Clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church

Célibat sacerdotal dans l'Église catholique

Description.

The Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, without exception, rule out ordination of married men to the episcopate, and marriage after priestly ordination. Throughout the Catholic Church, East as well as West, a priest may not marry. In the Eastern Catholic Churches, a married priest is one who married before being ordained.  The Catholic Church considers the law of clerical celibacy to be not a "doctrine", but a "discipline". Exceptions are sometimes made, especially in the case of married male Anglican and Protestant clergy who convert to the Catholic Church, and the discipline could, in theory, be changed for all ordinations to the priesthood.

Theological and scriptural foundations.

Theologically, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that priesthood is a ministry conformed to the life and work of Jesus Christ. Priests as sacramental ministers act "in persona Christi", that is in the mask of Christ. Thus the life of the priest conforms, the Church believes, to the chastity of Christ himself. The sacrifice of married life is for the "sake of the Kingdom" (, ), and to follow the example of Jesus Christ in being "married" to the Church, viewed by Catholicism and many Christian traditions as the "Bride of Christ" (following and, together with the spousal imagery at ; cf. ).  Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) in "Salt of the Earth" saw this practice as based on Jesus' words in : "Some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it." He linked this celibacy "because of the kingdom of heaven" with God's choice to confer the Old Testament priesthood on a specific tribe, that of Levi, which unlike the other tribes received no land from God, but which had "God himself as its inheritance" ().  Paul, within a context of having "no command from the Lord" (1 Cor 7:25), recommends celibacy, but acknowledges that it is not God's gift to all within the church: "For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am,... I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction" (, ). Peter Brown and Bart D. Ehrman speculate that for early Christians celibacy had to do with the "imminent end of the age" ().

Historical origins.

In the earliest years of the church, the clergy were largely married men. C. K. Barrett points to 1 Cor 9:5 as clearly indicating that "apostles, like other Christians, have a right to be (and many of them are) married" and the right for their wife to be "maintained by the communities in which they [the apostles] are working." However, Paul himself was celibate, and there is no consensus that inclusion among the requirements for candidacy to the office of "overseer" of being "the husband of one wife" meant that celibate Christians were excluded.  Studies by some Catholic scholars, such as the Ukrainian Roman Cholij and Christian Cochini, have argued for the theory that, in early Christian practice, married men who became priests—they were often older men, "elders"—were expected to live in complete continence, refraining permanently from sexual relations with their wives. When at a later stage it was clear that not all did refrain, the Western Church limited ordination to unmarried men and required a commitment to lifelong celibacy, while the Eastern Churches relaxed the rule, so that Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches now require their married clergy to abstain from sexual relations only for a limited period before celebrating the Eucharist. The Church in Persia, which in the fifth century became separated from the Church described as Orthodox or Catholic, decided at the end of that century to abolish the rule of continence and allow priests to marry, but recognized that it was abrogating an ancient tradition. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, whose separation, along with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, came slightly later, allows deacons (who are ordained when they are boys) to marry after ordination, but not priests: any future priests who wish to marry must do so before becoming priests. The Armenian Apostolic Church, which also belongs to Oriental Orthodoxy, while technically prohibiting, like the Eastern Orthodox Church, marriage after ordination to the sub-diaconate, has generally let this rule fall into disuse and allows deacons to marry up to the point of their priestly ordination, thus continuing to maintain the traditional exclusion of marriage by those who are priests. This theory would explain why all the ancient Christian Churches of both East and West, with the one exception mentioned, exclude marriage after priestly ordination, and why all reserve the episcopate (seen as a fuller form of priesthood than the presbyterate) for the celibate.  Some Catholic scholars, such as Jesuits Peter Fink and George T. Dennis of Catholic University of America, have argued that we cannot know if priests in early Christianity practised sexual abstinence. Dennis says "there is simply no clear evidence of a general tradition or practice, much less of an obligation, of priestly celibacy-continence before the beginning of the fourth century." Fink says that a primary book used to support apostolic origins of priestly celibacy "remains a work of interpretation. There are underlying premises that seem to hold firm in this book but which would not stand up so comfortably to historical scrutiny."  The earliest textual evidence of the forbidding of marriage to clerics and the duty of those already married to abstain from sexual contact with their wives is in the fourth-century decrees of the Synod of Elvira and the later Council of Carthage (390). According to some writers, this presumed a previous norm, which was being flouted in practice.  Among the early Church statements on the topic of sexual continence and celibacy are the "Directa" and "Cum in unum" decretals of Pope Siricius (c. 385), which asserted that clerical sexual abstinence was an apostolic practice that must be followed by ministers of the church.  The writings of Saint Ambrose (died 397) also show that the requirement that priests, whether married or celibate, should be continent was the established rule. To the married clergy who, "in some out-of-the-way places", claimed, on the model of the Old Testament priesthood, the right to father children, he recalled that in Old Testament times even lay people were obliged to observe continence on the days leading to a sacrifice, and commented: "If such regard was paid in what was only the figure, how much ought it to be shown in the reality!" Yet more sternly he wrote: "(Saint Paul) spoke of one who "has" children, not of one who "begets" children."

Medieval Christendom.

Beyond the fact that clerical celibacy functioned as a spiritual discipline, it also was guarantor of the independence of the Church and of its essential dimension as a spiritual institution ordered toward ends beyond the competence and authority of temporal rulers.  During the decline of the Roman Empire, Roman authority in western Europe completely collapsed. However, the city of Rome, under the guidance of the Catholic Church, still remained a centre of learning and did much to preserve classical Roman culture in Western Europe. The classical heritage flourished throughout the Middle Ages in both the Byzantine Greek East and the Latin West. Philosopher Will Durant argues that certain prominent features of Plato's ideal community were discernible in the organization, dogma and effectiveness of the medieval Church in Europe:  In his book "The Ruling Class", Gaetano Mosca wrote of the medieval Church and its structure:  It is sometimes claimed that celibacy became mandatory for Latin Church priests only in the eleventh century; but others say, for instance: "(I)t may fairly be said that by the time of St. Leo the Great (440–61) the law of celibacy was generally recognized in the West," and that the eleventh-century regulations on this matter, as on simony, should obviously not be interpreted as meaning that either non-celibacy or simony were previously permitted.

Reformation period.

Celibacy as a requirement for ordination to the priesthood (in the Western Church) and to the episcopate (in East as well as in West) and declaring marriages of priests invalid (in both East and West) were important points of disagreement during the Protestant Reformation, with the Reformers arguing that these requirements were contrary to Biblical teaching in,, and, and implied a degradation of marriage, and were one reason for "many abominations" and for widespread sexual misconduct within the clergy at the time of the Reformation. The doctrinal view of the Reformers on this point was reflected in the marriages of Zwingli in 1522, Luther in 1525, and Calvin in 1539; in England, the married Thomas Cranmer was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533. Both of these actions, marriage after ordination to the priesthood and consecration of a married man as a bishop, went against the long-standing tradition of the Church in the East as well as in the West.

Celibacy in the present-day Church.

Celibacy of deacons.

Following recommendations made at the Second Vatican Council, the Latin Church now admits married men of mature age to ordination as deacons, to remain permanently as deacons and not as part of the process by which aspirants are temporarily deacons on their way to priestly ordination. The change was effected by Pope Paul VI's motu proprio "Sacrum diaconatus ordinem" of 18 June 1967. A candidate for ordination to the permanent diaconate must have reached the age of 25 if unmarried or the age of 35 if married (or higher if established by the Conference of Bishops), and must have the written consent of his wife.  Ordination even to the diaconate is an impediment to a later marriage (for example, if a man who was already married by the time of ordination to the diaconate subsequently becomes a widower), though special dispensation can be received for remarriage under extenuating circumstances.

Celibacy of priests.

Debate on celibacy of priests.

Garry Wills, in his book "Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit", argued that the imposition of celibacy among Catholic priests played a pivotal role in the cultivation of the Church as one of the most influential institutions in the world. In his discussion concerning the origins of the said policy, Wills mentioned that the Church drew its inspiration from the ascetics, monks who devote themselves to meditation and total abstention from earthly wealth and pleasures in order to sustain their corporal and spiritual purity, after seeing that its initial efforts in propagating the faith were fruitless. The rationale behind such strict policy is that it significantly helps the priests perform well in their religious services while at the same time following the manner in which Jesus Christ lived his life. Moreover, the author also mentioned that although the said policy insists on helping priests focus more on ecclesiastical duties, it also enabled the Church to control the wealth amassed by the clerics through their various religious activities, hence contributing to the growing power of the institution.  The Latin Church discipline continues to be debated for a variety of reasons.  First, many believe celibacy was not required of the apostles. Peter himself had a wife at some time, whose mother Jesus healed of a high fever. And 1 Corinthians 9:5 is commonly interpreted as saying that years later, Peter and other apostles were accompanied by their wives. However, on the basis especially of, others think the apostles left their wives, and that the women mentioned in 1 Corinthians as accompanying some apostles were "holy women, who, in accordance with Jewish custom, ministered to their teachers of their substance, as we read was the practice with even our Lord himself."  Second, this requirement excludes a great number of otherwise qualified men from the priesthood, qualifications which according to the defenders of celibacy should be determined not by merely human hermeneutics but by the hermeneutics of the divine. Supporters of clerical celibacy answer that God only calls men to the priesthood if they are capable. Those who are not called to the priesthood should seek other paths in life since they will be able to serve God better there. Therefore, to the supporters of celibacy no one who is called is excluded.  Third, some say that resisting the natural sexual impulse in this way is unrealistic and harmful for a healthy life. Sexual scandals among priests, especially homosexuality and pedophilia, the defenders say, are a breach of the Church's discipline, not a result of it, especially since only a small percentage of priests have been involved.  Fourth, it is said that mandatory celibacy distances priests from this experience of life, compromising their moral authority in the pastoral sphere, although its defenders argue that the Church's moral authority is rather enhanced by a life of total self-giving in imitation of Christ, a practical application of the Vatican II teaching that "man cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself."  In 1970, nine German theologians, including Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI), signed a letter calling for a new discussion of the law of celibacy, though refraining from making a statement as to whether the law of celibacy should in fact be changed.  In 2011, hundreds of German, Austrian, and Swiss theologians (249 as of 15 February 2011) signed a letter calling for married priests, as well as for women in Church ministry.

Since the Second Vatican Council.

During and after the Council, the Magisterium of the Catholic Church has repeatedly re-affirmed the permanent value of the discipline of obligatory clerical celibacy in the Latin Church. Pope John Paul II wrote in 1992:  He added that the "unchanging" essence of ordination "configures the priest to Jesus Christ the Head and Spouse of the Church." Thus, he said, "The Church, as the Spouse of Jesus Christ, wishes to be loved by the priest in the total and exclusive manner in which Jesus Christ her Head and Spouse loved her."  There has never been any doubt, however, that it is an ecclesiastical discipline, as the Council Fathers explicitly recognised when they stated that "it is not demanded by the very nature of the priesthood." Pope John Paul II took up this theme when he said at a public audience on 17 July 1993 that celibacy "does not belong to the essence of priesthood." He went on to speak of its aptness for, and its congruence with, the requirements of sacred orders, asserting that the discipline "enters into the logic of [priestly] consecration."  Yet some commentators have argued for the possibility that married men of proven seriousness and maturity ("viri probati", taking up a phrase which appears in the first-century First Epistle of Clement in a different context) might be ordained to a localized and modified form of the priesthood. The topic of "viri probati" was raised by some participants in discussions at Ordinary General Assembly XI of the Synod of Bishops held at the Vatican in October 2005 on the theme of the Eucharist, but it was rejected as a solution for the insufficiency of priests.

Pope Francis.

Pope Francis shared his views on celibacy, and the possibility of church discussion on the topic, when he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, recorded in the book "On Heaven and Earth", a record of conversations conducted with a Buenos Aires rabbi. He commented that celibacy "is a matter of discipline, not of faith. It can change" but added: "For the moment, I am in favor of maintaining celibacy, with all its pros and cons, because we have ten centuries of good experiences rather than failures... Tradition has weight and validity." He said that now the rule must be strictly adhered to, and any priest who cannot obey it "has to leave the ministry." "National Catholic Reporter" Vatican analyst, Jesuit Thomas J. Reese, called Bergoglio's use of "conditional language" regarding the rule of celibacy "remarkable." He said that phrases like "for the moment" and "for now" are "not the kind of qualifications one normally hears when bishops and cardinals discuss celibacy."  In a conversation with Bishop Erwin Krautler about mandatory celibacy on 4 April 2014, the Pope also spoke about a possible mechanism for a change starting with national bishop conferences. These conferences would  seek and find consensus on reform and we should then bring up our suggestions for reform in Rome....The pope explained that he could not take everything in hand personally from Rome. We local bishops, who are best acquainted with the needs of our faithful, should be ‘corajudos,’ that is ‘courageous’ in Spanish, and make concrete suggestions... It was up to the bishops to make suggestions, the pope said again.  In 2018 Francis showed that he wanted the topic discussed, beginning with remote areas like Amazonia that have a shortage of priests.  In October 2018, Belgian Catholic bishop conference supported married priests.  Different German catholic bishops like Ulrich Neymeyr (Roman Catholic Diocese of Erfurt), Reinhard Marx (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising), Peter Kohlgraf (Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz), Helmut Dieser (Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen), Franz Jung (Roman Catholic Diocese of Würzburg), Franz-Josef Overbeck (Roman Catholic Diocese of Essen) and Karl-Heinz Wiesemann (Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer) support exceptions from clerical celibacy for priests. Also German bishop Georg Bätzing (Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg) said, there should be also married priests in Roman Catholic Church. The same opinion was also expressed by German bishop Gerhard Feige (Roman Catholic Diocese of Magdeburg) in February 2019 and German bishop Heiner Wilmer (Roman Catholic Diocese of Hildesheim) in February 2019. In March 2019, German bishop Stefan Oster (Roman Catholic Diocese of Passau) said, there can be also married priests in Roman Catholic Church. In Lingen the German catholic bishops started a reformgroup under leadership of bishop Felix Genn (Roman Catholic Diocese of Münster) to talk over a reform of clercial celibacy for priests and if married priests should also be allowed. In April 2019, Austrian bishop Christoph Schönborn (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna) said, there can be clerical celibacy priests and also married priests in Roman Catholic Church. In June 2019, German bishop Franz-Josef Bode (Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück) said, there can be clerical celibacy priests and also married priests in Roman Catholic Church. In December 2019, German bishop Heinrich Timmerevers answered also, there can be married priests in Catholic Church.  In November 2019, the "Amazonassynode" in Rome voted by 128 to 41 votes in favour for married priests in Latin America.

Exceptions to the rule of priestly celibacy.

Exceptions to the rule of celibacy for priests of the Latin Church are sometimes granted by authority of the Pope, when married Protestant clergy become Catholic. Thus married Anglicans have been ordained to the Catholic priesthood in personal ordinariates and through the United States Pastoral Provision. Because the rule of celibacy is an ecclesiastical law and not a doctrine, it can, in principle, be changed at any time by the Pope. Nonetheless, both Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessors have spoken clearly of their understanding that the traditional practice was not likely to change.  Father Richard McBrien, a controversial voice within the Church, argued that the existence of these exceptions, coupled with a declining number of priests in active ministry (per McBrien's North America and in Europe) and reported cases of non-observance of the norm will keep the subject in the spotlight. However, the number of priests worldwide has been increased from about 405,000 in 1995 to 415,000 in 2016, reversing the previous downward tendency from about 420,000 in 1970 to 403,000 in 1990.

Lack of enforcement.

Despite the Latin Church's historical practice of priestly celibacy, there have been Catholic priests throughout the centuries who have engaged in sexual relations through the practice of concubinage.  One notable example was former EWTN priest Francis Mary Stone, who was also revealed to have privately maintained his clerical status after violating his vow of celibacy and also fathering a child with an employee at EWTN when he was serving as a host of the network's show "Life on the Rock". After these revelations were made public, Stone was at first only suspended from public ministry. He was later accused of sexually abusing the son he fathered with this employee, but was later acquitted. By 2018, it was reported that Stone was still only suspended from his religious order and was not yet acknowledged to have been removed.  On February 18, 2019, the Vatican acknowledged that the celibacy policy has not always been enforced. Some of the Catholic clergy who violated their vow of celibacy had also fathered children as well. It was also revealed that during the course of history, rules were secretly established by the Vatican to protect clergy who had violated the celibacy policy, including those who fathered children. Some people who were fathered by Catholic clergy also made themselves public as well.  In an interview with Vatican News editor Andrea Tornielli on February 27, 2019, Prefect of Congregation of the Clergy Beniamino Stella revealed that his Congregation manages matters concerning priests who violate their vows of celibacy. Regarding violation of the celibacy policy, Stella stated "In such cases there are, unfortunately, Bishops and Superiors who think that, after having provided economically for the children, or after having transferred the priest, the cleric could continue to exercise the ministry."  Some clergy who violated the celibacy policy, which also forbids marriage for clergy who did not convert from the Anglican or Protestant faiths, have also maintained their clerical status after marrying women in secret. One example was shown in the Diocese of Greensburg in Pennsylvania, where a priest maintained his clerical status after marrying a girl he impregnated. In 2012, Kevin Lee, a priest in Australia, revealed that he had maintained his clerical status after being secretly married for a full year and that church leaders were aware of his secret marriage, but disregarded the celibacy policy. The same year, it was revealed that former Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala had privately fathered two children and had "more than a passing relationship" with their mother, who had two separate pregnancies, before he resigned from his post as Auxiliary Bishop and from the Catholic clergy.

Eastern Catholic churches.

In general, the Eastern Catholic Churches allow ordination of married men as priests. Within the lands of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the largest Eastern Rite Catholic Church, priests' children often became priests and married within their social group, establishing a tightly-knit hereditary caste. In North America, by the provisions of the decree "Cum data fuerit", and for fear that married priests would create scandal among Latin Church Catholics, Eastern Catholic bishops were directed to ordain only unmarried men. This ban, which some bishops determined to be null in various circumstances or at times or simply decided not to enforce, was finally rescinded by a decree of June 2014.  A condition for becoming an Eastern Catholic bishop is to be unmarried or a widower.  The mainly Lebanese Maronite Church does not demand celibacy vows from its deacons or parish priests; their monks, however, are celibate, as well as their bishops who are normally selected from celibate priests and sometimes from the monasteries. The current Patriarch of the Maronite Church is originally a monk in the Mariamite Maronite Order.

Clerical celibacy is the discipline within the Catholic Church by which only unmarried men are ordained to the episcopate, to the priesthood (with individual exceptions) in some autonomous particular Churches, and similarly to the diaconate (with exceptions for certain categories of people). In other autonomous particular churches, the discipline applies only to the episcopate.

Le célibat sacerdotal, dans l'Église catholique latine, est une règle selon laquelle seuls des hommes célibataires peuvent être ordonnés prêtres. Cette règle est présente dès les premiers temps de l'Église, comme l'attestent différents conciles du début du IVe siècle. Elle n'est globalement pas respectée jusqu'au et, en pratique, si le mariage est interdit, le concubinage reste très commun (plus de 50 % des prêtres) au moins jusqu'à la fin du Moyen Âge. De nos jours les Églises d'Orient et d'Occident observent sur ce point une discipline différente.


Emergence.

The earliest known catarrhine is "Kamoyapithecus" from uppermost Oligocene at Eragaleit in the northern Kenya Rift Valley, dated to 24 million years ago. Its ancestry is thought to be species related to "Aegyptopithecus", "Propliopithecus", and "Parapithecus" from the Faiyum depression, at around 35 million years ago. In 2010, "Saadanius" was described as a close relative of the last common ancestor of the crown catarrhines, and tentatively dated to 29–28 million years ago, helping to fill an 11-million-year gap in the fossil record. Notable species also include "Nsungwepithecus" "gunnelli" and "Rukwapithecus fleaglei", dubiously taxonomized catarrhines of the Oligocene. In the early Miocene, about 22 million years ago, the many kinds of arboreally adapted primitive catarrhines from East Africa suggest a long history of prior diversification. Fossils at 20 million years ago include fragments attributed to "Victoriapithecus", the earliest Old World monkey. Among the genera thought to be in the ape lineage leading up to 13 million years ago are "Proconsul", "Rangwapithecus", "Dendropithecus", "Limnopithecus", "Nacholapithecus", "Equatorius", "Nyanzapithecus", "Afropithecus", "Heliopithecus", and "Kenyapithecus", all from East Africa.  The presence of other generalized non-cercopithecids of middle Miocene age from sites far distant—"Otavipithecus" from cave deposits in Namibia, and "Pierolapithecus" and "Dryopithecus" from France, Spain and Austria—is evidence of a wide diversity of forms across Africa and the Mediterranean basin during the relatively warm and equable climatic regimes of the early and middle Miocene. The youngest of the Miocene hominoids, "Oreopithecus", is from coal beds in Italy that have been dated to 9 million years ago.  Molecular evidence indicates that the lineage of gibbons (family Hylobatidae) diverged from Great Apes some 18–12 million years ago, and that of orangutans (subfamily Ponginae) diverged from the other Great Apes at about 12 million years; there are no fossils that clearly document the ancestry of gibbons, which may have originated in a so-far-unknown South East Asian hominoid population, but fossil proto-orangutans may be represented by "Sivapithecus" from India and "Griphopithecus" from Turkey, dated to around 10 million years ago.

Evolution of lemurs.

Lemurs, in the suborder Strepsirrhini, had been isolated on the island of Madagascar between 42 and 50 mya, allowing for their independent evolution.

Human evolution.

Human evolution is the evolutionary process that led to the emergence of anatomically modern humans, beginning with the evolutionary history of primates – in particular genus "Homo" – and leading to the emergence of "Homo sapiens" as a distinct species of the hominid family, the great apes. This process involved the gradual development of traits such as human bipedalism and language.  The study of human evolution involves many scientific disciplines, including physical anthropology, primatology, archaeology, paleontology, neurobiology, ethology, linguistics, evolutionary psychology, embryology and genetics. Genetic studies show that primates diverged from other mammals about, in the Late Cretaceous period, and the earliest fossils appear in the Paleocene, around.  Within the superfamily Hominoidea (apes), the family Hominidae diverged from the family Hylobatidae (gibbons) some 15–20 million years ago; African great apes (subfamily Homininae) diverged from orangutans (Ponginae) about ; the tribe Hominini (humans, "Australopithecines" and other extinct biped genera, and chimpanzee) parted from the tribe Gorillini (gorillas) between and ; and, in turn, the subtribes Hominina (humans and biped ancestors) and Panina (chimpanzees) separated about to.

Evolution of the pelvis.

In primates, the pelvis consists of four parts—the left and the right hip bones which meet in the mid-line ventrally and are fixed to the sacrum dorsally and the coccyx. Each hip bone consists of three components, the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis, and at the time of sexual maturity these bones become fused together, though there is never any movement between them. In humans, the ventral joint of the pubic bones is closed.  The most striking feature of evolution of the pelvis in primates is the widening and the shortening of the blade called the ilium. Because of the stresses involved in bipedal locomotion, the muscles of the thigh move the thigh forward and backward, providing the power for bi-pedal and quadrupedal locomotion.

The evolutionary history of the primates can be traced back 65 million years. One of the oldest known primate-like mammal species, the "Plesiadapis", came from North America; another, "Archicebus", came from China. Other similar basal primates were widespread in Eurasia and Africa during the tropical conditions of the Paleocene and Eocene. "Purgatorius" is the genus of the four extinct species believed to be the earliest example of a primate or a proto-primate, a primatomorph precursor to the Plesiadapiformes, dating to as old as 66 million years ago.

L'ordre des Primates constituerait l'une des plus anciennes lignées de mammifères placentaires, dont l'apparition daterait de 80 à 65 millions d'années. Issus d'un ancêtre vraisemblablement insectivore (dont aucun fossile n'atteste l'existence à l'heure actuelle) qui évoluait au Crétacé supérieur, les Primates ont connu une radiation évolutive importante tout au long du Cénozoïque. Plusieurs divergences successives ont conduit à la formation des cinq grands ensembles de primates actuels : les lémuriens, les loris et galagos, les tarsiers, les singes du Nouveau Monde (Platyrrhiniens), et ceux de l'Ancien Monde (Catarrhiniens).


History.

In his 1952 text "Introduction to Metamathematics", Stephen Kleene formally proved that the CASE function (the IF-THEN-ELSE function being its simplest form) is a primitive recursive function, where he defines the notion codice_6 in the following manner:  Kleene provides a proof of this in terms of the Boolean-like recursive functions "sign-of" sg( ) and "not sign of" ~sg( ) (Kleene 1952:222-223); the first returns 1 if its input is positive and −1 if its input is negative.  Boolos-Burgess-Jeffrey make the additional observation that "definition by cases" must be both mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive. They too offer a proof of the primitive recursiveness of this function (Boolos-Burgess-Jeffrey 2002:74-75).  The IF-THEN-ELSE is the basis of the McCarthy formalism: its usage replaces both primitive recursion and the mu-operator.

Typical syntax.

In most languages, programmers write a switch statement across many individual lines using one or two keywords. A typical syntax involves:  Each alternative begins with the particular value, or list of values (see below), that the control variable may match and which will cause the control to goto the corresponding sequence of statements. The value (or list/range of values) is usually separated from the corresponding statement sequence by a colon or by an implication arrow. In many languages, every case must also be preceded by a keyword such as codice_3 or codice_11.  An optional default case is typically also allowed, specified by a codice_12, codice_13, or codice_14 keyword. This executes when none of the other cases match the control expression. In some languages, such as C, if no case matches and the codice_12 is omitted the codice_2 statement simply exits. In others, like PL/I, an error is raised.

Semantics.

Semantically, there are two main forms of switch statements.  The first form are structured switches, as in Pascal, where exactly one branch is taken, and the cases are treated as separate, exclusive blocks. This functions as a generalized if–then–else conditional, here with any number of branches, not just two.  The second form are unstructured switches, as in C, where the cases are treated as labels within a single block, and the switch functions as a generalized goto. This distinction is referred to as the treatment of fallthrough, which is elaborated below.

Fallthrough.

In many languages, only the matching block is executed, and then execution continues at the end of the switch statement. These include the Pascal family (Object Pascal, Modula, Oberon, Ada, etc.) as well as PL/I, modern forms of Fortran and BASIC dialects influenced by Pascal, most functional languages, and many others. To allow multiple values to execute the same code (and avoid needing to duplicate code), Pascal-type languages permit any number of values per case, given as a comma-separated list, as a range, or as a combination.  Languages derived from C language, and more generally those influenced by Fortran's computed GOTO, instead feature fallthrough, where control moves to the matching case, and then execution continues ("falls through") to the statements associated with the "next" case in the source text. This also allows multiple values to match the same point without any special syntax: they are just listed with empty bodies. Values can be special conditioned with code in the case body. In practice, fallthrough is usually prevented with a codice_8 keyword at the end of the matching body, which exits execution of the switch block, but this can cause bugs due to unintentional fallthrough if the programmer forgets to insert the codice_8 statement. This is thus seen by many as a language wart, and warned against in some lint tools. Syntactically, the cases are interpreted as labels, not blocks, and the switch and break statements explicitly change control flow. Some languages influenced by C, such as JavaScript, retain default fallthrough, while others remove fallthrough, or only allow it in special circumstances. Notable variations on this in the C-family include C#, in which all blocks must be terminated with a codice_8 or codice_20 unless the block is empty (i.e. fallthrough is used as a way to specify multiple values).  In some cases languages provide optional fallthrough. For example, Perl does not fall through by default, but a case may explicitly do so using a codice_21 keyword. This prevents unintentional fallthrough but allows it when desired. Similarly, bash defaults to not falling through, when terminated with ;; but more recent versions allow fallthrough with ;& instead.  An example of a switch statement that relies on fallthrough is Duff's device.

Compilation.

Optimizing compilers such as GCC or Clang may compile a switch statement into either a branch table or a binary search through the values in the cases. A branch table allows the switch statement to determine with a small, constant number of instructions which branch to execute without having to go through a list of comparisons, while a binary search takes only a logarithmic number of comparisons, measured in the number of cases in the switch statement.  Normally, the only method of finding out if this optimization has occurred is by actually looking at the resultant assembly or machine code output that has been generated by the compiler.

Advantages and disadvantages.

In some languages and programming environments, the use of a codice_3 or codice_2 statement is considered superior to an equivalent series of "if else if" statements because it is:  Additionally, an optimized implementation may execute much faster than the alternative, because it is often implemented by using an indexed branch table. For example, deciding program flow based on a single character's value, if correctly implemented, is vastly more efficient than the alternative, reducing instruction path lengths considerably. When implemented as such, a switch statement essentially becomes a perfect hash.  In terms of the control flow graph, a switch statement consists of two nodes (entrance and exit), plus one edge between them for each option. By contrast, a sequence of "if...else if...else if" statements has an additional node for every case other than the first and last, together with a corresponding edge. The resulting control flow graph for the sequences of "if"s thus has many more nodes and almost twice as many edges, with these not adding any useful information. However, the simple branches in the if statements are individually conceptually easier than the complex branch of a switch statement. In terms of cyclomatic complexity, both of these options increase it by "k"−1 if given "k" cases.

Alternative uses.

Many languages evaluate expressions inside codice_2 blocks at runtime, allowing a number of less obvious uses for the construction. This prohibits certain compiler optimizations, so is more common in dynamic and scripting languages where the enhanced flexibility is more important than the performance overhead.  For example, in PHP, a constant can be used as the "variable" to check against, and the first case statement which evaluates to that constant will be executed:  switch(true) { switch(5) {  This feature is also useful for checking multiple variables against one value rather than one variable against many values. COBOL also supports this form (and others forms) in the codice_25 statement. PL/I has an alternative form of the codice_26 statement where the control expression is omitted altogether and the first codice_27 that evaluates to "true" is executed.  In Ruby, due to its handling of codice_28 equality, the statement can be used to test for variable’s class: case input when Array then puts 'input is an Array!' when Hash then puts 'input is a Hash!' end Ruby also returns a value that can be assigned to a variable, and doesn’t actually require the codice_3 to have any parameters (acting a bit like an codice_30 statement): catfood =  A switch statement in assembly language:  switch: a: b: swtend:

Exception handling.

A number of languages implement a form of switch statement in exception handling, where if an exception is raised in a block, a separate branch is chosen, depending on the exception. In some cases a default branch, if no exception is raised, is also present. An early example is Modula-3, which use the codice_31...codice_32 syntax, where each codice_32 defines a case. This is also found in Delphi, Scala, and Visual Basic.NET.

Alternatives.

Some alternatives to switch statements can be:

In computer programming languages, a switch statement is a type of selection control mechanism used to allow the value of a variable or expression to change the control flow of program execution via search and map.

En programmation informatique, switch (« aiguillage » en anglais), parfois aussi select (comme en VB) ou inspect ou case of (Pascal, Modula 2) ou Match (Rust) est une instruction qui permet d'effectuer un branchement à partir de la valeur d'une variable. Elle peut dans certains cas remplacer une série (souvent peu élégante) de if... else. On l'utilise lorsque les cas à gérer sont nombreux.


Italian occupation.

The initial Italian occupation of France territory occurred in June 1940; it was then expanded in November 1942. The German offensive against the Low Countries and France began on 10 May and by the middle of May German forces were on French soil. By the start of June, British forces were evacuating from the pocket in Northern France. On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war against the French and British. Ten days later, the Italian army invaded France. On 24 June 1940, after the Fall of France, Italy and France signed the Franco-Italian Armistice, two days after the cessation of hostilities between France and Germany, agreeing upon an Italian zone of occupation.  This initial zone of occupation annexed officially to the Kingdom of Italy was and contained 28,500 inhabitants. The largest town contained within the initial Italian zone of occupation was Menton. The main city inside the "demilitarized zone" of 50 km (31 mi) from the former border with the Italian Alpine Wall was Nice.  In November 1942, in conjunction with "Case Anton", the German occupation of most of Vichy France, the Royal Italian Army ("Regio Esercito") expanded its occupation zone. Italian forces took control of Toulon and all of Provence up to the river Rhône, with the island of Corsica (claimed by the Italian irredentists). Nice and Corsica were to be annexed to Italy (as had happened in 1940 with Menton), in order to fulfil the aspirations of Italian irredentists (including local groups such as the Nizzardo Italians and the Corsican Italians). But this was not completed because of the Italian surrender to the Allies in September 1943 when the Germans took over the Italian occupation zones.  The area of south-east France actually occupied by the Italians has been disputed. A study of the postal history of the region has cast new light on the part of France controlled by the Italians and the Germans.(Trapnell, 2014). By studying mail that had been censored by the occupying power, this study showed that the Italians occupied the eastern part up to a "line" joining Toulon - Gap - Grenoble - Chambéry - Annecy - Geneva. Places occupied by the Italians west of this were few or transitory.

Characteristics.

The Italian Army of occupation in southern France in November 1942 was made up of four infantry divisions with 136,000 soldiers and 6,000 officers, while in Corsica there were 66,000 soldiers with 3,000 officers. There was virtually no guerrilla war against the Italians in France until summer 1943. The Vichy regime that controlled southern France was friendly toward Italy, seeking concessions of the sort Germany would never make in its occupation zone.

Refuge.

Many thousands of Jews moved to the Italian zone of occupation to escape Nazi persecution in Vichy France. Nearly 80% of the remaining 300,000 French Jews took refuge there after November 1942. The book Robert O. Paxton's "Vichy France, Old Guard, New Order" describes how the Italian zone acted as a refuge for Jews fleeing persecution in Vichy France during the occupation. The Italian Jewish banker Angelo Donati had an important role in convincing the Italian civil and military authorities to protect the Jews from French persecution.  In January 1943 the Italians refused to cooperate with the Nazis in rounding up the Jews living in the occupied zone of France under their control and in March prevented the Nazis from deporting Jews in their zone. German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop complained to Mussolini that "Italian military circles... lack a proper understanding of the Jewish question."  However, when the Italians signed the armistice with the Allies, German troops invaded the former Italian zone on 8 September 1943 and initiated brutal raids. Alois Brunner, the SS official for Jewish affairs, was placed at the head of units formed to search out Jews. Within five months, 5,000 Jews were caught and deported.

Bordeaux.

In August 1940, the Italian Royal Navy ("Regia Marina") established a submarine base at Bordeaux, outside Italian-occupied France.  Operating from "Bordeaux Sommergibile" ("BETASOM") as it was known, thirty-two Italian submarines participated in the Battle of the Atlantic. These submarines sank 109 Allied merchant ships (593,864 tons) and 18 warships (20,000 tons) up to September 1943. Eleven of these submarines were lost.

Italian territorial claims.

In addition to Nice/Nizza and Corsica, the Italians projected further territorial claims for the defeated France. In 1940, The Italian Armistice Commission ("Commissione Italiana d'Armistizio con la Francia", CIAF) produced two detailed plans concerning the future of the occupied French territories. Plan 'A' presented an Italian military occupation all the way to the river Rhone, in which France would maintain its territorial integrity except for Corsica and Nizza. Plan 'B' encompassed the Italian annexation of the Alpes Maritimes (including the Principality of Monaco) and parts of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes Alpes and Savoie. The territory would be administrated as the new Italian region of "Alpi Occidentali" with the town of Briançon (Italian: "Brianzone") acting as the provincial capital.

Italian-occupied France was an area of south-eastern France occupied by the Kingdom of Italy in two stages during World War II. The occupation lasted from June 1940 until the Armistice of Cassibile between Italy and Allied armed forces in September 1943, when Italian troops on French soil retreated under pressure from the Germans.

Une zone d’occupation italienne en France lors de la Seconde Guerre mondiale (bataille de France) a été instituée par l’armistice du 24 juin 1940 signé entre les représentants de la France et de l’Italie. Ce nouvel armistice est signé peu après l’armistice du 22 juin 1940 entre la France et l’Allemagne.


Description.

As described in the Mozambican constitution article 194, the various parts of the emblem have a special symbolism, i.e.  From 1975-1982, the map of Mozambique was brown instead of green. Along with this change of colour, the position of the wreath was changed, the text was changed from black to gold, and a gold border was added around the red star.  In 1990, with the implementation of the new constitution, the name of the country was changed from "República Popular de Moçambique" to "República de Moçambique", and the text on the emblem was changed accordingly.  Mozambique's parliamentary opposition would specifically like to see removed the image of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, which symbolizes the nation's struggle for independence, according to press reports.

Historical coats of arms.

In 1935, the Portuguese colonies were officially assigned coats of arms that followed a standard design pattern.

References.

Article 194 The emblem of the Republic of Mozambique shall contain as its central elements a book, a gun and a hoe, superimposed on a map of Mozambique, representing, respectively, education, defense and vigilance, and the peasantry and agricultural production. Below the map the ocean shall be represented. In the center shall be the rising sun, symbol of the building of a new life. Enclosing all this shall be a toothed wheel, symbolizing labor and industry. Surrounding the toothed wheel there shall be, to the right and left respectively, an ear of maize and a piece of sugar cane, symbolizing agricultural wealth. At the bottom there shall be a red strip with the inscription "Republic of Mozambique."

The national emblem of Mozambique was adopted in 1990 in the Constitution of Mozambique article 194. The article clearly states the design and meaning of the device. It shows a gear wheel, bordered by corn stalks and sugarcane. In the middle there is a red sun over a map of Mozambique in green, and blue waves, an AK-47 crossed with a hoe, and a book. The wreath is tied with a ribbon bearing the name of the country. The emblem is "socialist heraldry" style similar to those of the Soviet republics.

Les armoiries du Mozambique, furent adoptées en 1990 et conservent des similitudes avec celles de la République populaire du Mozambique, le régime communiste en vigueur entre 1975 et 1990.


Terminology.

An alternative Chinese term is "ketou"; however, the meaning is somewhat altered: "kou" () has the general meaning of "knock", whereas "ke" () has the general meaning of "touch upon (a surface)", "tou" () meaning head. The date of this custom's origin is probably sometime between the Spring and Autumn period, or the Warring States period of China's history because it was a custom by the time of the Qin dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC).

Traditional usage.

In Imperial Chinese protocol, the kowtow was performed before the Emperor of China. Depending on the solemnity of the situation different grades of kowtow would be used. In the most solemn of ceremonies, for example at the coronation of a new Emperor, the Emperor's subjects would undertake the ceremony of the "three kneelings and nine kowtows", the so-called grand kowtow, which involves kneeling from a standing position three times, and each time, performing the kowtow three times while kneeling. Immanuel Hsu describes the "full kowtow" as "three kneelings and nine knockings of the head on the ground". As government officials represented the majesty of the Emperor while carrying out their duties, commoners were also required to kowtow to them in formal situations. For example, a commoner brought before a local magistrate would be required to kneel and kowtow. A commoner is then required to remain kneeling, whereas a person who has earned a degree in the Imperial examinations is permitted a seat.  Since one is required by Confucian philosophy to show great reverence to one's parents and grandparents, children may also be required to kowtow to their elderly ancestors, particularly on special occasions. For example, at a wedding, the marrying couple was traditionally required to kowtow to both sets of parents, as acknowledgement of the debt owed for their nurturing.  Confucius believed there was a natural harmony between the body and mind and therefore, whatever actions were expressed through the body would be transferred over to the mind. Because the body is placed in a low position in the kowtow, the idea is that one will naturally convert to his or her mind a feeling of respect. What one does to oneself influences the mind. Confucian philosophy held that respect was important for a society, making bowing an important ritual.

Modern Chinese usage.

The kowtow, and other traditional forms of reverence, were much maligned after the May Fourth Movement. Today, only vestiges of the traditional usage of the kowtow remain. In many situations, the standing bow has replaced the kowtow. For example, some, but not all, people would choose to kowtow before the grave of an ancestor, or while making traditional offerings to an ancestor. Direct descendants may also kowtow at the funeral of an ancestor, while others would simply bow. During a wedding, some couples may kowtow to their respective parents, though the standing bow is today more common. In extreme cases, the kowtow can be used to express profound gratitude, apology, or to beg for forgiveness.  The kowtow remains alive as part of a formal induction ceremony in certain traditional trades that involve apprenticeship or discipleship. For example, Chinese martial arts schools often require a student to kowtow to a master. Likewise, traditional performing arts often also require the kowtow.

Religion.

Prostration is a general practice in Buddhism, and not restricted to China. The kowtow is often performed in groups of three before Buddhist statues and images or tombs of the dead. In Buddhism it is more commonly termed either "worship with the crown (of the head)" (頂禮 ding li) or "casting the five limbs to the earth" (五體投地 wuti tou di)—referring to the two arms, two legs and forehead. For example, in certain ceremonies, a person would perform a sequence of three sets of three kowtows—stand up and kneel down again between each set—as an extreme gesture of respect; hence the term "three kneelings and nine head knockings" (). Also, some Buddhist pilgrims would kowtow once for every three steps made during their long journeys, the number three referring to the Triple Gem of Buddhism, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Prostration is widely practiced in India by Hindus to give utmost respect to their deities in temples and to parents and elders. Nowadays in modern times people show the regards to elders by bowing down and touching their feet.

Diplomacy.

The word "kowtow" came into English in the early 19th century to describe the bow itself, but its meaning soon shifted to describe any abject submission or groveling. The term is still commonly used in English with this meaning, disconnected from the physical act and the East Asian context.  Dutch ambassador Isaac Titsingh did not refuse to kowtow during the course of his 1794–1795 mission to the imperial court of the Qianlong Emperor. The members of the Titsingh mission, including Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest and Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de Guignes, made every effort to conform with the demands of the complex Imperial court etiquette.  On two occasions, the kowtow was performed by Chinese envoys to a foreign ruler – specifically the Russian Tsar. T'o-Shih, Qing emissary to Russia whose mission to Moscow took place in 1731, kowtowed before Tsarina Anna, as per instructions by the Yongzheng Emperor, as did Desin, who led another mission the next year to the new Russian capital at St. Petersburg. Hsu notes that the Kangxi Emperor, Yongzheng's predecessor, explicitly ordered that Russia be given a special status in Qing foreign relations by not being included among tributary states, i.e. recognition as an implicit equal of China.  The kowtow was often performed in intra-Asian diplomatic relations as well. In 1636, after being defeated by the invading Manchus, King Injo of Joseon (Korea) was forced to surrender by kowtowing three times to pledge tributary status to the Qing Emperor, Hong Taiji. As was customary of all Asian envoys to Qing China, Joseon envoys kowtowed three times to the Qing emperor during their visits to China, continuing until 1896, when the Korean Empire withdrew its tributary status from Qing as a result of the First Sino-Japanese War.  The King of the Ryukyu Kingdom also had to kneel three times on the ground and touch his head nine times to the ground (), to show his allegiance to the Chinese emperors.

Kowtow, which is borrowed from "koutou" in Mandarin Chinese ("kau tau" in Cantonese), is the act of deep respect shown by prostration, that is, kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. In East Asian culture, the kowtow is the highest sign of reverence. It was widely used to show reverence for one's elders, superiors, and especially the Emperor, as well as for religious and cultural objects of worship. In modern times, usage of the kowtow has been reduced.

Le kowtow (, API pour le mandarin :, pour la cantonais : ) est un geste signe de profond respect qui consiste pour la personne qui l'exécute à se mettre à genoux et en s'inclinant de manière que sa tête touche le sol.


Demographics and language.

Their language, called "Sosoxui" by native speakers, serves as a major trade language along the Guinean coast, particularly in its southwest, including the capital city of Conakry. It belongs to the Niger-Congo family of languages.  In old Susu language, "Guinea" means woman and this is the derivation for the country's name.

History.

The Susu are descendants of their Manding ancestors who originally lived in the mountainous Mali-Guinea border. They were once ruled by Sumanguru Kanté – a Susu leader, but after that, they were ruled by the thirteenth century Mali Empire. In the fifteenth century, they migrated west to the Fouta Djallon plateau of Guinea, as the Mali empire disintegrated. Susu people were traditionally animist.  The Fula people dominated the region from the Fouta Djallon. The Fulani created an Islamic theocracy, thereafter began slave raids as a part of Jihad that impacted many West African ethnic groups including the Susu people. In particular, states Ismail Rashid, the Jihad effort of Fulani elites starting in the 1720s theologically justified enslavement of the non-Islamic people and also led to successful conversion of previously animist peoples to Islam. The political environment led the Susu people to convert to Islam in the 17th and 18th-century, along with further westward and southward migration towards the plains of Guinea.  The colonial-era Europeans arrived in the Guinea region of resident Susu people in late 18th-century for trade, but got politically involved during the era of Temne wars that attacked the Susu people along with other ethnic groups. While Temne sought British support, the Susu sought the French. The region split, with Temne speaking Sierra Leone regions going with the British colonial empire, and Susu speaking Guinea regions becoming a part of the French colonial empire in late 19th-century during the Scramble for Africa.

Society and culture.

The Susu live with their extended family. Polygyny is an accepted practice since Islamic law allows men to have as many as four wives. This is not always practiced because having multiple wives requires more means than most men have. The men provide for their families by working the rice fields, fishing, or engaging in trade. The women cook the food and take care of the children. They often engage in small commerce, usually of vegetables they have raised in their garden. Often women will have their room or hut next to their husband's lodging where they will stay with their children.  Over 99% of Susu are Muslim, and Islam dominates their religious culture and practices. Most Islamic holidays are observed, the most important being the celebration that follows Ramadan (a month of prayer and fasting). The Susu people, like other Manding-speaking peoples, have a caste system regionally referred to by terms such as "Nyamakala", "Naxamala" and "Galabbolalauba". According to David Conrad and Barbara Frank, the terms and social categories in this caste-based social stratification system of Susu people shows cases of borrowing from Arabic only, but the likelihood is that these terms are linked to Latin, Greek or Aramaic.  The artisans among Susu people, such as smiths, carpenters, musicians, and bards ("Yeliba"), jewelers, and leatherworkers, are separate castes. The Susu people believe that these castes have descended from the medieval era slaves. The Susu castes are not limited to Guinea, but are found in other regions where Susu people live, such as in Sierra Leone where too they are linked to the historic slavery system that existed in the region, states Daniel Harmon. The Susu castes in the regional Muslim communities were prevalent and recorded by sociologists in late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Some Susu combine their Islamic faith with traditional beliefs, such as the existence of spirits who inhabit certain areas, and the belief in sorcerers who have the power to change into animals, cast evil spells on people, or heal people from certain ailments.  The Susu are primarily farmers, with rice and millet being their two principal crops. Mangoes, pineapples, and coconuts are also grown. The women make various kinds of palm oil from palm nuts. Ancient Susu houses were typically made of either mud or cement blocks, depending on the resources available.  Prince Modupe, Guinean actor, Hollywood technical advisor on Africa and author of the autobiography, "A Royal African" (Praeger: New York, 1969) (published in 1957 by Harcourt, Brace & World as "I Was a Savage")

The Susu people, also spelled Soosoo, Sossoe, Sosoe, Soso, Sossé, Sosso, Sousou, Susa, Susoo, Susso, Sussu, Suzée, or Soussou, are a West African ethnic group, one of the Mandé peoples living primarily in Guinea and Northwestern Sierra Leone, particularly in Kambia District. Influential in Guinea, smaller communities of Susu people are also found in the neighboring Guinea-Bissau, Senegal.

Les Soussous sont une population mandingue d'Afrique de l'Ouest vivant principalement en Guinée, également au nord-ouest de la Sierra Leone et en Guinée-Bissau. Comme la plupart des groupes mandingues, ils sont originaires du Mandé.


Background and recording.

Written by Cobain in 1989, "Breed" was originally titled "Imodium," after the anti-diarrhea medicine used by Tad Doyle, lead singer of Seattle rock band TAD, during Nirvana's and TAD's shared European tour. It was first performed live on October 8, 1989 at the Lif Ticket Lounge in Omaha, Nebraska.  "Breed" was first recorded in the studio in April 1990 by Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, during the recording sessions for what was intended to be the band's second album on Sub Pop, their original label. However, this planned album was cancelled after the band signed with DGC Records shortly after. Vig re-recorded the song during the sessions for what became the band's second album and major label debut, "Nevermind", in May 1991 at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California. Cobain recorded four vocal takes for the song, with each successive take "getting worse because he blew his voice out," as Vig recalls. The first take was chosen as the master. Both recordings of the song also feature the guitar being panned from one channel to the next during the guitar solo to create what Cobain biographer Charles R. Cross called "a dizzying" effect.  "Breed" was performed for the last time live at Nirvana's final concert, at Terminal Einz in Munich, Germany on March 1, 1994.

Composition.

Music.

"Breed" is an alternative rock song that runs for a duration of three minutes and three seconds. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by BMG Rights Management, it is written in the time signature of common time, with a moderately fast rock tempo of 160 beats per minute. "Breed" is composed in the key of F minor, while Kurt Cobain's vocal range spans one octave and three notes, from the low-note of C to the high-note of F. The song follows a basic sequence of F–E–F–A–E in the verses and bridge and D–A–C–B during the refrain as its chord progression.

Lyrics.

Lyrically, the song addresses themes of teenage apathy and fear within the American middle-class. Stevie Chick of "Kerrang" wrote that lyrics such as "We can plant a house, we can build a tree" displayed Cobain's "gift for crafting witty, purposeful nonsense."

Reception.

In 2015, "Rolling Stone" ranked "Breed" at number four on their ranking of 102 Nirvana songs, with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd calling it "one of the most alive songs on "Nevermind"."  In 2017, to mark what would have been Cobain's 50th birthday, the Phonographic Performance Limited released a list of the top 20 most played Nirvana songs on television and the radio in the United Kingdom, in which "Breed" was ranked at number 13.  On April 24, 2020, the song was performed by American musician Post Malone during his 15-song Nirvana tribute concert, which was livestreamed on YouTube and raised more than $4 million for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

In popular culture.

The "Nevermind" version of "Breed" appears in the 2007 American action film, "Shoot 'Em Up", directed by Michael Davis. It also appears in the video game "Tony Hawk's Proving Ground", also from 2007.

"Breed" is a song by the American rock band, Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It is the fourth song on their 1991 studio album, "Nevermind".

Kurt Cobain hurle sa rage sur cette chanson punk rock au tempo très rapide. La genèse de ce texte remonte à un médicament : son titre était à l'origine « "Immodium" » et elle fut composée durant la première tournée européenne de Nirvana, alors qu'ils voyageaient en compagnie du groupe Tad. "Immodium" fut l'un des huit morceaux enregistrés par Butch Vig pour la démo des studios Smart d'.


Geography.

Brazoria is located southwest of the center of Brazoria County at (29.047216, -95.567625). The northeast edge of the community, known as Old Brazoria, is located along the Brazos River. Texas State Highway 36 runs through the center of the city, leading southeast to Freeport and northwest to Rosenberg.  According to the United States Census Bureau, Brazoria has a total area of, all of it land.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,787 people, 1,063 households, and 736 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,489.4 people per square mile (575.4/km). There were 1,166 housing units at an average density of 623.1 per square mile (240.7/km). The racial makeup of the city was 81.95% White, 10.30% African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 5.38% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.37% of the population.  There were 1,063 households, out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.18.  In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.3% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.3 males.  The median income for a household in the city was $36,058, and the median income for a family was $41,563. Males had a median income of $35,000 versus $21,543 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,666. About 10.8% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 19.3% of those age 65 or over.

History.

Brazoria was founded in 1828 on land granted by Stephen F. Austin to John Austin, who laid out the town. The town's name was selected by John Austin, "for the single reason that I know of none like it in the world". Supposedly, the first Masonic lodge in Texas was founded in 1835 when six men met under the Masonic Oak in Brazoria. The following year, the town was nearly deserted during the Runaway Scrape. H. M. Shaw opened a school in Brazoria in 1838 and a post office opened in 1846. The community's 1884 population was served by 12 general stores, five churches, three hotels, good schools, cotton gins, and sugar mills. By 1890 the town had become the county seat. Two years later the "Velasco World" weekly newspaper began publishing in the town.  However, the railroad bypassed Brazoria and it lost the county seat to Angleton in 1897. The town went into decline. The Brazoria school boasted three teachers and 142 students in 1906. The "Banner" weekly news started publishing in 1914. The local discovery of oil and sulphur in 1939 and the construction of a bridge across the Brazos River helped restore the town's fortunes. By 1987 Brazoria counted 50 businesses. Brazoria celebrates Frontier Days in March, the No Name Festival in June, and the Santa Ana Ball in July.

Education.

The city is served by the Columbia-Brazoria Independent School District.  Two public elementary schools serve Brazoria—Barrow Elementary, which is located in the city limits, and Wild Peach Elementary, which is located outside the city limits. West Brazos Junior High School is also located in Brazoria and serves all junior high school students in the Columbia-Brazoria Independent School District.  Students continue on to Columbia High School. Columbia High School is located the city of West Columbia.

Government and infrastructure.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Clemens Unit in an unincorporated area near Brazoria.  The Brazoria Library is a part of the Brazoria County Library System.

Medical services.

Brazoria is served by West Brazos EMS which is operated by Sweeny Community Hospital. Although there is not a hospital within the city limits, Sweeny Community, Brazosport Regional, Matagorda Regional, and UTMB Angleton-Danbury are all within a driving distance.

Transportation.

Eagle Air Park (IATA code BZT) is the city airport.

Climate.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Brazoria has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Brazoria ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in the metropolitan area and Brazoria County. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 3,019.

Brazoria (en anglais ) est une ville du comté de Brazoria, dans l’État du Texas, aux États-Unis. Sa population s’élevait à lors du recensement.


Uses.

During the first half of the 19th century, many photosensitive metal salts had been identified as candidates for photographic processes, among them uranyl nitrate. The prints thus produced were called uranium prints, urbanities, or more commonly, uranotypes. The first uranium printing processes were invented by Scotsman J. Charles Burnett between 1855 and 1857, and used this compound as the sensitive salt. Burnett authored a 1858 article comparing "Printing by the Salts of the Uranic and Ferric Oxides" The process employs the ability of the uranyl ion to pick up two electrons and reduce to the lower oxidation state of uranium(IV) under ultraviolet light. Uranotypes can vary from print to print from a more neutral, brown russet to strong Bartolozzi red, with a very long tone grade. Surviving prints are slightly radioactive, a property which serves as a means of non-destructively identifying them. Several other more elaborate photographic processes employing the compound appeared and vanished during the second half of the 19th century with names like Wothlytype, Mercuro-Uranotype and the Auro-Uranium process. Uranium papers were manufactured commercially at least until the end of the 19th century, vanishing due to the superior sensitivity and practical advantages of silver halides. From the 1930s through the 1950s Kodak Books described a uranium toner (Kodak T-9) using uranium nitrate hexahydrate. Some alternative process photographers including Blake Ferris and Robert Schramm continue to make uranotype prints today.  Along with uranyl acetate it is used as a negative stain for viruses in electron microscopy; in tissue samples it stabilizes nucleic acids and cell membranes.  Uranyl nitrate was used to fuel Aqueous Homogeneous Reactors in the 1950s as an alternative to the more corrosive uranyl sulfate. However, research focus was on heterogeneous reactor designs and the experiments were abandoned.  Uranyl nitrate is important for nuclear reprocessing. It is the compound of uranium that results from dissolving the decladded spent nuclear fuel rods or yellowcake in nitric acid, for further separation and preparation of uranium hexafluoride for isotope separation for preparing of enriched uranium.

Health and environmental issues.

Uranyl nitrate is an oxidizing and highly toxic compound. When ingested, it causes severe chronic kidney disease and acute tubular necrosis and is a lymphocyte mitogen. Target organs include the kidneys, liver, lungs and brain. It also represents a severe fire and explosion risk when heated or subjected to shock in contact with oxidizable substances.

Uranyl nitrate (UO(NO)) is a water soluble yellow uranium salt. The yellow-green crystals of dioxouranium nitrate hexahydrate are triboluminescent. Uranyl nitrate can be prepared by reaction of uranium salts with nitric acid. It is soluble in water, ethanol, acetone, and ether, but not in benzene, toluene, or chloroform.

Le nitrate d'uranyle, aussi appelé oxynitrate d'uranium, de formule, est un sel toxique et écotoxique, cristallin, de couleur jaune, inodore.


Uses.

TGA is used as a chemical depilatory and is still used as such, especially in salt forms, including calcium thioglycolate and sodium thioglycolate. TGA is the precursor to ammonium thioglycolate that is used for permanents. TGA and its derivatives break the disulfide bonds in the cortex of hair. One reforms these broken bonds in giving hair a "perm." Alternatively and more commonly, the process leads to depilation as is done commonly in leather processing. It is also used as an acidity indicator, manufacturing of thioglycolates, and in bacteriology for preparation of thioglycolate media. In fact thioglycolysis reactions used on condensed tannins to study their structure.  Organotin derivatives of thioglycolic acid isooctyl esters are widely used as stabilizers for PVC. These species have the formula RSn(SCHCOCH).  Applying TGA can soften nails and then fix pincer nails in the correct position.  Sodium thioglycolate is a component of a special bacterial growth media : thioglycolate broth. It is also used in so-called "fallout remover" or "wheel cleaner" to remove iron oxide residue from rims. Ferrous iron combines with thioglycolate to form red-violet ferric thioglycolate.

Production.

Thioglycolic acid is prepared by reaction of sodium or potassium chloracetate with alkali metal hydrosulfide in aqueous medium. It can be also prepared via the Bunte salt obtained by reaction of sodium thiosulfate with chloroacetic acid:

Reactions.

Thioglycolic acid is about 100 times stronger acid than acetic acid with a pKa of 3.83: The second ionization has a pKa of 9.3:  Thioglycolic acid is a reducing agent, especially at higher pH. It oxidizes to the corresponding disulfide (2-[(carboxymethyl)disulfanyl]acetic acid or dithiodiglycolic acid):

With metal ions.

Thioglycolic acid, usually as its dianion, forms complexes with metal ions. Such complexes have been used for the detection of iron, molybdenum, silver, and tin. Thioglycolic acid reacts with diethyl acetylmalonate to form acetylmercaptoacetic acid and diethyl malonate, the reducing agent in conversion of Fe(III) to Fe(II).

History.

Scientist David R. Goddard, in the early 1930s, identified TGA as a useful reagent for reducing the disulfide bonds in proteins, including keratin (hair protein), while studying why protease enzymes could not easily digest hair, nails, feathers, and such. He realized that while the disulfide bonds, which stabilize proteins by cross-linking, were broken, the structures containing these proteins could be reshaped easily, and that they would retain this shape after the disulfide bonds were allowed to re-form. TGA was developed in the 1940s for use as a chemical depilatory.

Safety and detection.

The LD (oral, rat) is 261 mg/kg, LC inhalation for rat is 21 mg/m for 4 h, and LD dermal for rabbit is 848 mg/kg. Mercaptoacetic acid in hair waving and depilatory products containing other mercapto acids can be identified by using thin-layer chromatography and gas chromatography. MAA also has been identified by using potentiometric titration with silver nitrate solution.

Thioglycolic acid (TGA) is the organic compound HSCHCOH. TGA is often called mercaptoacetic acid (MAA). It contains both a thiol (mercaptan) and carboxylic acid functional groups. It is a colorless liquid with a strongly unpleasant odor. TGA is miscible with polar organic solvents.

L’acide thioglycolique (TGA, abréviation de ) est un composé organique comportant un groupement thiol, développé pour la première fois au début des années 1940 comme composant actif des permanentes à froid et des produits dépilatoires, à la suite des travaux du physiologiste. Le TGA a très rapidement trouvé une autre utilisation majeure, comme matériau brut principal de la fabrication des stabilisants organostanniques du PVC. D’autres applications suivirent rapidement, pour les industries pharmaceutiques, agrochimiques, de traitement du cuir et des produits pétrochimiques. Le TGA est toujours utilisé dans les cosmétiques, notamment pour les produits dépilatoires (C'est le principe actif des crèmes dépilatoires) et le défrisage des cheveux. Le TGA peut aussi être employé comme agent hydrosoluble de transfert de chaîne pour certains polymères acryliques. Dans le secteur pétrolier, ses propriétés anticorrosion sont particulièrement utiles dans les applications de forage.


History.

Pantteri candies were first invented in 1965 as small, black salmiakki and liquorice gum drops in a typical cardboard candy box, with a picture of a panther on the box cover. A sugar coating was later added to the drops, slightly altering their taste.  The most famous form of Pantteri, however, is the larger, sugar coated disc-shaped candies sold in a plastic bag, also with a picture of a panther on it. At first only salmiakki Pantteri candies were available, but in the 1990s Fazer introduced a fruit-flavoured version of Pantteri, "Pantteri Mix" (containing red, yellow and green fruit candies and normal salmiakki candies).  In the 2000s, the Pantteri drops sold in boxes were reverted to the original 1965 version, without the sugar coating. The text on the box says "Original Pantteri drops from 1965".  Later additions include "Lumipantteri Mix" (Finnish for "snow panther") in summer 2006, "Pantteri Mix" candies with white coating, "Musta Pantteri" (Finnish for "black panther"), which has a slightly higher ammonium chloride content than the regular salmiakki Pantteri, and "Pantteri Black Shot", candies with a salty liquorice filling.  Discontinued variations include "Yöpantteri Mix" ("night panther") featuring fruit and salmiakki candies, shaped like panthers, stars and moons and "Rock Pantteri Mix", containing many different salty liquorice and fruit candies.  Visible advertising campaigns are an important part of Pantteri's publicity image. They were awarded as best advertising campaign in Finland twice, in 1999 and 2000. One advertising campaign featured a fictional latino character called "El Pantero", sporting advertising slogans in mock Spanish such as "El Pantero baila" and "Baila y come". The current advertising campaign promotes "Panthóur", a humorous variation of the popular parkour sport.

Pantteri (Finnish for "panther"), sold in Sweden as Katten (Swedish: "Cat"), is a brand of Finnish salmiakki candy, made by Fazer.

Pantteri (finnois pour « panthère »), est une marque populaire de confiserie finlandaise au chlorure d'ammonium (salmiakki). Ces bonbons sont produits par l'entreprise finlandaise Fazer. Ils sont vendus sous le nom de "Katten" (« chats ») en Suède depuis 2006.


History.

Memphis Municipal Airport, dedicated in 1929, opened on a plot of farmland just over from downtown Memphis. In its early years the airport had three hangars and an unpaved runway; passenger and air mail service was provided by American Airlines and Chicago and Southern Air Lines (acquired by Delta Air Lines in 1953). In 1939 Eastern Air Lines arrived; that March, Eastern had one departure a day to Muscle Shoals and beyond, American had four east/west and C&S had four north/south.  During World War II the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command 4th Ferrying Group used Memphis while sending new aircraft overseas. In April 1951 the runways were 6000-ft 2/20, 6530-ft 9/27, 4370-ft 14/32 and 4950-ft 17/35; the airport was all north of Winchester Road during the 1950s.  The April 1957 OAG shows 64 weekday departures: 25 on Delta, 18 American, 7 Southern, 5 Eastern, 4 Braniff, 3 Trans-Texas and 2 Capital. American DC-6s flew non-stop to Washington and New York, but westward non-stops didn't reach beyond Ft Worth and Kansas City until American started Los Angeles in 1964. The first scheduled jets were Delta 880s ORD-MEM-MSY and back, starting in July–August 1960.  The current terminal was designed by Mann & Harrover and cost $6.5 million. It opened on June 7, 1963 and Memphis Municipal changed its name to Memphis International in 1969. In 1985–86 Republic Airlines began flights to Mexico. The terminal was expanded for $31.6 million in 1974, adding two new concourses and extending the others, which were designed by Roy P. Harrover & Associates.

Hub status.

Southern Airways was an important regional carrier at Memphis in the 1960s; it merged into Republic Airlines in 1979 as the first large merger after the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act. With the dismantling of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) flight approval requirements, airlines began developing around a large hub model as opposed to the former point-to-point networks that were common before deregulation. Republic established Memphis as a hub operation in 1985 before merging into Northwest Airlines in 1986. Northwest operated around 300 daily flights at the peak of the hub, including international flights to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean as well as a transatlantic flight to Amsterdam (initially operated by KLM).  Federal Express (now FedEx Express) began operations in Memphis in 1973. It opened its current "SuperHub" facility on the north side of the airport in 1981, and maintains a large presence to the present day.  In 2008 the airport began expanding its control tower and parking garages. The new tower cost $72.6 million and is 336 feet tall, more than double the old tower height. An $81 million, 7-story parking garage replaced two surface lots adding 6,500 parking spaces. Eleven million dollars was spent on a covered moving walkway between the garages and the terminal. After the acquisition of Northwest by Delta Air Lines (which operates a large hub in Atlanta) in 2008, flights were scaled back until Delta closed the hub in 2013. Passenger traffic in Memphis declined for the next several years until it bottomed out at 3.5 million in 2015.

Recent years.

In 2014 the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority announced a planned $114 million renovation of the airport. This renovation included demolishing the largely-vacant south ends of concourses A and C, which would allow aircraft to more easily access the larger B concourse. The remainder of the A and C concourses would remain and be ready to use for any potential growth in the future. In addition, the plan called for the widening and modernization of the B concourse, which most flights would be directed to when the renovation was complete. The renovation, which was expected to start in late 2015 and end around 2020, would leave the airport with about 60 gates.  The initial project was only partly completed, with the south end of the A concourse demolished. Memphis officials decided to rethink the plans; several aspects of the project changed. The plan had called for renovating and widening Concourse B, the updated plan includes a full redesign of most of the concourse. The B Concourse will be closed during construction, and airlines and tenants will move to the A and C Concourses during that time. The south end of the C Concourse will remain intact until the B Concourse is completed and airlines have moved from C to B. The southwest leg of the B Concourse will be updated in a future phase, and will only be utilized in the near term for passengers from inbound international flights.  On April 4, 2018 Delta Air Lines moved to the A Concourse and Allegiant Air to the C Concourse; construction on the B concourse began in September 2018.  Thanks to factors such as the addition of Southwest Airlines and other low cost carriers, airport traffic has been rebounding in recent years.

Facilities.

Terminal.

Memphis International Airport has one terminal and three concourses. In 2021, all flights will consolidate to Concourse B and A and C will be mothballed.  Concourse A has 9 gates.  Concourse B has 42 gates. Delta Air Lines operates a Sky Club lounge outside Concourse B. The concourse contains the airports U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, which is used on a limited basis for charter flights. Concourse B is closed for work on the airport's modernization project, expected to be completed in 2021.  Concourse C has 18 gates.

Memphis International Airport is a civil-military airport located southeast of Downtown Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee. It covers and has four runways.

L'aéroport international de Memphis (en anglais : "Memphis International Airport"), également connu sous l'acronyme MEM, est un aéroport américain situé à Memphis, au Tennessee.


History.

The company was founded in Houston, Texas, by former Shell Oil employees Scott Boulette, John J. Moores, and Dan Cloer, whose surname initials were adopted as the company name BMC Software. Moores served as the company's first CEO. The firm primarily wrote software for IBM mainframe computers, the industry standard at the time.  In 1987, Moores was succeeded by Richard A. Hosley II as CEO and President. In July 1988, BMC was re-incorporated in Delaware and went public with an initial public offering for BMC stock. The first day of trading was August 12, 1988.

Acquisition and privatization by private equity firms.

In May 2013, BMC announced that it was in the process of being acquired by a group of major private equity investment groups for $6.9 billion. The process was completed in September 2013 and the company is no longer publicly traded.  It was announced on October 2, 2018 that BMC was acquired by KKR, a leading global investment firm. The company was acquired from a private investor group led by Bain Capital Private Equity and Golden Gate Capital together with GIC, Insight Venture Partners, and Elliott Management.

Products and services.

BMC Software began as a mainframe-only software vendor, but since the middle 1990s has been developing software to monitor, manage and automate both distributed and mainframe systems. The company specializes in enterprise software and develops products used for multiple functions, including IT service management, data center automation, performance management, virtualization lifecycle management and cloud computing management. The company continues to provide support for enterprises using modern mainframes through providing automated intelligence, a process that creates mainframe systems that are self-managing. Self-managing mainframes use machine learning to improve efficiency by anticipating needs, sending alarms, and taking actions without the need for manual actions from IT departments.  Enterprises increasingly need to access and merge data from diverse locations, and BMC's products address the growing need for multi-cloud management. For example, BMC Helix Remedyforce is built on Salesforce and provides complete IT service management functionality with both security and cloud-based collaborative capabilities.  BMC's Control-M software platform allows business to run hundreds of thousands of batch jobs jobs daily and use the data to optimize complex business operations, such as supply chain management. User can access all enterprise batch jobs through a single graphical interface. Control-M integrates with distributed storage systems such as HDFS, YARN, MapReduce, and Apache Spark. Control-M is consistently named the leader in workload automation by Enterprise Management Associates.  In 2016 BMC rolled out an API for Control-M automation to give enterprises more control over application deployment into Hadoop ecosystems. And in November 2019, BMC announced that Control-M would be made available as a Docker container, allowing users to more easily deploy it to the public cloud or on-premise. Companies using BMC Control-M include the American Automobile Association, Lockheed Martin, JPMorgan Chase, and J.P. Morgan.  The BMC Helix suite includes ITSM and ITOM capabilities that integrate AI to provide predictive IT service and management tools. BMC Helix includes omni-channel communication through integrations with Slack, Skype, and SMS.  BMC Helix Discovery provides enterprises with a single view of all IT assets that exist on-premise or in public and private clouds, automatically discovering inventory across data centers and data sources.  TrueSight is an operations management platform that utilizes AI and machine learning to provide insights and network automation abilities.

Directors and staff.

The company was founded by John J. Moores in 1980; Moores was a "former Shell Oil computer specialist... whose software made Shell's computers more efficient." Richard A. Hosley II was president and chief executive officer of BMC Software, Inc. from October 1987 until April 1990. Shortly after becoming president, Hosley took the company public in 1988. Hosley was succeeded by Max Watson, Jr. in April 1990. Max Watson Jr. was chairman and chief executive officer of BMC Software from April 1990 to January 2001. At one point, he was listed as one of Houston's highest paid executives; in 2000, his salary and bonus was $1.2 million.  In 2001, BMC appointed the company director, Garland Cupp, to the post of chairman, succeeding Max Watson, who quit the post in January 2001. Watson was succeeded as chairman and CEO by BMC's former senior vice president of product management and development, Robert Beauchamp (pron. "Bee-chum").  As of December 2016, Peter Leav succeeded Bob Beauchamp as president and chief executive officer. In October 2019, Ayman Sayed was named as President and CEO of BMC Software.

BMC Software, Inc. is an American enterprise software company. BMC offers SaaS-based and on-premise software and services in areas including cloud computing, IT service management, automation, IT operations, and mainframe. BMC stock was originally traded on NASDAQ under the symbol BMCS and on the New York Stock Exchange with symbol BMC, but the company is now privately held. BMC is a multinational firm operating in North America, South America, Australia, Europe, and Asia and has multiple offices located around the world. The company's international headquarters is located in Houston, Texas, United States.

BMC Software Corporation est une société américaine fondée en 1980 spécialisée dans les logiciels qui gèrent les services des infrastructures informatiques. Fondée à Houston, Texas, elle tient son nom des initiales de ses trois fondateurs, Scott Boulett, John Moores et Dan Cloer.