West Palm Beach, Florida

# West Palm Beach, Florida

## Abstract

West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon.

It is the largest city in Palm Beach County, and at the time of the 2020 census, its population was 117,415. West Palm Beach is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6.14 million people in 2020. It is the oldest incorporated municipality in the South Florida area, incorporated as a city two years before Miami in November 1894. West Palm Beach is located approximately 68 miles (109 km) north of Downtown Miami.

## History

The beginning of the historic period in south Florida is marked by Juan Ponce de León 's first contact with native people in 1513. Europeans found a thriving native population, which they categorized into separate tribes: the Mayaimi in the Lake Okeechobee Basin and the Jaega and Ais people in the East Okeechobee area and o the east coast north of the Tequesta. When the Spanish arrived, there were around 20,000 Native Americans in south Florida. By 1763, by the time the English gained control of Florida, the native peoples had been all but wiped out through war, enslavement, or European diseases.

Other native peoples from Alabama and Georgia moved into Florida in the early 18th century. They were of varied ancestry, but Europeans called them all "Creeks." In Florida, they were known as the Seminole and Miccosukee Indians. The Seminoles clashed with American settlers over land and over escaped slaves who found refuge among them. They resisted the government's efforts to move them to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. Between 1818 and 1858, three wars were fought between Seminoles and the United States government. By 1858, there were very few Seminoles remaining in Florida.

The area that was to become West Palm Beach was settled in the late 1870s and 1880s by a few hundred settlers who called the vicinity "Lake Worth Country." These settlers were a diverse community from different parts of the United States and the world. They included founding families such as the Potters and the Lainharts, who would go on to become leading members of the business community in the fledgling city. The first white settlers in Palm Beach County lived around Lake Worth, which at the time was an enclosed freshwater lake, named after Colonel William Jenkins Worth, who had fought in the Second Seminole War in Florida in 1842. Most settlers engaged in the growing of tropical fruits and vegetables for shipment to the north via Lake Worth and the Indian River. By 1890, the U.S. Census counted over 200 people settled along Lake Worth in the vicinity of what would become West Palm Beach. The area at this time also boasted a hotel, the "Cocoanut House", a church, and a post office. The city was platted by Henry Flagler as a community to house the servants working in the two grand hotels on the neighboring island of Palm Beach, across Lake Worth in 1893, coinciding with the arrival of the Florida East Coast railroad. Flagler paid two area settlers, Captain Porter and Louie Hillhouse, a combined sum of $45,000 for the original town's site, stretching from Clear Lake to Lake Worth.

On November 5, 1894, 78 people met at the "Calaboose" (the first jail and police station located at Clematis St. and Poinsettia, now Dixie Hwy.) and passed the motion to incorporate the Town of West Palm Beach in what was then Dade County (now Miami-Dade County). This made West Palm Beach the first incorporated municipality in Dade County and in South Florida. The town council quickly addressed the building codes and the tents and shanties were replaced by brick, brick veneer, and stone buildings. The city grew steadily during the 1890s and the first two decades of the 20th century, most residents were engaged in the tourist industry and related services or winter vegetable market and tropical fruit trade. In 1909, Palm Beach County was formed by the Florida State Legislature and West Palm Beach became the county seat. In 1916, a new neo-classical courthouse was opened, which has been painstakingly restored back to its original condition and is now used as the local history museum.

The city grew rapidly in the 1920s as part of the Florida land boom. The population of West Palm Beach quadrupled from 1920 to 1927, and all kinds of businesses and public services grew along with it. Many of the city's landmark structures and preserved neighborhoods were constructed during this period. Originally, Flagler intended for his Florida East Coast Railway to have its terminus in West Palm, but after the area experienced a deep freeze, he chose to extend the railroad to Miami instead.

The land boom was already faltering when city was devastated by the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. The Depression years of the 1930s were a quiet time for the area, which saw slight population growth and property values lower than during the 1920s. The city only recovered with the onset of World War II, which saw the construction of Palm Beach Air Force Base, which brought thousands of military personnel to the city. The base was vital to the allied war effort, as it provided an excellent training facility and had unparalleled access to North Africa for a North American city. Also during World War II, German U-boats sank two dozen merchant ships and oil tankers just off the coast of West Palm Beach. Nearby Palm Beach was under blackout conditions to minimize night visibility to German U-boats.

The 1950s saw another boom in population, partly due to the return of many soldiers and airmen who had served in the vicinity during the war. Also, the advent of air conditioning encouraged growth, as year-round living in a tropical climate became more acceptable to northerners. West Palm Beach became one of the nation's fastest-growing metropolitan areas during the 1950s; the city's borders spread west of Military Trail and south to Lake Clarke Shores. However, many of the city's residents still lived within a narrow six-block wide strip from the south to north end. The neighborhoods were strictly segregated between White and African-American populations, a legacy that the city still struggles with today. The primary shopping district remained downtown, centered around Clematis Street.

In the 1960s, Palm Beach County's first enclosed shopping mall, the Palm Beach Mall, and an indoor arena were completed. These projects led to a brief revival for the city, but in the 1970s and 1980s crime continued to be a serious issue and suburban sprawl continued to drain resources and business away from the old downtown area. By the early 1990s there were very high vacancy rates downtown, and serious levels of urban blight.

Since the 1990s, developments such as CityPlace and the preservation and renovation of 1920s architecture in the nightlife hub of Clematis Street have seen a downtown resurgence in the entertainment and shopping district. The city has also placed emphasis on neighborhood development and revitalization, in historic districts such as Northwood, Flamingo Park, and El Cid. Some neighborhoods still struggle with blight and crime, as well as lowered property values caused by the Great Recession, which hit the region particularly hard. Since the recovery, multiple new developments have been completed. The Palm Beach Mall, located at the Interstate 95/Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard interchange became abandoned as downtown revitalized - the very mall that initiated the original abandonment of the downtown. The mall was then redeveloped into the Palm Beach Fashion Outlets in February 2014. The West Palm Beach station for Brightline, a high speed passenger rail service serving Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, was opened in 2018.

### Timeline

- 1893 "Town platted on Lake Worth." Florida East Coast Railway begins operating.

- "Town platted on Lake Worth."

- Florida East Coast Railway begins operating.

- 1894 West Palm Beach incorporated. John S. Earman becomes mayor.

- West Palm Beach incorporated.

- John S. Earman becomes mayor.

- 1896 – Fire.

- 1900 – Population: 564.

- 1903 – "City of West Palm Beach" established.

- 1905 – Population: 1,280.

- 1907 – Flagler Park established.

- 1908 – Palm Beach Post newspaper begins publication.

- 1909 – West Palm Beach designated seat of newly created Palm Beach County.

- 1912 – Palm Beach County Fair begins.

- 1916 – County courthouse constructed.

- 1917 – Beaux Arts Theatre in business.

- 1919 Office of city manager created. City Hall built.

- Office of city manager created.

- City Hall built.

- 1923 – Kettler Theatre in business.

- 1924 – Public Library building opens.

- 1925 – Seaboard Air Line Railway begins operating; West Palm Beach station opens.

- 1926 West Palm Beach Canal (to Lake Okeechobee) constructed. September: 1926 Miami hurricane occurs.

- West Palm Beach Canal (to Lake Okeechobee) constructed.

- September: 1926 Miami hurricane occurs.

- 1928 – September: 1928 Okeechobee hurricane occurs.

- 1930 – Population: 26,610.

- 1933 – Palm Beach Junior College opens.

- 1936 Morrison Field (airport) begins operating. WJNO radio begins broadcasting.

- Morrison Field (airport) begins operating.

- WJNO radio begins broadcasting.

- 1937 – Historical Society of Palm Beach County founded.

- 1941 – Norton Museum of Art established.

- 1942 April 17: City gets "8.35 inches of rain in just two hours." U.S. military Palm Beach Air Force Base begins operating near West Palm Beach.

- April 17: City gets "8.35 inches of rain in just two hours."

- U.S. military Palm Beach Air Force Base begins operating near West Palm Beach.

- 1947 – WIRK radio begins broadcasting.

- 1948 Palm Beach International Airport active. WEAT radio begins broadcasting.

- Palm Beach International Airport active.

- WEAT radio begins broadcasting.

- 1951 – Beach Drive-In cinema in business.

- 1954 – WPTV (television) begins broadcasting.

- 1955 – WEAT-TV (television) begins broadcasting.

- 1961 – Cardinal Newman High School established.

- 1962 – West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium opens.

- 1964 – Palm Beach County Genealogical Society formed.

- 1967 – Palm Beach County Library System established.

- 1967 – Palm Beach Mall opens.

- 1967 – West Palm Beach Auditorium opens (capacity: 5,000). It would later be sold in 1998 to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Inc (Jehovah's Witnesses) It was renovated and renamed the West Palm Beach Christian Convention Center.

- 1968 – Palm Beach Atlantic College established.

- 1977 – Snow is reported on January 19 at Palm Beach International Airport from 6:10 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.

- 1979 – Cross County Mall in business.

- 1980 – Population: 63,305.

- 1985 – Plaza hi-rise built.

- 1991 Yesteryear Village (museum) opens. March 12: Strong mayor referendum succeeds. November 19: Nancy M. Graham elected first strong mayor of West Palm Beach.

- Yesteryear Village (museum) opens.

- March 12: Strong mayor referendum succeeds.

- November 19: Nancy M. Graham elected first strong mayor of West Palm Beach.

- 1994 – "County Judicial Complex" built.

- 1997 – West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium closes.

- 1999 – Trump International Golf Club in business.

- 2000 May: Lake Worth Middle School shooting occurs. October 27: CityPlace opens December 4: Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board lawsuit decided during the 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida. City website online (approximate date).

- May: Lake Worth Middle School shooting occurs.

- October 27: CityPlace opens

- December 4: Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board lawsuit decided during the 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida.

- City website online (approximate date).

- 2010 – Population: 99,919.

- 2011 – Jeri Muoio becomes mayor.

- 2014 – Palm Beach Outlets opens on the former site of the Palm Beach Mall which closed in 2010.

- 2017 – Ballpark of the Palm Beaches opens (renamed FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in 2018)

- 2017 – Lois Frankel becomes U.S. representative for Florida's 21st congressional district.

## Environment

### West Palm Beach Canal (C51)

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the West Palm Beach Canal (C-51)/Stormwater Treatment Area (STA)1 East project was authorized by the U.S. Congress under the Flood Control Acts of 1948, 1954, 1962, 1968, and the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1996. The project is located in Palm Beach County and runs east to west from West Palm Beach at Lake Worth to Water Conservation Area (WCA) No. 1 (Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge). The authorized project will provide 30-year flood protection to the urbanized eastern basin and 10-year flood protection to the western basin. All eastern basin features have been completed.

During mediation of the Everglades water quality litigation, a technical plan was developed for resolution of the litigation. The technical plan included a substantially modified C-51 project. The modified plan expands the original 1,600-acre floodwater detention area into a 6,500-acre stormwater detention area. In addition to the flood damage reduction benefits provided by the original project, the modified plan provides water treatment, reduction of damaging freshwater discharges to Lake Worth, and increased water supply for the Everglades and other users.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the total estimated cost of the West Palm Beach Canal (C51) is $375.47 million, with an estimated $345.04 million as the Federal Government's cost share. A total of $1.05 million was appropriated for this project by the U.S. Congress in Fiscal Year 2015. The Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request from the U.S. President to the U.S. Congress was for $1 million.

## Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, this city has a total area of 58.2 square miles (151 km), of which 55.1 square miles (143 km) is land and 3.1 square miles (8.0 km) (5.26%) is water.

Due to vast areas of wetland immediately to the west of the city's downtown, growth took place to the north and south in a linear fashion. Until the 1960s, the city was no more than several blocks wide but over 100 blocks in length. Large scale development finally expanded to the west of the city with improved access and drainage in the 1960s. However, the city boundaries were not expanded much with the exception of the "Water Catchment Area", an uninhabited area in the northwest part of the city. Known as Grassy Waters, it now serves as a reservoir for the city drinking water as well as a nature preserve.

### Places

#### Historic neighborhoods and communities

Bel Air Historic District: Developed from 1925 to 1935 as a neighborhood for tradesmen and real estate salesmen who helped develop Palm Beach County, some of Belair was originally a pineapple plantation owned by Richard Hone. Hones's frame vernacular house, built around 1895, still stands at 211 Plymouth Road. After Hone was murdered in 1902, his property was sold to George Currie, who created Currie Development Co. But before it was developed, the land was sold to William Ohlhaber, who raised coconut palms and ferns. Eventually, Ohlhaber platted the subdivision and sold off lots. The first house built in the subdivision was Ohlhaber's mission-style home at 205 Pilgrim. Ohlhaber's grandson said Ohlhaber bought the tract to provide dockage for his 90-foot (27 m) yacht, but the yacht ran aground in the Gulf of Mexico and never reached Lake Worth. In 1947 Hone's house was bought by Max Brombacher, Henry Flagler's chief engineer, and it remains in the Brombacher family today. Belair became West Palm Beach's fourth historic district in August 1993.

Central Park: Central Park is a collective name for several subdivisions north of Southern Boulevard. It originally was part of the Estates of South Palm Beach (which went from Wenonah Place to Pilgrim Road east of Dixie Highway). Like other West Palm Beach neighborhoods, the Estates of South Palm Beach boomed after Henry Flagler's descent on Palm Beach. In 1884, James W. Copp, a bachelor in the boating business, borrowed $367.20 from Valentine Jones to buy the land. The ownership of what is now known as Central Park changed hands many times before being developed. Around 1919, the tropical wilderness was transformed into an exclusive neighborhood with curbed roads, sidewalks and a pier (at the foot of what is now Southern Boulevard). The neighborhood became part of West Palm Beach in 1926, and was named a city historic district in December 1993. In 1999 the neighborhood was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

El Cid: Noted for its Mediterranean revival and mission-style homes, El Cid developed in the height of Florida's real estate boom. In the late 19th century, most of the land north of Sunset Road was pineapple fields, but the crop dwindled in the early 20th century. Pittsburgh socialite Jay Phipps subdivided the old pineapple fields in the 1920s. He named it El Cid, after the celebrated Spanish hero, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, who conquered Valencia in 1094. He was called "Cid", meaning "lord". El Cid became a city historic district in June 1993. In 1995 the neighborhood was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Flamingo Park: Originally a pineapple plantation, Flamingo Park was established by local contractors and developers, who saw the potential in this area—one of the highest coastal ridge sections from downtown West Palm Beach to Miami. Some ridge houses even had ocean views from upper floors. Houses cost about $10,000 to $18,000 in the boom era, and many buyers were owners of shops and businesses on fashionable Dixie Highway nearby. Recently, residents rallied to have stop signs installed throughout the neighborhood and have banded together to ward off commercial and industrial zoning. Property values are rising as residents renovate and restore Spanish-style houses. Most of the homes in the neighborhood, developed from 1921 to 1930, are mission style, but nearly every style is represented. There are many Mediterranean revival-style houses along the high ridge line. Only two buildings in the historic district are known to have been designed by architects: 701 Flamingo Drive designed by Harvey and Clarke, and the Armory Arts Center designed by William Manly King. The neighborhood became a West Palm Beach historic district in January 1993 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Grandview Heights: One of the city's oldest neighborhoods still intact, Grandview Heights was built as an extension of Palm Beach Heights from around 1910 to 1925. Almost all of Palm Beach Heights and half of Grandview Heights was demolished in 1989 to make way for the proposed Downtown/Uptown project, which became CityPlace. Grandview Heights originally attracted construction workers who helped build the luxury hotels, ministers and store owners. The neighborhood has one of the city's best collection of early craftsman-style bungalows, as well as some modest, Mediterranean revival-style homes. The neighborhood became a West Palm Beach historic district in 1995 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Mango Promenade: Mango Promenade became a West Palm Beach historic district in 1995 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Lies just south of Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Northboro Park: An expansion of Old Northwood, Northboro Park was mostly custom houses for upper-middle-class professionals. Most of the houses are Mediterranean revival, mission and frame vernacular. Developed from 1923 to 1940, the neighborhood became the city's second historic district (November 1992) and the historic designation may soon expand north to 45th Street. The oldest building in the neighborhood is Northboro Elementary School at 36th Street and Spruce, built in 1925 by DaCamara and Chace. The demolition of Northboro Elementary School began in late 2009. The first home in Northboro Park is 418 36th St., built in 1923.

Northwest: West Palm Beach's first historic district to be included on the National Register of Historic Places (February 1992), the Northwest neighborhood was first settled in 1894, when the black community was moved from the Styx in Palm Beach to West Palm Beach. It also served as the city's segregated black community from 1929 to 1960 (along with Pleasant City). Northwest remains a predominantly black community but according to the city planning department, most middle- and upper-class blacks moved to other neighborhoods after desegregation. Tamarind and Rosemary Avenues were the commercial centers for blacks by 1915, but most commercial buildings have been demolished or remodeled so the architecture is no longer significant. There are still good examples of late 19th- and early 20th-century American bungalow/craftsman-style homes in this neighborhood, which also has mission, shotgun, Bahamian vernacular and American Foursquare styles. The Alice Frederick Mickens house, at 801 Fourth St., is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Mickens was a philanthropist and humanitarian who promoted education for black youth. Another notable house is the Gwen Cherry house at 625 Division Ave. Cherry, Florida's first Black woman legislator and a resident of Miami, inherited the house from relative Mollie Holt, who built the house in 1926. Now it is the Palm Beach County Black Historical Society. The Northwest neighborhood was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The next year the neighborhood became a West Palm Beach historic district in 1993.

Old Northwood Historic District: Old Northwood was developed from 1920 to 1927—the height of the city's real estate boom. The Pinewood Development Co., platted and developed the area. Old Northwood became a neighborhood of what was considered extravagant Mediterranean revival, mission and frame vernacular houses, at $30,000 to $36,000. The buyers were professionals, entrepreneurs and tradesmen. Among them was David F. Dunkle, who was mayor of West Palm Beach. There are houses here designed by notable architects John Volk (best known for his Palm Beach houses), William Manly King (who designed Palm Beach High School and the Armory Arts Center) and Henry Steven Harvey (whose Seaboard Railroad Passenger Station on Tamarind Avenue is listed in the National Register of Historic Places). The neighborhood became a West Palm Beach historic district in 1991 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in June 1994.

Northwood Hills Historic District: On August 4, 2003, the City Commission designated the Northwood Hills neighborhood as the 13th Historic District in the City of West Palm Beach. Northwood Hills comprises the area from 29th Street on the South to 39th Court on the North. The east side of Windsor is the Western boundary, and Greenwood Avenue is the Eastern boundary. The Neighborhood Association has worked several years to achieve the distinction of historic designation. This is the first district to be designated since 1996. Northwood Hills has a number of Mission Revival houses, a significant collection of Post-World War II architecture, a unique street layout, and one of the highest elevations in the city. The Northwood Hills neighborhood has also elected to allow the establishment of Bed and Breakfast establishments within the neighborhood.

Prospect Park: Promoted as a high-end neighborhood patterned after the prominent Prospect Park district in Brooklyn, this area consisted of mostly smaller estates for prominent businesspeople and northern investors. The neighborhood has a high concentration of Mediterranean revival and Mission revival houses. It was developed from 1920 to 1935 and became a city historic district in November 1993.

West Northwood Historic District: Cashing in on the real estate boom, developers of West Northwood built speculative and custom houses for upper-middle-class professionals from 1925 to '27. Dominant architectural styles are Mediterranean revival and mission. Although the area was declining, that has reversed in recent years, as more investors buy and restore the houses. West Northwood became a city historic district in August 1993.

#### West Palm Beach Census Designated Places and Urbanized Area

The estimated 2012 population of West Palm Beach and the immediately adjacent Census Designated Places is 134,795. Much of this urbanized area lies directly west of the city and includes the neighborhoods of Westgate, Belvedere Homes, Lakeside Green, Century Village, Schall Circle, Lake Belvedere Estates, Plantation Mobile Homes, and Golden Lakes. These neighborhoods are not technically within the boundaries of West Palm Beach, being located in unincorporated Palm Beach County. However, residents possess a "West Palm Beach" address and urban services, such as police, fire, parks, water and sewer, are provided by a combination of Palm Beach County and the City of West Palm Beach in these areas. The City of West Palm Beach also provides water and sewer service to the Town of Palm Beach. The contiguous "urbanized" area, of which West Palm Beach is the core city, includes most of eastern Palm Beach County and has an estimated 2008 population of around 1,250,000.

Key incorporated cities and their populations within the West Palm Beach urbanized area include:

- 89,407 – Boca Raton

- 71,097 – Boynton Beach

- 64,072 – Delray Beach

- 60,202 – Wellington

- 58,298 – Jupiter

- 50,699 – Palm Beach Gardens

- 38,696 – Greenacres

- 36,306 – Royal Palm Beach

- 36,000 – Lake Worth Beach

- 33,263 – Riviera Beach

- 20,872 – Palm Springs

- 12,348 – North Palm Beach

- 10,867 – Lantana

- 8,649 – Palm Beach

- 3,472 – Lake Clarke Shores

- 3,283 – Loxahatchee

- 2,057 – Atlantis

- 1,940 – Haverhill

- 1,939 – Mangonia Park

### Climate

West Palm Beach has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af) with mean temperatures in all months above 64.4 °F (18 °C). The city is situated in USDA hardiness zone 10b, with an annual mean minimum temperature of 37.7 °F (3 °C).

There is year-round rainfall, with the majority falling in a wet season from May through October that is hot and humid. The average window for 90 °F (32 °C) temperatures is April 15 through October 10, but temperatures of 100 °F (38 °C) or higher have only occurred four times since record-keeping began in 1888. During this period, more than half of the days bring afternoon thunderstorms and sea breezes that cool the air for the rest of the day. Late in the season, there is also a chance for a tropical storm or hurricane to strike. The area was unusually hard-hit in 2004 and 2005, when Hurricanes Frances, Jeanne and Wilma caused property damage and power outages.

Although it lacks a fully dry season, the period from November through April is warm and drier, with 80 °F (27 °C) temperatures remaining fairly commonplace even from December through February. Occasionally, a stronger cold front can lower daytime temperatures to around 57 °F (14 °C), the annual mean minimum max temperature, and lows to around 38 °F (3 °C). Freezes are rare; the most recent was in 2010. This dry season can also bring about potential for drought during hotter, drier seasons.

## Demographics

In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $36,774, and the median income for a family was $42,074. Males had a median income of $30,221 versus $26,473 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,188. About 14.5% of families and 18.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.2% of those under the age of 18 and 14.8% of those ages 65 and older.

## Government and infrastructure

West Palm Beach is governed via the Mayor-council system. The mayor is elected in a citywide vote. The five members of the city council are each elected from districts.

The United States Postal Service operates several post offices in the city limits:

- Downtown West Palm Beach

- Northwood

- Palm Beach Carrier Annex

Additionally, the Haverhill BR, Palms Central, and West Palm Beach (including the window unit) post offices are located in an unincorporated area, while the Lake Park Post Office is located in Lake Park, despite having a West Palm Beach address.

West Palm Beach has its own police force, the West Palm Beach Police Department.

In 2014, an officer with a history of misconduct pled guilty to selling drugs while on duty.

## Education

### Public K–12 education

K–12 public education is administrated by the School District of Palm Beach County, which is the tenth-largest school district in the United States by enrollment.

Overall, 18 public elementary schools serve students within the city limits or in unincorporated areas, including Belvedere, Benoist Farms, Egret Lake, Forest Hill, Grove Park, Hope-Centennial, Meadow Park, Northboro, Northmore, Palm Beach, Palmetto, Pleasant City, Roosevelt, Seminole Trails, South Olive, U.B. Kinsey/Palmview (Performing and Visual School of the Arts Magnet School), West Gate, and Westward Elementary School.

Public middle school students are served by nine different schools, including Bak Middle School of the Arts, Bear Lakes, Conniston, Jeaga, John F. Kennedy, Okeeheelee, Palm Springs, Roosevelt, and Western Pines. There are also six public high schools for students in West Palm Beach or nearby unincorporated areas, including Dreyfoos School of the Arts (Performing and Visual School of the Arts Magnet School), Forest Hill, G-Star School Of The Arts, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach Lakes, and Royal Palm Beach.

#### Charter and multi-level

- Palm Beach Maritime Academy – K–10 moving to K–12

- Gardens School Of Technology Arts – K–8

- University Preparatory Academy – K–3

### Private schools

Private schools in the area include:

- Berean Christian School

- Cardinal Newman High School

- The King's Academy

- American Heritage School

- Indian Ridge School

- Palm Beach Day Academy

- The Benjamin School

- Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches

- Rosarian Academy

- Saint Ann Catholic School

- Matlock Preparatory Academy

### Post-secondary education

The original Palm Beach Junior College building was restored and is now adjacent to the campus of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts, a magnet performing and visual arts high school. It is now a satellite building of Palm Beach State College.

Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBAU), a four-year private Christian university with approximately 3,200 students, is located in the city on seven blocks within the south end of downtown. The campus includes several historic structures converted to academic use. PBAU has recently added schools of nursing and of pharmacy.

Northwood University formerly had a residential campus in West Palm Beach, Florida. The campus now belongs to Keiser University, a regionally accredited school that offers a variety of degrees at the Associate, Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral levels. It is one of their 16 Florida campuses.

Various private for-profit institutions are located in the city, including the Lincoln College of Technology (formerly known as New England Institute of Technology), Florida Culinary Institute, owned by the New Jersey -based Lincoln Group of Schools, and Southeastern College.

### Libraries

The Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach serves the city. The new city public library opened in April 2009 at 411 Clematis Street, replacing the 1962 building which stood at the intersection of Clematis Street and Flagler Drive, along the Intracoastal Waterfront. Named for a Mandel Foundation grant received in 2012, the Mandel Public Library provides books, performances, classes, research, entertainment, technology, music and more.

The Main Branch of the Palm Beach County Library System is also located in West Palm Beach, as well as the Okeechobee Branch Library.

## Economy

Companies based in West Palm Beach include Affiliated Managers Group, Florida Public Utilities, ION Media Networks, Ocwen, and The Palm Beach Post. Other major employers are Pratt & Whitney, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Sikorsky Aircraft, General Dynamics, Cemex, and CSC.

## Arts and culture

Norton Museum of Art: is the largest art museum in Florida and also organizes traveling exhibits. The permanent collection features 19th and 20th century European and American art, Chinese, contemporary art and photography.

Kravis Center for the Performing Arts: Built in 1992, the Kravis Center hosts performances of music, dance, opera and theatre.

Meyer Amphitheater: An abandoned Holiday Inn, demolished on New Year's Eve 1993 and transformed into an outdoor waterfront amphitheater.

Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum: is operated and maintained by the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, and is in the Historic 1916 Court House in downtown West Palm Beach. The museum provides access to Palm Beach County history through on-site investigation in the Research Library, on-line research on www.pbchistoryonline.org, the Public Programming Series and the Distinguished Lecture Series. The museum is free to visitors and offers Docent-led tours for adults and school groups.

Palm Beach County Convention Center: A complex with 350,000 square feet (33,000 m) of exhibit halls and meeting rooms in downtown West Palm Beach.

Harriet Himmel Theater: is a multi-use theater and historic church, and is the cultural centerpiece of CityPlace.

The Carefree Theatre: Built in 1940, in the historic Flamingo Park district, it was variously an art house cinema and alternative music performance venue until severely damaged by Hurricane Wilma.

There is a Jewish community offering learning and cultural activities.

### Festivals and shows

SunFest: an annual music, art, and waterfront festival in Florida, founded in 1982 to draw visitors to the area during the "shoulder season" of April and May. SunFest has an annual attendance of more than 275,000 people. Artists who have performed include Nas, James Brown, Celia Cruz, Hall & Oates, Snoop Dogg, Earth Wind and Fire, Logic, Kool & the Gang, Ice Cube, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Santana, Little Richard, Willy Chirino, The Roots, Damian Marley, Isaac Hayes, Chuck Berry, The Temptations, The Beach Boys, Ohio Players, Cee Lo Green, Mac Miller, Musiq Soulchild, Ray Charles, Ed Sheeran, J. Cole, Pitbull, Billy Idol, Dizzy Gillespie, Cyndi Lauper, and The Wailers. SunFest is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

The Sandi Tree is a 35 foot tall sand sculpture weighing 700 tons and decorated with lights. The tree is displayed at the Centennial Square Fountain during Decembers. A laser light show plays each night during the Holiday Season.

Palm Beach International Film Festival

Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction: Classic car auction held every March in the South Florida Expo Center.

Palm Beach Opera

## Sports

West Palm Beach does not host any professional sports teams, but the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League play at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise to the south. Major League Baseball 's Miami Marlins, the National Football League 's Miami Dolphins and the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association all play in nearby Miami-Dade County. In the past, West Palm Beach has hosted various professional teams such as arena football, minor-league ice hockey, baseball, and semi-professional football teams.

Spring Training Baseball: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches opened in February 2017 and accommodates both the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals for spring training. The Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals conduct spring training in suburban West Palm Beach in the town of Jupiter at Roger Dean Stadium. In the past, West Palm Beach hosted spring training for the St. Louis Browns from 1928 to 1936, the Philadelphia Athletics from 1946 to 1954, and the Kansas City Athletics from 1955 to 1962 at Connie Mack Field, which was demolished in 1992, and for the Milwaukee Braves from 1963 to 1965, the Montreal Expos from 1969 to 1972 and from 1981 to 1997, and the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 1997 at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium, which was demolished in 2002.

Collegiate Athletics: Palm Beach Atlantic University competes in NCAA Division II basketball, baseball and soccer. PBAU has recently purchased a large tract of land just west of downtown where there will be built a multi-use athletic stadium. Indoor athletics play their home games at the Greene Complex which is an on campus arena. Florida Atlantic University 's athletic programs are played in nearby Boca Raton. FAU competes in the highest level of NCAA athletics including football, basketball, baseball, softball and tennis. Keiser University competes at the NAIA level, where their former basketball coach Rollie Massimino, helped in giving the athletic program national exposure.

Professional Golf: PGA National Resort & Spa in suburban Palm Beach Gardens hosts the PGA Tour Honda Classic.

Polo and Equestrian: Palm Beach Polo and Country Club counts 7 polo fields among its world-class facilities and many high-goal games are played in the area. The equestrian events at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center are the world-renowned Winter Equestrian Festival, the Global Dressage Festival and over 40 weeks a year of equestrian competitions, hosted in Wellington.

Tennis: The Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, a hard court stop on the ATP Tour, takes place annually in Delray Beach, slightly to the south of West Palm Beach.

Croquet: The National Croquet Center has 12 full sized croquet lawns, making it the largest dedicated croquet facility in the world. It hosts several national championships and in May 2009 will host the World Championship when representatives of up to 25 countries will be competing for the Wimbledon Cup.

BMX Racing: Okeeheelee park contains one of the most celebrated BMX race tracks in the state of Florida. Insured by USA BMX, the Okeeheelee track is host to State Qualifiers and National Races, it is also home to several National Champions.

## Tourism and recreation

- Palm Beach Zoo at Dreher Park

- West Palm Beach Parks and Recreation

- Rapids Water Park

- South Florida Science Museum

- Lion Country Safari

- International Polo Club Palm Beach

- National Croquet Center

- Trump International Golf Club (West Palm Beach)

### Shopping areas/districts

Clematis Street: is West Palm Beach's historic "main street" and shopping venue, home to Clematis by Night, an outdoor event held on the street with live music and food.

CityPlace: Opened in 2000 on re-developed land where dilapidated single family homes and apartments once stood, CityPlace houses night clubs, restaurants, clothing and home-decor retail outlets, and multi-story town houses and apartments.

Palm Beach Outlets: Opened in 2014, it was developed on the site of the former Palm Beach Mall. Palm Beach Outlets features over 130 stores and is located directly off Interstate 95 on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.

Antique Row: is a shopping district on the south side of the city along Dixie Highway. Architectural Digest, The New York Times, Art & Antiques, and House Beautiful have all noted Antique Row as one of the east coast's premier antique districts, considered the "antique design center" of Florida.

Northwood Village: is an historic commercial district north of downtown. The city invested money in rebuilding the streetscape and promoting the area as an arts district.

## Transportation

Air: The city is served by Palm Beach International Airport, located in unincorporated Palm Beach County. The airport attracts people from all over the county as well as from the Treasure Coast and Space Coast counties to the north. In 2014 there were over 6.5 million passengers who passed through the gates of PBIA making it the 52nd busiest airport in the nation.

Bicycle The city's flat terrain, early paved streets, and year-round climate quickly earned it the designation as the "bicyclingest town in the U.S.A.". The historic core consists of a dense grid of narrower streets, laid out by Henry Flagler. Clematis Street was one-lane each direction with a speed limit of 12 mph, and the middle of the street between lanes was used to park bicycles. The popularity of bicycling declined during the later half of the 20th century, but has undergone a renewed increase in popularity. In addition, a bike share program, SkyBike, was introduced in 2015, and the city's mobility plan calls for protected bike lanes on most downtown streets.

Highways: U.S. 1 passes through the city's downtown, commercial, and industrial districts. Interstate 95 bisects the city from north to south with multiple interchanges serving West Palm Beach, including an entrance to Palm Beach International Airport. Florida's Turnpike passes through West Palm Beach further west, connecting with the western suburbs of Royal Palm Beach and Wellington. State Road 80, running east–west, is a partial expressway, that runs from Interstate 95 to State Road 7.

Rail: Amtrak has daily long-distance trains, Silver Meteor and Silver Star, arriving and departing to points north and Miami to the south as well. Tri-Rail commuter rail system serves the city from a historical station located on the west side of Tamarind Avenue, just east of I-95. Tri-Rail provides commuter rides north to Mangonia Park and south to Miami. All Aboard Florida began track upgrades in 2015 in preparation for higher-speed passenger service serving Miami, Florida through Orlando, FL. Service on All Aboard Florida's Brightline service from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale began on January 12, 2018. Service was extended from Fort Lauderdale to Miami on May 19, 2018. The freight rail companies, CSX Transportation and the Florida East Coast Railway also serve the city.

Trolley: There is a free downtown trolley that provides transportation around downtown including Clematis, City Place, Tri Rail Station, Palm Beach Outlets, and Waterfront districts of the city.

Bus: Greyhound Lines operates scheduled intercity bus service out of the train station on the west side of Tamarind Avenue. Palm Tran, the Palm Beach County municipal bus service, operates scheduled service throughout the city and the suburban areas of Palm Beach County.

Port: The Port of Palm Beach is located on the northern edge of the city limits. It is the fourth busiest container port in Florida and the 18th busiest in the continental United States. In addition to intermodal capacity, the Port is a major modal point for the shipment of various goods as well as being the home to several small passenger cruise lines.

Water Taxi: As a waterfront city there is specific need for water transportation between points in the city and surrounding areas. Waterway transportation is available to and from the downtown Clematis Street District, Sailfish Marina Resort, waterfront attractions, Peanut Island, and special events.

## Media

Newspapers The Palm Beach Post is owned by Virginia-based Gannett. Its name notwithstanding, the Post is based in West Palm Beach, not Palm Beach. The Post is the 57th highest daily circulation in the country, according to the 2007 BurrellesLuce survey, and is the city's sole daily newspaper. It serves Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, the area north of Palm Beach County that includes Martin and St. Lucie Counties.

The Palm Beach Daily News, another publication owned by Gannett, serves the town of Palm Beach. It frequently covers issues and affairs of the Palm Beach city council. It also extends coverage to events taking place in West Palm Beach.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, is based in Fort Lauderdale and covers portions of Southern Palm Beach County.

New Times Broward-Palm Beach is an alternative weekly publication serving West Palm Beach along with Fort Lauderdale.

WPB Magazine is a quarterly publication serving West Palm Beach.

Radio West Palm Beach is ranked as the 46th largest radio market in the country by Arbitron.

Television West Palm Beach is ranked as the 38th largest television market in the country by Nielsen Media Research. The market is served by stations affiliated with major American networks including WPTV-TV /5 (NBC), WPEC /12 (CBS), WBWP-LD /19 (Ind.), WPBF /25 (ABC), WFLX /29 (FOX), WTVX /34 (CW), WXEL-TV /42 (PBS), WTCN-CD /43 (MYTV), WWHB-CD /48 (Azteca), WFGC /61 (CTN), and WPXP-TV /67 (ION).

The area's official Telemundo affiliate is WSCV in Miami, WLTV is the area's Univision affiliate, and WAMI-DT is the area's UniMás affiliate, also in Miami. In addition to those, many Miami/Ft. Lauderdale market TV and radio stations are also available and viewed in West Palm Beach.

## Crime

Violent crime: According to Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) statistics, West Palm Beach is experiencing a steep drop in major crimes. In the past decade, crime has dropped more in West Palm Beach than in any other major city (approximately 100,000 residents or more) in the state of Florida. In 1993, West Palm Beach was featured in a 60 Minutes segment on urban decay. At the time, 80% of downtown properties were vacant. Since then, the city has done much to improve its image, at least in the physical sense. Occupancy is high, and housing prices have risen rapidly. FDLE stats show that the total crime rate per 100,000 residents has dropped by more than 50% since 2000, from 13,880 that year to 6,571 in 2008. In 2008 alone, there was a 17.9% drop in crime. Annual crime rates are always more than three times the national average. However, as of 2006, the city's crime average has been gradually decreasing while robbery was up 17 percent. West Palm Beach's northern neighbor, Riviera Beach, has an even higher violent crime rate.

The following are the crime rates, per 100,000 people, for West Palm Beach as of 2005.

## Sister cities

West Palm Beach has three sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

- Mersin, Turkey

- Tzahar, Israel

- Budva, Montenegro

## Notable people

- Andy Abad, MLB first baseman for Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds

- Stephanie Abrams, Weather Channel meteorologist

- Tori Amos, singer-songwriter

- Ottis Anderson, NFL player New York Giants, MVP of Super Bowl XXV

- Jeff Atwater, State Senator, Florida Legislature, Palm Beach County

- Agnes Ballard, architect and educator, one of the first women elected to office in Florida

- Bob Barker, entertainer, game show host, The Price Is Right

- Scottie Barnes, professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors

- Zinn Beck, MLB infielder

- Dickey Betts, Allman Brothers Band member

- Dante Bichette, MLB outfielder

- Jason Bonham, drummer, son of Led Zeppelin 's John Bonham

- Don Brewer, Grand Funk Railroad drummer

- Jimmy Buffett, singer and entertainer

- Virginia Spencer Carr, biographer and literary critic

- Diana Canova, actress

- Chris Carrabba, singer-songwriter from Dashboard Confessional

- Anthony Carter, NFL player

- Tom Carvel, of Carvel Ice-cream stores

- Glenn Close, actress

- John Collins, professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks

- Bob Cousy, basketball Hall of Famer and TV commentator

- Marshall Criser, president of University of Florida

- Arlene Dahl, actress

- Vic Damone, singer and actor

- Dale Dawson, NFL player

- Phil Dawson, NFL placekicker for San Francisco 49ers

- Ted DiBiase, Jr., professional wrestler

- Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr., entrepreneur and philanthropist

- Watson B. Duncan III, acting coach and mentor to Burt Reynolds

- Heath Evans, fullback for New Orleans Saints and graduate of The Kings Academy

- Mark Foley, U.S. Congressman

- Kason Gabbard, MLB pitcher

- Andrés Galarraga, MLB baseball player

- Anthony Goldwire, NBA player

- Murray H. Goodman (born 1925), real estate developer

- Ken Green, PGA golfer

- Jill S. Grigsby, sociologist

- Deidre Hall, actress, graduate of Lake Worth High School in central Palm Beach County

- George Hamilton, actor, graduate of Palm Beach High School

- Derek Harper, NBA player, New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks

- William Harris, tennis player

- Alcee Hastings, U.S. Congressman

- John Havlicek, basketball Hall of Famer

- Ryan Hawblitzel, baseball player

- Tyler Herron (1986–2021), baseball pitcher

- Devin Hester, NFL player

- Hey Monday, alternative rock band

- Bill Hicks, comedian

- Jay Howard, British professional race car driver in IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500

- Dick Howser, professional baseball player, manager of 1985 World Series champion Kansas City Royals

- Tommy Lee Jones, actor

- Michael Jordan, basketball Hall of Famer

- Ron Klein, U.S. Congressman

- Blake Koch, NASCAR driver

- Brooks Koepka, professional golfer

- Joey Kramer, Aerosmith drummer

- Larry the Cable Guy, comedian

- Debi Laszewski, IFBB professional bodybuilder

- Theresa LePore, Supervisor of Elections; designer of butterfly ballot, which figured prominently in U.S. presidential election, 2000

- David McCampbell, naval aviator during World War II

- AJ McLean, of the Backstreet Boys

- Tony McQuay, gold and silver medalist 2016 Summer Olympics, track and field

- Matthew Mercer, voice actor and dungeon master

- Taylor Motter, utility player for the St. Louis Cardinals

- Marta Fernandez Miranda de Batista, First Lady of Cuba (1952–1959)

- Bob Mitchell, Negro league baseball player

- Edgar Mitchell, astronaut who walked on moon

- Ruthie Morris, guitarist of Magnapop

- Jim Palmer, baseball Hall of Famer

- Barbara Pariente, former Justice and Chief Justice of Florida Supreme Court

- James Patterson, author

- Cassadee Pope, winner of The Voice season 3 and lead singer of rock band Hey Monday

- Jamieson Price, actor, voice-over artist

- Judge Reinhold, actor

- Burt Reynolds, actor, graduate of Palm Beach High School

- Randi Rhodes, radio talk show host

- Adrian Rogers, president Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church

- William J. Ronan, (1912-2014) chairman New York State MTA and Port Authority of New York & New Jersey; president of NYU

- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, MLB catcher

- Ron Sellers, NFL player for Dallas Cowboys

- Ben Silverman (born 1987), professional PGA golfer

- Steve Sipek (Stjepan Sipek), actor, stage name Steve Hawkes, starred in Blood Freak and Tarzan and the Brown Prince

- Howard Stern, radio talk show host

- Peggy Stewart, actress

- Surfer Blood, indie rock band

- Vinny Sutherland, NFL player, graduate of Palm Beach Lakes High School

- Tenth Avenue North, contemporary Christian rock band

- Robby Thompson, MLB second baseman for San Francisco Giants 1986–1996, bench coach for Seattle Mariners, graduated from Forest Hill Community High School

- Otis Thorpe, NBA player for Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons

- Devon Travis, former MLB player who is currently a coach for the Atlanta Braves

- Tiffany Trump, daughter of former U.S. president Donald Trump, born in West Palm Beach

- Maryly Van Leer Peck, American academic, first woman president of a Florida community college and first woman engineer graduate from University of Florida

- Kyril Vassilev, Bulgarian-American portrait painter

- Larry Walker, MLB right fielder, first Canadian to win Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) of MLB

- Steve Walsh, NFL quarterback, football head coach at Cardinal Newman High School

- Robert Wexler, U.S. Congressman

- Serena Williams, professional tennis player

- Venus Williams, professional tennis player

- Yanni, composer

- Nick Zano, actor

- Virginia Zeani, opera singer

- Snot, rapper


Temple Beth-El (Great Neck, New York)

# Temple Beth-El (Great Neck, New York)

## Abstract

Temple Beth-El is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 5 Old Mill Road in the village of Great Neck, Long Island, Nassau County, New York, in the United States. Founded in 1928, it is the oldest synagogue in Great Neck.

As of 2009, it had a membership of 875 families. Since 2023, the senior rabbi is A. Brian Stoller. Their cantor is Adam Davis. Their cantor emerita is Lisa Hest, the mother of singer-songwriter Ari Hest.

## History

The temple was founded in 1928 when 86 organizing members began meeting at local church. Rabbi David Goodis served as the congregation's first rabbi, but was in that role only briefly before he died in 1930. His successor, Rabbi Jacob Phillip Rudin, served for four decades establishing the temple as one of the most prominent synagogues in the United States.

The temple erected its original building on Old Mill Road in 1932. The temple began an adult study program that later became a Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion extension program. The building expanded in 1950, and again in 1970. Rabbi Rudin retired in 1971; Rabbi Jerome Davidson, who had been assistant rabbi since 1958, took over and served as senior rabbi until 2007. Rabbi Davidson's son, Rabbi Joshua Davidson, born in the Great Neck congregation, went on to lead Congregation Emanu-El of New York.

Some members of the congregation left in 1940 to form a Conservative synagogue, Temple Israel of Great Neck, which was led for many years by the prominent rabbi Mordecai Waxman. A Reform spinoff, Temple Emanuel of Great Neck, formed in 1953.

The original Temple building was enlarged three times during the past 60 years. It went through drastic renovation due to a fire that damaged some of the property. Since the fire, Temple Beth-El has continued to go through renovations.

In 1994 the congregation hired Karen Bender, a lesbian, as an assistant rabbi. When she and her life partner decided to celebrate a commitment ceremony in California, Davidson agreed to officiate at a blessing ceremony at Temple Beth-el. Controversy within the congregation over this decision led to Davidson's well-publicized decision not only to continue to officiate for gay unions, but also to begin officiating at interfaith weddings and to push for the Reform rabbinate to pursue means of Jewish support for mixed marriages.

Temple Beth-El of Great Neck has a rich cantorial tradition. Cantors who have served at the temple include: John P. Hardt, Robert Harmon, Robert Bloch, and Barbara Ostfeld, the first woman to be ordained a cantor. Additionally, Temple Beth-El of Great Neck's Early Childhood Education Center is award winning and led by Karen Wasserman.

## Notable members

- Sol Atlas (1907–1973), real estate developer

- Oscar Brand (1920–2016) American-Canadian singer

- Joshua Davidson, a rabbi who led Congregation Emanu-El of New York

- Erica Groshen (1954–) Former Commissioner of Labor Statistics and head of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics

- Sidney Jacobson (1918–2005), American businessman

- Andy Kaufman (1949–1984) Comedian and actor

- Alfred J. Koeppel (1932–2001), real estate developer


Arthur Byron

# Arthur Byron

## Abstract

Arthur William Byron (April 3, 1872 – July 16, 1943) was an American actor who played a mixture of British and American roles in films.

## Early years

Born in Brooklyn, Byron was the son of actors Kate Crehan and Oliver Doud Byron. He was a nephew of the stage actress Ada Rehan, his maternal aunt.

## Career

Byron started his theatrical career in February 1889 at the age of 17 with his father's dramatic company. In 1939 he celebrated his 50 years in showbusiness.

He appeared in more than 300 plays and played with stars like Maxine Elliott, Ethel Barrymore, John Gielgud, Katherine Cornell, Maude Adams and Minnie Maddern Fiske.

He was the founder and one-time president of The Actors' Equity Association and he also served as an officer of The Lambs and the Actor's fund of America.

Byron appeared many times at the Lakewood Playhouse in Maine.

## Personal life and death

Byron was married to Kathryn Keyes, and they had two daughters and a son. He died of a heart ailment, from which he suffered for some years, in Hollywood in 1943. He was cremated and his ashes were sent to the Byron summer home in Maine.

## Selected filmography

- Nervy Nat Kisses the Bride (1904, Edison)

- Fast Life (1932) - John D. Jameson

- The Mummy (1932) - Sir Joseph Whemple

- 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932) - Warden Paul Long

- Gabriel Over the White House (1933) - Jasper Brooks - Secretary of State

- The Silk Express (1933) - Conductor Clark

- Private Detective 62 (1933) - Tracey (uncredited)

- The Mayor of Hell (1933) - Judge Gilbert

- College Coach (1933) - Dr. Phillip Sargent

- Two Alone (1934) - Slag

- The House of Rothschild (1934) - Baring

- Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) - John Harly

- Fog Over Frisco (1934) - Everett Bradford

- The Notorious Sophie Lang (1934) - Police Insp. Stone

- The Man with Two Faces (1934) - Dr. Kendall

- That's Gratitude (1934) - Thomas Maxwell

- Marie Galante (1934) - Gen. Gerald Phillips

- The President Vanishes (1934) - President Craig Stanley

- The Secret Bride (1934) - Governor W.H. Vincent

- Shadow of Doubt (1935) - Morgan Bellwood

- The Whole Town's Talking (1935) - Spencer

- The Casino Murder Case (1935) - Richard Kinkaid

- Murder in the Fleet (1935) - Capt. John Winslow

- Oil for the Lamps of China (1935) - No. 1 Boss

- The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936) - Mr. Erickson

- The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) - (scenes deleted) (final film role)


Rangiriri railway station

# Rangiriri railway station

## Abstract

Rangiriri was a flag station about 2 km (1.2 mi) south-east of Rangiriri, on the North Island Main Trunk line, in the Waikato District of New Zealand, 56 mi (90 km) south of Auckland. It was 588.2 km (365.5 mi) north of Wellington, 3.32 km (2.06 mi) south of Te Kauwhata, 7.26 km (4.51 mi) north of Ohinewai and 9 m (30 ft) above sea level.

## History

The station opened on 13 August 1877. The early service averaged about 13 mph (21 km/h), taking about 4hr 30 mins to Auckland, 15mins to Ohinewai and 38mins to Ruawaro (Huntly).

Track doubling to ease congestion had been authorised in 1914, but work was delayed by the war. Doubling from Ohinewai to Te Kauwhata didn't open until 14 December 1958. Rangiriri was a tablet station by 1918. A cattle yard was built in 1925. Automatic colour light signals were installed in 1930 and electric lighting in 1938.

From 1925 Firth’s had a pumice concrete works near the station, beside Te Onetea Stream, making products, such as garden rollers, water troughs, concrete posts, pipes, and washing coppers, until it relocated to Frankton about 1934, though a 1935 advertorial was by Firth Concrete, Rangiriri. 1896 returns show that Firth had an interest in goods traffic at Rangiriri at that time.

### Incidents

A goods train was derailed by wrongly set points in 1884.

On a bridge north of Rangiriri a pedestrian was killed in 1914 and another in 1919.

A rail worker was killed on a jigger to the north of the station in 1941.

A truck driver was killed at the station site when the Northern Explorer hit his truck at Te Onetea Road level crossing on 27 February 2014. No one on the train was injured.


Shenzhen Stock Exchange

# Shenzhen Stock Exchange

## Abstract

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE; Chinese: 深圳证券交易所) is a stock exchange based in the city of Shenzhen, in the People's Republic of China. It is one of three stock exchanges operating independently in Mainland China, the others being the Beijing Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It is situated in the Futian district of Shenzhen.

## History

On 1 December 1990, Shenzhen Stock Exchange was founded. In January 1992, Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour saved China's capital market and the two stock exchanges (the other was the Shanghai Stock Exchange). Before 1997, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange was under municipal control and termed an "experimental point".

In July 1997, the State Council of China decided that the Shenzhen Stock Exchange would be directly managed by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. It also affirmed that China's stock exchanges had a legitimate role in the socialist market economy.

In May 2004, the SME Board was launched. In October 2009, the ChiNext market (Chinese: 创业板) was inaugurated.

## Hours

The exchange has pre-market sessions from 09:15 am to 09:25 am and normal trading sessions from 09:30 am to 11:30 am and 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm China Standard Time (UTC+08:00) on all days of the week except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays declared by the Exchange in advance.

## ChiNext

The exchange opened the ChiNext board (Chinese: 创业板), a NASDAQ -type exchange for high-growth, high-tech start-ups, on 23 October 2009.

### Overview

ChiNext is also called the second stock trading market. It refers to the securities trading market outside the main board. It provides growth space for small and medium-sized enterprises and emerging companies that cannot be listed in the main board. It is an effective supplement to the main board market. The biggest feature of the ChiNext is that it has low entry barriers and strict operation requirements, which help potential small and medium-sized enterprises obtain financing opportunities.

History

The establishment of the ChiNext was a response to the growing demand for alternative financing options for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China. Prior to its creation, many SMEs had difficulty raising capital as they did not meet the strict listing requirements of China's established stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

The ChiNext was launched with 28 listed companies and quickly gained attention from investors as a platform for investing in high-growth industries such as technology, healthcare, and renewable energy. Over time, the number of listed companies on the ChiNext has grown, and as of 2021, there are over 800 companies listed on the exchange.

In the years since its establishment, the ChiNext has undergone several reforms aimed at improving transparency, promoting more sustainable growth, and reducing risks associated with speculative trading. For example, in 2016, the exchange introduced a new registration-based IPO system, which simplified the listing process for new companies.

### Influences

The influences of ChiNext includes boosting innovation and entrepreneurship and attracting foreign investment. Specifically, ChiNext has played a key role in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in China by providing a platform for smaller and innovative companies to raise capital and grow their businesses. This has led to the development of startups and technology companies in China.

## Market data

(As of January 2021)

- Listed companies: 2,375

- Market capitalization: RMB 34,463,161.66million (US$5.24 trillion)

## Listings

### Major listing requirements

The listing requirements for the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) are established by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and are designed to ensure the quality of companies listed on the exchange. The major listing requirements for the SZSE include:

- Minimum size requirements: Companies seeking to list on the SZSE must have a certain level of size, as measured by net assets or revenue.

- Financial performance: Companies must demonstrate a strong financial performance, with a track record of profitability and positive cash flow. Specifically, one of the following requirements must be met: 1.The estimated market value is not less than 1 billion yuan, the net profit in the most recent year is positive, and the operating income is not less than 100 million yuan; 2. The estimated market value is not less than 5 billion yuan, and the operating income in the most recent year is not less than 300 million yuan.

- Corporate governance: Companies must demonstrate a commitment to good corporate governance, with a clear and transparent management structure. Specifically, the issuer's basic accounting practice is proper and its preparation and disclosure of the financial statements is in compliance with the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises and relevant information disclosure rules, and fairly reflects in all material respects its financial position, the results of operations and cash flows, and its financial report has been issued an unqualified opinion by a CPA in the last three years.

- Disclosure and transparency: Companies must provide full and timely disclosure of financial and other information, and must comply with all regulatory reporting requirements.

## Building

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange building is a skyscraper with a height of 245.8 metres (806 ft) and 49 floors. Its construction started in 2008 and was finished in 2013. The building was designed by Rem Koolhaas 's firm, the Office for Metropolitan Architecture. The building is located at 2012 Shennan Blvd., Futian District. With an area of 200,000 square metres, five high speed elevators and a futuristic design, the partners involved in the design and construction of this sky scraper included Rem Koolhaas, David Gianotten, Ellen van Loon and Shohei Shigematsu and construction by The Second Construction Co., Ltd of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, a subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering Corporation.


Rey de Parejas

# Rey de Parejas

## Abstract

The Rey de Parejas (Spanish for "King of Tag Teams") is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Dragongate. It was created in 2003 by Toryumon Japan to determine the strongest tag team of the promotion. In 2004, after Último Dragón left Toryumon with the name and trademarks associated, the Toryumon Japan roster and staff formed Dragon Gate and a second Rey de Parejas tournament was held to establish the inaugural Open the Triangle Gate Championship as a spiritual successor to the UWA World Trios Championship.

From 2007 to 2016, the tournament was held as the Summer Adventure Tag League. In 2011, it was held as a single-elimination tournament under the name of Summer Adventure Tag Tournament. In 2012, the tournament featured trios instead of tag teams. In 2023, the tournament was revived as the Rey de Parejas once again.

The tournament is held under a points system, with 2 points for a win, 1 for a time limit draw, and 0 for a loss, no contest or double decision. The two top-scoring teams in each block advance to a single-elimination playoff to determine the winners of the Rey de Parejas.

## Results

### 2003

The first Rey de Parejas featured eight teams in a single block and was held from October 5 to October 26, 2003.

### 2004

The 2004 edition of the Rey de Parejas took place from October 3 to November 7. The tournament featured seven trios competing in a single block to win the newly created Open the Triangle Gate Championship. From October 28 onward, Ryo Saito replaced Magnum Tokyo who suffered an injury.

### 2007

The 2007 Summer Adventure League featured ten teams, and was held from 5 August to 26 August. The top four ranked teams from the round robin round qualified for the single-elimination semi-finals. The two winners of the semi-finals met in the final to decide the winner.

### 2008

The 2008 Summer Adventure League featured nine teams, and was held from 9 August to 28 August. The top four ranked teams from the round robin round qualified for the single-elimination semi-finals. The two winners of the semi-finals met in the final to decide the winner.

### 2009

The 2009 Summer Adventure League featured nine teams, and was held from 1 August to 26 August. The top four ranked teams from the round robin round qualified for the single-elimination semi-finals. The two winners of the semi-finals met in the final to decide the winner.

### 2010

The 2010 Summer Adventure League featured ten teams, and was held from 30 July to 25 August. The round robin round featured two blocks of five teams each, and the top two teams from each block qualified for the single-elimination semi-finals. The two winners of the semi-finals met in the final to decide the winner.

### 2011

The 2011 Summer Adventure League featured twelve teams, and was held from 3 August to 7 August, covering three shows; the format of the League was changed to a single-elimination tournament. Four teams received a bye into the second round. Kotoka qualified to be Don Fujii's partner by beating Shisa BOY, Super Shenlong and Eita Kobayashi.

### 2012

The 2012 Summer Adventure League featured eight teams with three members instead of the usual two. The round robin round features two blocks of four teams each, and the top team from each block will qualify for the finals to decide the winner of the tournament while the last team from each block will face each other to determine the last placed team. Super Shenlong III qualified to be Shingo Takagi and YAMATO's partner by beating Chihiro Tominaga. The tournament was held from 2 August to 19 August.

Mondai Ryu, Kzy and Cyber Kong lost to Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! and Naoki Tanizaki in 16:31 to become the last placed team

Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk and " Naoki Tanisaki " pinned CIMA, Gamma and Magnitude Kishiwada in 23:21 to become champions

### 2013

The 2013 Summer Adventure League reverted to teams of two members, and was held from 7 September to 28 September. The round robin round featured two blocks of four teams each, and the top team from each block qualified for the finals. The Block A match between Shingo Takagi and Akira Tozawa versus Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino ended in a no contest with no points awarded when Doi turned on Yoshino and joined Mad Blankey. This caused Yoshino to team up with the Former Super Shenlong III: Yosuke Watanabe for his final Block A match against Masaaki Mochizuki and Don Fujii.

T-Hawk and Eita defeated Yamato and BxB Hulk in 19:26 to become the interim Open the Twin Gate Champions.

### 2014

The 2014 Summer Adventure Tag League and was held from 5 September to 23 September. The round robin round featured two blocks of four teams each, and the top team from each block qualified for the finals. During the tournament Kotoka was injured on their last match and was replaced by Yuga Hayashi.

Ryotsu Shimizu and Yuga Hayashi lost to Kzy and Naruki Doi in 11:53 to become the last placed team

### 2015

The 2015 Summer Adventure Tag League and was held from 5 September to 27 September. The round robin round featured two blocks of four teams each, and the top team from each block qualified for the finals. On September 9 Cima was injured and was replaced by Takehiro Yamamura.

Knockout round

### 2016

On July 7 it was announced the 2016 Summer Adventure Tag League and it will be held from August 6 to September 10. The round robin round featured two blocks of six teams each, and the top team from each block qualified for the finals. On July 24 it was announced that Kotoka would miss the tournament due to facial injuries and Cyber Kong will replace him as Shingo Takagi 's place and Osaka06 (CIMA and Gamma) replaced the team of Mondai Ryu and Cyber Kong.

Knockout round


Interstate 26 in South Carolina

# Interstate 26 in South Carolina

## Abstract

Interstate 26 (I-26) is a South Carolina Interstate highway running generally east–west from near Landrum, in Spartanburg County, to U.S. Route 17 (US 17), in Charleston, South Carolina. It is also the longest Interstate Highway in South Carolina.

## Route description

I-26 runs 221 miles (356 km) through South Carolina. Milemarkers run from west (north) to east (south). Milemarker 0 is in the mountains at the North Carolina state line. The last exit, at US 17 south of Charleston, is exit 221.

I-26 runs between the Broad and Saluda Rivers, descending from the mountains to the piedmont or midlands. At Columbia, I-126 crosses the confluence of the Broad and Saluda, which together form the Congaree, near the Columbia Canal and water treatment plant. I-26 continues following the Congaree until it hops south over into the Cooper and Ashley Drainage, then down to the coast.

I-26 is predominantly a four-lane rural Interstate with 70-mile-per-hour (110 km/h) speed limits. In the Columbia and Charleston areas, the Interstate widens to six lanes, but speeds are lower.

I-26 enters South Carolina just northeast of Landrum, traveling a southeasterly direction. The first major city along its route is Spartanburg, where it intersects I-85 to Greenville and Charlotte. As the Interstate weaves along the terrain, it reaches Clinton; where westbound travelers can connect with I-385 toward Greenville. Traveling through the Sumter National Forest, it connects with Newberry before entering the Midlands. At Columbia in a section known as " Malfunction Junction ", it connects with I-20 to Augusta and Florence and I-126 toward the downtown area; it then goes south over the Saluda River and into Lexington County for the second of eventually four times along its course. At Cayce, it connects with I-77 to Charlotte. South of Cayce, the Interstate goes up and down a few very long hills before reaching the outskirts of Orangeburg and I-95 to Savannah and Florence. As it enters the relatively flat plains of the Lowcountry, the area becomes urbanized as the Interstate encroaches upon North Charleston and Charleston. As the Interstate curves through the peninsula formed by the Ashley and Cooper rivers, it connects with I-526 to Savannah and Mount Pleasant. Near the end, it overlaps with US 17 from its new interchange (from the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge) to where the old interchange remnants and where I-26 ends (formally where the John P. Grace Memorial Bridge and Silas N. Pearman Bridge connected).

### Services

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) operates and maintains one welcome center and seven rest areas along I-26. Welcome centers, which have a travel information facility on site, are located at milemarker 3 (eastbound); rest areas are located at milemarkers 63 (east and westbound), 123 (east and westbound), 150 (eastbound), 152 (westbound), and 204 (eastbound). Common at all locations are public restrooms, public telephones, vending machines, picnic area, and barbecue grills.

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS) and State Transport Police (STP) operates and maintains three truck inspection/weigh stations. A westbound weigh station can be found at milemarker 93.5 in Chapin 17 miles (27 km) west of Columbia, and two others at milemarker 173 (eastbound) and milemarker 174 (westbound) in Harleyville east of the interchanges with I-95 and US 15.

## History

Construction of I-26 began in 1957 in the Columbia area with the nine-mile (14 km) section from the Broad River to near Irmo. The 11-mile (18 km) section of I-26 from I-126 / US 76 in Columbia to US 176 at exit 97 was the first section of the highway to open up to traffic (on September 7, 1960). The six-mile (9.7 km) section from South Carolina Highway 210 (SC 210) to US 15 opened in September 1962. Construction proceeded in stages heading both west up toward Greenville and east toward Charleston. The highway was largely completed from Columbia to North Charleston by 1964; the section from Aviation Avenue to the highway's terminus at US 17 in downtown Charleston progressed more slowly due to land takings for the right-of-way and numerous bridges and viaducts that had to be built. The entire 221 miles (356 km) of I-26 were completed by February 1969.

In the 1980s–1990s, I-26 around Columbia was widened from four to six lanes. In the mid-1990s, the North Charleston area was also widened from four to six lanes, part of which was further widened to eight lanes in the early 2010s. In 2005, the US 17 was realigned to a new interchange with I-26 at exit 220 from exit 221; the old interchange was mostly torn down and reconfigured, leaving the I-26 viaduct eastbound offramp and westbound onramps with US 17 south. In the mid-2010s, I-26 was widened southeast of Columbia from I-77 to Old Sandy Run Road. Starting in 2019 or 2020, a long stretch of I-26 northwest of Columbia will begin widening construction from four to six lanes from SC 202 at Little Mountain to US 76/US 176 at Irmo.

In 2011, a plan to add a lane in each direction between Broad River Road and Saint Andrews Road through "Malfunction Junction" had $8.5 million (equivalent to $ 11.51 million in 2023) in funding but was expected to start sometime after 2012 and take two years.

On October 5, 2016, I-26 had all lanes converted to westbound only, from I-77 to I-526, due to Hurricane Matthew. This was done again on September 11, 2018, due to Hurricane Florence, and in September 2019 for Hurricane Dorian.

On November 19, 2016, construction began in Charleston to demolish, reconfigure, and replace exits 217 and 218, related to a new access road to the Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. Terminal; the interchange was opened on February 23, 2021.

On October 18, 2018, SCDOT approved widening I-26 between Columbia and Charleston. SCDOT plans to widen I-26 from Old Sandy Run Road in Calhoun County to Ridgeville Road (SC 27) in Berkeley County. Work on the road widening project officially began in October 2022.

On July 6, 2023, a tractor trailer pulling an excavator hit a bridge carrying Bachman Chapel Road over I-26 in Newberry when it was too tall to clear it. The bridge was deemed to be so damaged that it was closed indefinitely. The driver of the truck did not stop.

## Future

SCDOT is currently working on several projects to improve I-26 along its entire route in South Carolina. In Columbia, work has begun on the "Carolina Crossroads" project to redo improve the Interstate corridors in the city. These improvements are being made increase mobility and enhance traffic operations by reducing existing traffic congestion within the I-20/I-26/I-126 corridor, while accommodating future traffic needs. The corridor's approximately 16 miles (26 km) of mainline Interstate include I-26 from exit 101 (Broad River Road/US 176) to east of the Saluda River, I-20 from the west of the Saluda River to west of the Broad River, and I-126 from I-26 to east of the interchange with Colonial Life Boulevard. A $62.1 million project to convert the US 21 interchange south of Columbia from a partial cloverleaf interchange to a diamond interchange started in May 2023 and is expected to be completed in 2026. Another project to redo exit 91 will be fully opened on July 12, 2023. Long-term plans call for much of I-26 to be widened from four to six lanes between Columbia and Charleston. The project is expected to cost $2 billion and will also include rebuilding bridges and reconfiguring interchanges, including I-95 interchange near Holly Hill. Bidding for at least a part of the 70-mile-long (110 km) project is expected to begin by the end of 2023 with construction tentatively scheduled to start in the middle of 2024.

## Auxiliary routes

I-26 in South Carolina has two extant and one former auxiliary route. I-126 in Columbia and I-526 in Charleston are spur routes in their respective cities. I-326 was an unsigned designation that was decommissioned and is now part of I-77 in Columbia.


Oksana Boturchuk

# Oksana Boturchuk

## Abstract

Oksana Boturchuk (Ukrainian: Оксана Ботурчук) (born 12 September 1984) is a Paralympic athlete from Ukraine competing mainly in category T12 sprint events.

## Early life

Boturchuk hails from the Dnipropetrovsk region in Ukraine. She was born into a family of athletes, her father was a Master of Sports of the USSR in Sambo, whiles her mother was a candidate for Master of Sports in athletics. She experienced vision loss after an auto accident.

## Career

### Athletic career

She competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. There she won a gold medal in the women's 100 metres - T12 event, a silver medal in the women's 200 metres - T12 event, a silver medal in the women's 400 metres - T12 event and finished eighth in the women's Long jump - F12 event.

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, she won three silver medals.

In August 2021, a movie about her life titled Puls was released.

In September 2024, she won a silver medal in the women's 100m—T12 final in the Paralympic Games in Paris with a time of 12.70s. She and her guide Mykyta Barabanov also won a bronze medal in the 400 meters dash.

### Education

As at 2024, Boturchuk is a lecturer at the Department of Special Physical Training at DSUIA.

## Personal life

Boturchuk is married and has three children.

## Awards

Boturchuk has state awards which include the Order of Merit (I, II, and III degrees).


Philosophy of biology

# Philosophy of biology

## Abstract

The philosophy of biology is a subfield of philosophy of science, which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological and biomedical sciences. Although philosophers of science and philosophers generally have long been interested in biology (e.g., Aristotle, Descartes, and Kant), philosophy of biology only emerged as an independent field of philosophy in the 1960s and 1970s, associated with the research of David Hull. Philosophers of science then began paying increasing attention to biology, from the rise of Neodarwinism in the 1930s and 1940s to the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953 to more recent advances in genetic engineering.Other key ideas include the reduction of all life processes to biochemical reactions, and the incorporation of psychology into a broader neuroscience.

## Overview

Philosophers of biology examine the practices, theories, and concepts of biologists with a view toward better understanding biology as a scientific discipline (or group of scientific fields). Scientific ideas are philosophically analyzed and their consequences are explored. Philosophers of biology have also explored how our understanding of biology relates to epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and metaphysics and whether progress in biology should compel modern societies to rethink traditional values concerning all aspects of human life. It is sometimes difficult to separate the philosophy of biology from theoretical biology.

- "What is a biological species ?"

- "What is natural selection, and how does it operate in nature?"

- "How should we distinguish disease states from non-disease states?"

- "What is life ?"

- "What makes humans uniquely human?"

- "What is the basis of moral thinking?"

- "Is biological materialism & deterministic molecular biology compatible with free will ?"

- "How is rationality possible, given our biological origins?"

- "Is evolution compatible with Christianity or other religious systems?"

- "Are there laws of biology like the laws of physics?"

Ideas drawn from philosophical ontology and logic are being used by biologists in the domain of bioinformatics. Ontologies such as the Gene Ontology are being used to annotate the results of biological experiments in model organisms in order to create logically tractable bodies of data for reasoning and search. The ontologies are species-neutral graph-theoretical representations of biological types joined together by formally defined relations.

Philosophy of biology has become a visible, well-organized discipline, with its own journals, conferences, and professional organizations. The largest of the latter is the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB).

## Biological laws and autonomy of biology

A prominent question in the philosophy of biology is whether biology can be reduced to lower-level sciences such as chemistry and physics. Materialism is the view that every biological system including organisms consists of nothing except the interactions of molecules; it is opposed to vitalism. As a methodology, reduction would mean that biological systems should be studied at the level of chemistry and molecules. In terms of epistemology, reduction means that knowledge of biological processes can be reduced to knowledge of lower-level processes, a controversial claim.

Holism in science is the view that emphasizes higher-level processes, phenomena at a larger level that occur due to the pattern of interactions between the elements of a system over time. For example, to explain why one species of finch survives a drought while others die out, the holistic method looks at the entire ecosystem. Reducing an ecosystem to its parts in this case would be less effective at explaining overall behavior (in this case, the decrease in biodiversity). As individual organisms must be understood in the context of their ecosystems, holists argue, so must lower-level biological processes be understood in the broader context of the living organism in which they take part. Proponents of this view cite our growing understanding of the multidirectional and multilayered nature of gene modulation (including epigenetic changes) as an area where a reductionist view is inadequate for full explanatory power.

All processes in organisms obey physical laws, but some argue that the difference between inanimate and biological processes is that the organisation of biological properties is subject to control by coded information. This has led biologists and philosophers such as Ernst Mayr and David Hull to return to the strictly philosophical reflections of Charles Darwin to resolve some of the problems which confronted them when they tried to employ a philosophy of science derived from classical physics. The old positivist approach used in physics emphasised a strict determinism and led to the discovery of universally applicable laws, testable in the course of experiment. It was difficult for biology to use this approach. Standard philosophy of science seemed to leave out a lot of what characterised living organisms - namely, a historical component in the form of an inherited genotype.

Philosophers of biology have also examined the notion of “ teleology.” Some have argued that scientists have had no need for a notion of cosmic teleology that can explain and predict evolution, since one was provided by Darwin. But teleological explanations relating to purpose or function have remained useful in biology, for example, in explaining the structural configuration of macromolecules and the study of co-operation in social systems. By clarifying and restricting the use of the term “teleology” to describe and explain systems controlled strictly by genetic programmes or other physical systems, teleological questions can be framed and investigated while remaining committed to the physical nature of all underlying organic processes. While some philosophers claim that the ideas of Charles Darwin ended the last remainders of teleology in biology, the matter continues to be debated. Debates in these areas of philosophy of biology turn on how one views reductionism more generally.

## Ethical implications of biology

Sharon Street claims that contemporary evolutionary biological theory creates what she calls a “Darwinian Dilemma” for realists. She argues that this is because it is unlikely that our evaluative judgements about morality are tracking anything true about the world. Rather, she says, it is likely that moral judgements and intuitions that promote our reproductive fitness were selected for, and there is no reason to think that it is the truth of these moral intuitions which accounts for their selection. She notes that a moral intuition most people share, that someone being a close family member is a prima facie good reason to help them, happens to be an intuition likely to increase reproductive fitness, while a moral intuition almost no one has, that someone being a close family member is a reason not to help them, is likely to decrease reproductive fitness.

David Copp responded to Street by arguing that realists can avoid this so-called dilemma by accepting what he calls a “quasi-tracking” position. Copp explains that what he means by quasi tracking is that it is likely that moral positions in a given society would have evolved to be at least somewhat close to the truth. He justifies this by appealing to the claim that the purpose of morality is to allow a society to meet certain basic needs, such as social stability, and a society with a successful moral codes would be better at doing this.

## Other perspectives

One perspective on the philosophy of biology is how developments in modern biological research and biotechnologies have influenced traditional philosophical ideas about the distinction between biology and technology, as well as implications for ethics, society, and culture. An example is the work of philosopher Eugene Thacker in his book Biomedia. Building on current research in fields such as bioinformatics and biocomputing, as well as on work in the history of science (particularly the work of Georges Canguilhem, Lily E. Kay, and Hans-Jörg Rheinberger), Thacker defines biomedia as entailing "the informatic recontextualization of biological components and processes, for ends that may be medical or non-medical...biomedia continuously make the dual demand that information materialize itself as gene or protein compounds. This point cannot be overstated: biomedia depend upon an understanding of biological as informational but not immaterial."

Some approaches to the philosophy of biology incorporate perspectives from science studies and/or science and technology studies, anthropology, sociology of science, and political economy. This includes work by scholars such as Melinda Cooper, Luciana Parisi, Paul Rabinow, Nikolas Rose, and Catherine Waldby.

Philosophy of biology was historically associated very closely with theoretical evolutionary biology, but more recently there have been more diverse movements, such as to examine molecular biology.

## Scientific discovery process

Research in biology continues to be less guided by theory than it is in other sciences. This is especially the case where the availability of high throughput screening techniques for the different "- omics " fields such as genomics, whose complexity makes them predominantly data-driven. Such data-intensive scientific discovery is by some considered to be the fourth paradigm, after empiricism, theory and computer simulation. Others reject the idea that data driven research is about to replace theory. As Krakauer et al. put it: "machine learning is a powerful means of preprocessing data in preparation for mechanistic theory building, but should not be considered the final goal of a scientific inquiry." In regard to cancer biology, Raspe et al. state: "A better understanding of tumor biology is fundamental for extracting the relevant information from any high throughput data." The journal Science chose cancer immunotherapy as the breakthrough of 2013. According to their explanation a lesson to be learned from the successes of cancer immunotherapy is that they emerged from decoding of basic biology.

Theory in biology is to some extent less strictly formalized than in physics. Besides 1) classic mathematical-analytical theory, as in physics, there is 2) statistics-based, 3) computer simulation and 4) conceptual/verbal analysis. Dougherty and Bittner argue that for biology to progress as a science, it has to move to more rigorous mathematical modeling, or otherwise risk to be "empty talk".

In tumor biology research, the characterization of cellular signaling processes has largely focused on identifying the function of individual genes and proteins. Janes showed however the context-dependent nature of signaling driving cell decisions demonstrating the need for a more system based approach. The lack of attention for context dependency in preclinical research is also illustrated by the observation that preclinical testing rarely includes predictive biomarkers that, when advanced to clinical trials, will help to distinguish those patients who are likely to benefit from a drug.

## The Darwinian dynamic and the origin of life

Organisms that exist today, from viruses to humans, possess a self-replicating informational molecule (genome) that is either DNA (most organisms) or RNA (as in some viruses), and such an informational molecule is likely intrinsic to life. Probably the earliest forms of life were likewise based on a self-replicating informational molecule (genome), perhaps RNA or an informational molecule more primitive than RNA or DNA. It has been argued that the evolution of order in living systems and in particular physical systems obey a common fundamental principle that was termed the Darwinian dynamic. This principal was formulated by first considering how macroscopic order is generated in a simple non-biological system far from thermodynamic equilibrium, and subsequently extending consideration to short, replicating RNA molecules. The underlying order-generating process was concluded to be basically similar for both types of systems.

## Journals and professional organizations

### Journals

- History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences

- Journal of the History of Biology

- Biology & Philosophy

- Biological Theory

- Philosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology

- Studies in History and Philosophy of Science

### Professional organizations

- International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology


Bryce Hall

# Bryce Hall

## Abstract

Bryce Michael Hall (born August 14, 1999) is an American social media personality. He is most known for his videos on TikTok and YouTube. As of October 9, 2023, his TikTok account has 24 million followers, and his YouTube channel has 3 million subscribers.

He lost to Austin McBroom in an exhibition boxing match which was the headliner to the YouTubers vs. TikTokers event. He won his bare-knuckle boxing match against (3–0) professional fighter Gee Perez on BKFC 48.

He will star in the 2024 feature film Skill House, a horror film written and directed by Josh Stolberg.

## Early life

Hall was born on August 14, 1999, and he was raised by his Filipino mother, Lisa Hall in Ellicott City, Maryland. He attended Howard High School in Ellicott City, Maryland.

## Internet career

### 2014–present: TikTok breakthrough and Sway House

Hall started his social media career on YouNow at the age of 15. He originally started live streaming in an effort to make friends after being bullied. In late 2014, he started gaining traction on the social media platforms Vine and Musical.ly accumulating over 30,000 followers on Vine before it was shut down at the end of 2016.

He started his YouTube channel in 2015.

In 2018, Hall moved from his home in Maryland to Los Angeles to pursue his career. In 2019, he was one of the social-media celebrities featured in the documentary Jawline, which detailed his career beginnings and legal scandals with his former manager, Michael Weist.

In January 2020, Hall and five other social media personalities moved into the Sway House, a Bel Air mansion and content house owned by the talent management company TalentX Entertainment. There, they committed to creating viral content for multiple social media platforms, especially TikTok. In February 2021, TalentX and Sway House co-founder Michael Gruen confirmed that the Sway House had been discontinued.

### 2022–present: Acting

In August 2021, Hall made an uncredited cameo appearance in the Netflix original film He's All That, as a high school student.

In April 2022, it was reported that Hall would star in Skill House, a horror film written and directed by Josh Stolberg and financed by Ryan Kavanaugh 's Proxima Studios.

## Boxing career

On June 12, 2021, Hall made his boxing debut against American YouTuber Austin McBroom in an exhibition match at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The billing of the bout was YouTubers vs. TikTokers as the undercard features a mixture of different YouTubers vs different TikTokers. McBroom defeated Hall via technical knockout in the third round.

## Bare-knuckle boxing career

Hall made their bare-knuckle boxing debut on August 11, 2023, under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship on BKFC 48 against professional fighter Gee Perez in at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hall defeated Perez via technical knockout (due to a doctor's stoppage) at the end of the second round.

## Personal life

Hall moved to Los Angeles, California, in 2018, later becoming the creator of the Sway House. In 2020, Hall dated TikToker Addison Rae. They broke up the following year.

Hall has spoken in support of Donald Trump 's 2024 presidential campaign.

## Legal problems

### Lawsuit with previous management

In 2017, Hall allegedly falsely accused his former manager Michael Weist of sexual assault. On November 1, 2017, Hall tweeted out accusing Weist of hacking his Twitter account, and he also claimed that Weist touched him inappropriately, writing "Managers who touch their clients in ways they don't wanna be touched hide the truth by hacking their Twitter accounts." In Hulu's Jawline, Weist is shown replying to a text about suing Hall by stating that he would sue his former client for $5 million. Weist filed a lawsuit against Hall for defamation. The case was settled outside of court, and Hall publicly apologized to Weist, stating "I made some harsh statements about Michael and regret making those statements, including any suggestion of sexual assault. I am sorry for what happened and I am glad it is over."

### Violation of COVID-19 safety measures

On August 19, 2020, Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti authorized the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to shut off Hall's home utility services for violating the city's social distancing measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, which include a ban on house parties with large gatherings, which Hall allegedly violated with a celebration of his 21st birthday after several warnings from the Los Angeles Police Department to cease his parties. On August 28, he was charged by the Los Angeles City Attorney with a misdemeanor violating the Safer L.A. health order and the city's "Party House Ordinance".

### May arrest

On May 25, 2020, Hall, along with fellow TikTok star Jaden Hossler, was arrested in Lee County, Texas, on drug charges. He was charged with a misdemeanor for possession of marijuana, and posted $5,000 bail the same day.

### Altercation and lawsuit

In October 2020, footage obtained by TMZ showed Hall and some of his friends in an altercation with an employee of the Cinco restaurant in Los Angeles. Several months later in April 2021, the restaurant co-owner, Hernan Fernando sued Hall for "battery; assault; intentional infliction of emotional distress; and engaging in acts of violence motivated by race, national origin, citizenship, immigration status and primary language."

## Boxing record