing in an access road leading into the Prentice Hall parking lot, a distance of approximately 270 feet from the Guard. Allison Krause was in the Prentice Hall parking lot; she was 330 feet from the Guardsmen and was shot in the left side of her body. William Schroeder was 390 feet from the Guard in the Prentice Hall parking lot when he was shot in the left side of his back. Sandra Scheuer was also about 390 feet from the Guard in the Prentice Hall parking lot when a bullet pierced the left front side of her neck.
Nine Kent State students were wounded in the 13-second fusillade. Most of the students were in the Prentice Hall parking lot, but a few were on the Blanket Hill area. Joseph Lewis was the student closest to the Guard at a distance of about 60 feet; he was standing still with Four men sit staring at a candle-lit stage, on which there are portraits of the four Kent State students who died as a result of the firing by the Guard.his middle finger extended when bullets struck him in the right abdomen and left lower leg. Thomas Grace was also approximately 60 feet from the Guardsmen and was wounded in the left ankle. John Cleary was over 100 feet from the Guardsmen when he was hit in the upper left chest. Alan Canfora was 225 feet from the Guard and was struck in the right wrist. Dean Kahler was the most seriously wounded of the nine students. He was struck in the small of his back from approximately 300 feet and was permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Douglas Wrentmore was wounded in the right knee from a distance of 330 feet. James Russell was struck in the right thigh and right forehead at a distance of 375 feet. Robert Stamps was almost 500 feet from the line of fire when he was wounded in the right buttock. Donald Mackenzie was the student the farthest from the Guardsmen at a distance of almost 750 feet when he was hit in the neck.
WHY DID THE GUARDSMEN FIRE?
The most important question associated with the events of May 4 is why did members of the Guard fire into a crowd of unarmed students? Two quite different answers have been advanced to this question: (1) the Guardsmen fired in self-defense, and the shootings were therefore justified and (2) the Guardsmen were not in immediate danger, and therefore the shootings were unjustified.
The answer offered by the Guardsmen is that they fired because they were in fear of their lives. Guardsmen testified before numerous investigating commissions as well as in federal court that they felt the demonstrators were advancing on them in such a way as to pose a serious and immediate threat to the safety of the Guardsmen, and they therefore had to fire in self-defense. Some authors (e.g., Michener, 1971 and Grant and Hill, 1974) agree with this assessment. Much more importantly, federal criminal and civil trials have accepted the position of the Guardsmen. In a 1974 federal criminal trial, District Judge Frank Battisti dismissed the case against eight Guardsmen indicted by a federal grand jury, ruling at mid-trial that the government's case against the Guardsmen was so weak that the defense did not have to present its case. In the much longer and more complex federal civil trial of 1975, a jury voted 9-3 that none of the Guardsmen were legally responsible for the shootings. This decision was appealed, however, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a new trial had to be held because of the improper handling of a threat to a jury member.
The legal aftermath of the May 4 shootings ended in January of 1979 with an out-of-court settlement involving a statement signed by 28 defendants(3) as well as a monetary settlement, and the Guardsmen and their supporters view this as a final vindication of their position. The financial settlement provided $675,000 to the wounded students and the parents of the students who had been killed. This money was paid by the State of Ohio rather than by any Guardsmen, and the amount equaled what the State estimated it would cost to go to trial again. Perhaps most importantly, the statement signed by members of the Ohio National Guard was viewed by them to be a declaration of regret, not an apology or an admission of wrongdoing:
In retrospect, the tragedy of May 4, 1970 should not have occurred. The students may have believed that they were right in continuing their mass protest in response to the Cambodian invasion, even though this protest followed the posting and reading by the university of an order to ban rallies and an order to disperse. These orders have since been determined by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to have been lawful.
Some of the Guardsmen on Blanket Hill, fearful and anxious from prior events, may have believed in their own minds that their lives were in danger. Hindsight suggests that another method would have resolved the confrontation. Better ways must be found to deal with such a confrontation.
We devoutly wish that a means had been found to avoid the May 4th events culminating in the Guard shootings and the irreversible deaths and injuries. We deeply regret those events and are profoundly saddened by the deaths of four students and the wounding of nine others which resulted. We hope that the agreement to end the litigation will help to assuage the tragic memories regarding that sad day.
A starkly different interpretation to that of the Guards' has been offered in numerous other studies of the shootings, with all of these analyses sharing the common viewpoint that primary responsibility for the shootings lies with the Guardsmen. Some authors (e.g., Stone, 1971; Davies, 1973; and Kelner and Munves, 1980) argue that the Guardsmen's lives were not in danger. Instead, these authors argue that the evidence shows that certain members of the Guard conspired on the practice football field to fire when they reached the top of Blanket Hill. Other authors (e.g., Best, 1981 and Payne, 1981) do not find sufficient evidence to accept the conspiracy theory, but they also do not find the Guard self-defense theory to be plausible. Experts who find the Guard primarily responsible find themselves in agreement with the conclusion of the Scranton Commission (Report , 1970, p. 87): "The indiscriminate firing of rifles into a crowd of students and the deaths that followed were unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable."
WHAT HAPPENED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SHOOTINGS?
While debate still remains about the extent to which the Guardsmen's lives were in danger at the moment they opened fire, little doubt can exist that their lives were indeed at stake in the immediate aftermath of the shootings. The 13-second shooting that resulted in four deaths and nine wounded could have been followed by an even more tragic and bloody confrontation. The nervous and fearful Guardsmen retreated back to the Commons, facing a large and hostile crowd which realized that the Guard had live ammunition and had used it to kill and wound a large number of people. In their intense anger, many demonstrators were willing to risk their own lives to attack the Guardsmen, and there can be little doubt that the Guard would have opened fire again, this time killing a much larger number of students.
A man and young boy stare up at a May 4th Memorial.Further tragedy was prevented by the actions of a number of Kent State University faculty marshals, who had organized hastily when trouble began several days earlier. Led by Professor Glenn Frank, the faculty members pleaded with National Guard leaders to allow them to talk with the demonstrators, and then they begged the students not to risk their lives by confronting the Guardsmen. After about 20 minutes of emotional pleading, the marshals convinced the students to leave the Commons.
Back at the site of the shootings, ambulances had arrived and emergency medical attention had been given to the students who had not died immediately. The ambulances formed a screaming procession as they rushed the victims of the shootings to the local hospital.
The University was ordered closed immediately, first by President Robert White and then indefinitely by Portage County Prosecutor Ronald Kane under an injunction from Common Pleas Judge Albert Caris. Classes did not resume until the Summer of 1970, and faculty members engaged in a wide variety of activities through the mail and off-campus meetings that enabled Kent State students to finish the semester.
WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING PHOTO OF THE YOUNG WOMAN CRYING OUT IN HORROR OVER THE DYING BODY OF ONE OF THE STUDENTS?
A photograph of Mary Vecchio, a 14-year-old runaway, screaming over the body of Jeffery Miller appeared on the front pages of newspapers and magazines throughout the country, and the photographer, John Filo, was to win a Pulitzer Prize for the picture. The photo has taken on a life and importance of its own. This analysis looks at the photo, the photographer, and the impact of the photo.
The Mary Vecchio picture shows her on one knee screaming over Jeffrey Miller's body. Mary told one of us that she was calling for help because she felt she could do nothing (Personal Interview, 4/4/94). Miller is lying on the tarmac of the Prentice Hall parking lot. One student is standing near the Miller body closer than Vecchio. Four students are seen in the immediate background.
John Filo, a Kent State photography major in 1970, continues to works as a professional newspaper photographer and editor. He was near the Prentice Hall parking lot when the Guard fired. He saw bullets hitting the ground, but he did not take cover because he thought the bullets were blanks. Of course, blanks cannot hit the ground.
WHAT WAS THE LONG-TERM FACULTY RESPONSE TO THE SHOOTINGS?
Three hours after the shootings Kent State closed and was not to open for six weeks as a viable university. When it resumed classes in the Summer of 1970, its faculty was charged with three new responsibilities, their residues remaining today.
A student holds a candle at night to remember the victims of the May 4th shootings.First, we as a University faculty had to bring aid and comfort to our own. This began earlier on with faculty trying to finish the academic quarter with a reasonable amount of academic integrity. It had ended about at mid-term examinations. However, the faculty voted before the week was out to help students complete the quarter in any way possible. Students were advised to study independently until they were contacted by individual professors. Most of the professors organized their completion of courses around papers, but many gave lectures in churches and in homes in the community of Kent and surrounding communities. For example, Norman Duffy, an award-winning teacher, gave off-campus chemistry lectures and tutorial sessions in Kent and Cleveland. His graduate students made films of laboratory sessions and mailed them to students.
Beyond helping thousands of students finish their courses, there were 1,900 students as well who needed help with gradation. Talking to students about courses allowed the faculty to do some counseling about the shootings, which helped the faculty as much in healing as it did students.
Second, the University faculty was called upon to conduct research about May 4 communicating the results of this research through teaching and traditional writing about the tragedy. Many responded and created a solid body of scholarship as well as an extremely useful archive contributing to a wide range of activities in Summer of 1970 including press interviews and the Scranton Commission.
Third, many saw as one of the faculty's challenges to develop alternative forms of protest and conflict resolution to help prevent tragedies such as the May 4 shootings and the killings at Jackson State 10 days after Kent State.
WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MAY 4 SHOOTINGS?
Although we have attempted in this article to answer many of the most important and frequently asked questions about the May 4 shootings, our responses have sometimes been tentative because many important questions remain unanswered. It thus seems important to ask what are the most significant questions which yet remain unanswered about the May 4 events. These questions could serve as the basis for research projects by students who are interested in studying the shootings in greater detail.
(1) Who was responsible for the violence in downtown Kent and on the Kent State campus in the three days prior to May 4? As an important part of this question, were "outside agitators" primarily responsible? Who was responsible for setting fire to the ROTC building?
(2) Should the Guard have been called to Kent and Kent State University? Could local law enforcement personnel have handled any situations? Were the Guard properly trained for this type of assignment?
(3) Did the Kent State University administration respond appropriately in their reactions to the demonstrations and with Ohio political officials and Guard officials?
(4) Would the shootings have been avoided if the rally had not been banned? Did the banning of the rally violate First Amendment rights?
(5) Did the Guardsmen conspire to shoot students when they huddled on the practice football field? If not, why did they fire? Were they justified in firing?
(6) Who was ultimately responsible for the events of May 4, l970?
WHY SHOULD WE STILL BE CONCERNED ABOUT MAY 4, 1970 AT KENT STATE?
In Robert McNamara's (1995) book, "In Retrospect:The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam" is a way to begin is an illustration of the this process. In it he says that United States policy towards Vietnam was "... terribly wrong and we owe it to future generations to explain why."
The May 4 shootings at Kent State need to be remembered for several reasons. First, the shootings have come to symbolize a great American tragedy which occurred at the height of the Vietnam War era, a period in which the nation found itself deeply divided both politically and culturally. The poignant picture of Mary Vecchio kneeling in agony over Jeffrey Miller's body, for example, will remain forever Students gather in a circle, holding hands around a May 4th memorial to remember the victims of the Guard shootings.as a reminder of the day when the Vietnam War came home to America. If the Kent State shootings will continue to be such a powerful symbol, then it is certainly important that Americans have a realistic view of the facts associated with this event. Second, May 4 at Kent State and the Vietnam War era remain controversial even today, and the need for healing continues to exist. Healing will not occur if events are either forgotten or distorted, and hence it is important to continue to search for the truth behind the events of May 4 at Kent State. Third, and most importantly, May 4 at Kent State should be remembered in order that we can learn from the mistakes of the past. The Guardsmen in their signed statement at the end of the civil trials recognized that better ways have to be found to deal with these types of confrontations. This has probably already occurred in numerous situations where law enforcement officials have issued a caution to their troops to be careful because "we don't want another Kent State." Insofar as this has happened, lessons have been learned, and the deaths of four young Kent State students have not been in vain.