The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drury Lane.  The building is the most recent in a line of four theatres which were built at the same location, the earliest of which dated back to 1663, making it the oldest theatre site in London still in use.[1] According to the author Peter Thomson, for its first two centuries, Drury Lane could "reasonably have claimed to be London's leading theatre".[2] For most of that time, it was one of a handful of patent theatres, granted monopoly rights to the production of "legitimate" drama  in London (meaning spoken plays, rather than opera, dance, concerts, or plays with music).
The first theatre on the site was built at the behest of Thomas Killigrew in the early 1660s, when theatres were allowed to reopen during the English Restoration. Initially known as "Theatre Royal in Bridges Street", the theatre's proprietors hired prominent actors who performed at the theatre on a regular basis, including Nell Gwyn and Charles Hart.  In 1672 the theatre caught fire and Killigrew built a larger theatre on the same plot, renamed the "Theatre Royal in Drury Lane"; it opened in 1674. This building lasted nearly 120 years, under the leaderships of Colley Cibber, David Garrick and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the last of whom employed Joseph Grimaldi as the theatre's resident Clown.
In 1791, under Sheridan's management, the building was demolished to make way for a larger theatre which opened in 1794. This new Drury Lane survived for 15 years before burning down in 1809. The building that stands today opened in 1812. It has been the residency of well known actors including; Edmund Kean, comedian Dan Leno, and the musical composer and performer Ivor Novello. From the Second World War, the theatre has primarily hosted long runs of musicals, including Oklahoma! (1947–1953), My Fair Lady (1958–1963), 42nd Street (1984–1989, 2017-2019) and Miss Saigon (1989–1999), the theatre's longest-running show.[3] The theatre is owned by the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
First theatre: Theatre Royal, Bridges Street (1663)

After the eleven-year-long Puritan Interregnum, which had seen the banning of pastimes regarded as frivolous, such as theatre, the English monarchy was restored to the throne with the return of Charles II in 1660. Soon after, Charles issued Letters Patent to two parties licensing the formation of new acting companies. One of these went to Thomas Killigrew, whose company became known as the King's Company, and who built a new theatre in Drury Lane. The Letters Patent also granted the two companies a shared monopoly on the public performance of legitimate drama in London; this monopoly was challenged in the 18th century by new venues and by a certain slipperiness in the definition of "legitimate drama," but remained legally in place until 1843.[4] The new playhouse, architect unknown, opened on 7 May 1663 and was known from the placement of the entrance as the "Theatre Royal in Bridges Street."[5] It went by other names as well, including the "King's Playhouse." The building was a three-tiered wooden structure, 112 feet (34m) long and 59 feet (18m) wide; it could hold an audience of 700.[6] Set well back from the broader streets, the theatre was accessed by narrow passages between surrounding buildings.[7]
The King himself frequently attended the theatre's productions, as did Samuel Pepys, whose private diaries provide much of what we know of London theatre-going in the 1660s. The day after the Theatre Royal opened, Pepys attended a performance of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher's The Humorous Lieutenant. He has this to say in his diary:
The house is made with extraordinary good contrivance, and yet hath some faults, as the narrowness of the passages in and out of the Pitt, and the distance from the stage to the boxes, which I am confident cannot hear; but for all other things it is well, only, above all, the musique being below, and most of it sounding under the very stage, there is no hearing of the bases at all, nor very well of the trebles, which sure must be mended.[8]

Performances usually began at 3pm to take advantage of the daylight: the main floor for the audience, the pit, had no roof in order to let in the light. A glazed dome was built over the opening, but according to one of Pepys' diary entries, the dome was not entirely effective at keeping out the elements: he and his wife were forced to leave the theatre to take refuge from a hail storm.[9] Green baize cloth covered the benches in the pit and served to decorate the boxes, additionally ornamented with gold-tooled leather, and even the stage itself.[10] The backless green benches in the pit were in a semicircular arrangement facing the stage, according to a May 1663 letter from one Monsieur de Maonconys: "All benches of the pit, where people of rank also sit, are shaped in a semi-circle, each row higher than the next."[11] The three galleries formed a semicircle around the floor seats; both the first and second galleries were divided up into boxes.[12]
The King's Company was forced to commission the technically advanced and expensive Theatre Royal playhouse by the success of the rival Duke's Company, which was drawing fascinated crowds with their "moveable" or "changeable" scenery and visually gorgeous productions at the former Lisle's Tennis Court at Lincoln's Inn Fields.[13][14] Imitating the innovations at Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Theatre Royal also featured moveable scenery with wings or shutters that could be smoothly changed between or even within acts. When not in use, the shutters rested out of sight behind the sides of the proscenium arch, which also served as a visual frame for the on-stage happenings.[15] The picture-frame-like separation between audience and performance was a new phenomenon in English theatre, though it had been found on the Continent earlier. Theatre design in London remained ambivalent about the merits of the "picture-box" stage, and for many decades to come, London theatres including Drury Lane had large forestages protruding beyond the arch,[16] often including the thrust stages found in the Elizabethan theatres. The players could still step forward and bridge the distance between performer and audience, and in addition, it was not unusual for audience members to mount the stage themselves.[17]
Killigrew's investment in the new playhouse put the two companies on a level as far as technical resources were concerned, but the offerings at the Theatre Royal nevertheless continued to be dominated by actor-driven "talk" drama, contrasting with William Davenant's baroque spectacles and operas at Lincoln's Inn Fields.[18] Internal power structures were the main reason for this difference: while Davenant skilfully commanded a docile young troupe, Killigrew's authority over his veteran actors was far from absolute.[19] Experienced actors Michael Mohun (who Pepys called "the best actor in the world"[20]) and Charles Hart held out for shares and good contracts in the King's Company. Such a division of power between the patentee, Killigrew, and his chief actors led to frequent conflicts that hampered the Theatre Royal as a business venture.[21] Nevertheless, it was mostly at the struggling Theatre Royal, rather than at the efficiently run Lincoln's Inn Fields, that the plays were acted that are classics today. This applies especially to the new form Restoration comedy, dominated in the 1660s by William Wycherley and the Theatre Royal's house dramatist John Dryden. Actors such as Hart and Charles II's mistress Nell Gwyn developed and refined the famous scenes of repartee, banter and flirtation in Dryden's and Wycherley's comedies.[22] With the appearance of actresses for the first time at Drury Lane and Lincoln's Inn Fields in the 1660s,[23] British playwrights wrote parts for outspoken female characters, daring love scenes and provocative breeches roles.[6][24] In any case, the competition between the King's Company and the Duke's was good for the rebirth and development of English drama.[25]
The Great Plague of London struck in the summer of 1665, and the Theatre Royal, along with all other public entertainment, was shut down by order of the Crown on 5 June. It remained closed for 18 months until the autumn of 1666, during which time it received at least a little interior renovation, including widening of the stage.[26] Located well to the west of the City boundary, the theatre was unaffected by the Great Fire of London, which raged through the City in September 1666, but it burned down six years later on 25 January 1672.[27]
Second theatre: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (1674)

During the 20th century, one illustration was repeatedly– and wrongly– published as "Christopher Wren, design for the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 1674".[28] Since 1964, this presumption has been disputed by scholars.[29] Careful inspection of the drawing at All Soul's Library shows that it has one pencil inscription: "Play house" [sic], which may have been added by a librarian or by anyone else. No sign of a signature (by Wren or anyone else) or a date appears anywhere on the drawing.[30] Robert D. Hume of Penn State University explained that use of the drawing "rests almost entirely on the supposition that the so-called "Wren section" at All Souls represents this theatre. It could just as easily be a discarded sketch unconnected to Drury Lane in any way."[31]
Comparative evidence for Drury Lane's 1674 design can be found in the Theatre Royal, Bristol, built in 1766, whose design was modelled, in part, on Drury Lane's.[30][32] The site measured 112ft (34m) east-west and 59ft (18m) north-south. The building was smaller than this, as reliable surveys and maps of the period show three passageways measuring between 5 and 10ft (1.5 and 3.0m) wide surrounding the Theatre Royal on three sides. The building probably measured between 40 and 50ft (12 and 15m) wide (the average width of all "Restoration" Theatres) and between 90 and 100ft (27 and 30m) long. Architect Robert Adam designed Drury Lane's 1674 interior. The theatre was managed, from 1747 to Adam's retirement in the 1770s, by David Garrick.[30]
The King's Company never recovered financially from the loss of the old Theatre Royal Bridges Street. The cost of constructing the new theatre, replacing their costumes and scenery lost in the fire and competitive pressure from the rival Duke's Company contributed to its decline. Eventually, in 1682, the King's Company merged with the Duke's.[33] The 1674 Theatre Royal building contained a warren of rooms, including storage space and dressing rooms used by the management and performers, nearly seventy people in total, as well as some fifty technical staff members.[34] Additionally three rooms were provided for scripts, including a library for their storage, a separate room for copying actors' parts and a special library for the theatre's account books, ledger books and music scores. This jumble of rooms often made communication among various departments difficult, a problem that Garrick corrected during his tenure as manager. The entire complex occupied 13,134 square feet (1,220m2) bounded by Drury Lane (east), Brydges Street (west), Great Russell Street (north) and Little Russell Street (south).[35]
From 1674, theatregoers accessed the Drury Lane via a long ten foot wide passageway from Bridges Street. The passageway opened onto a yard (previously a "Riding Yard"[36]) in which the theatre stood. It's likely that the yard remained open to the sky at this date, on three sides of the Theatre Royal walls. Henri Misson, a visitor from France, offers a description of the theatre in 1698: his use of the word "amphitheatre" supports the view that Drury Lane had a circular line of boxes surrounding its pit:
The Pit is an Amphitheatre, fill'd with Benches without Backboards, and adorn'd and cover'd with green Cloth. Men of Quality, particularly the younger Sort, some Ladies of Reputation and Virtue, and abundance of Damsels that haunt for Prey, sit all together in this Place, Higgledy-piggledy, chatter, toy, play, hear, hear not. Farther up, against the Wall, under the first Gallery and just opposite to the Stage, rises another Amphitheatre, which is taken by persons of the best Quality, among whom are generally very few Men. The Galleries, whereof there are only two Rows, are fill'd with none but ordinary People, particularly the Upper one.[37]

As Misson points out, the seating was divided by class, and tickets were priced accordingly. Box seats, used by the nobility and wealthy gentry, cost 5 shillings; the benches in the pit where some gentry sat, but also critics and scholars, cost 3 shillings; tradesmen and professionals occupied the first gallery with seats costing 2 shillings, while servants and other "ordinary people", as Misson refers to them, occupied the 1 shilling seats of the upper gallery. Seats were not numbered and were offered on a "first come, first served" basis, leading many members of the gentry to send servants to reserve seats well ahead of performances.[34] The stage was 45 feet (14m) wide and 30 feet (9.1m) deep with a raked floor from the footlights to the backdrop. The angle of the rake rose one inch for every 24 inches (610mm) of horizontal stage. The stage floor included grooves for wings and flats in addition to trap doors in the floor. The proscenium arch covered the stage equipment above the stage that included a pair of girondels – large wheels holding many candles used to counteract the light from the footlights. Towards the latter part of the 18th century, doors were placed on either side of the stage, and a series of small spikes traced the edge of the stage apron to prevent audiences from climbing onto the stage. At the very back of the stage, a wide door opened to reveal Drury Lane.[38]
An added difficulty for Killigrew and his sons Thomas and Charles was the political unrest of 1678–1684 with the Popish Plot and the Exclusion Bill crisis distracting potential audiences from things theatrical. This affected both the King's and the Duke's companies, but most of all the King's which had no profit margin to carry them through the lean years. In 1682, the companies merged, or rather, the King's was absorbed by the Duke's. Led at the time by Thomas Betterton, the United Company, as it was now called, chose Drury Lane as their production house, leaving the Duke's Company's theatre in Dorset Garden closed for a time. In 1688 Betterton was removed from managerial control by Alexander Davenant, son of William Davenant, the original patent holder for the Duke's Company. Davenant's management (with Charles Killigrew) proved brief and disastrous, and by 1693 he was fleeing to the Canary Islands in the wake of embezzlement charges. The Theatre Royal found itself in the hands of lawyer Christopher Rich for the next 16 years.[39]
Neither Davenant's nor Killigrew's sons were much better than crooks,[40] and Rich attempted to recoup their depredations of the company's resources by cost-cutting tyranny, pitting actor against actor and slashing salaries. By 1695, the actors, including day-to-day manager and acting legend Thomas Betterton, were alienated and humiliated enough to walk out and set up a cooperative company of their own. Nine men and six women departed, all of them established professional performers, including such draws as tragedian Elizabeth Barry and comedian Anne Bracegirdle, leaving the United Company – henceforth known as the "Patent Company" – in "a very despicable condition," according to an anonymous contemporary pamphlet:
The disproportion was so great at parting, that it was almost impossible, in Drury Lane, to muster up a sufficient number to take in all the parts of any play; and of them so few were tolerable, that a play must of necessity be damned, that had not extraordinary favour from the audience. No fewer than sixteen (most of the old standing) went away; and with them the very beauty and vigour of the stage; they who were left being for the most part learners, boys and girls, a very unequal match for them that revolted.[41]

A private letter from 19 November 1696 reported that Drury Lane "has no company at all, and unless a new play comes out on Saturday revives their reputation, they must break."[42] The new play is assumed to have been John Vanbrugh's The Relapse, and it turned out the success the company needed. Christopher Rich continued as its head until 1709, when the patent in question was actually revoked amid a complex tangle of political machinations. A lawyer named William Collier was briefly given the right to mount productions in Drury Lane, but by 1710 the troupe was in the hands of the actors Colley Cibber, Robert Wilks, and Thomas Doggett – a triumvirate that eventually found themselves sharply satirised in Alexander Pope's Dunciad.[43] In 1713 Barton Booth replaced Doggett.[44] On 2 March 1717 was the premiere of the ballet The Loves of Mars and Venus choreographed by John Weaver, and was the first ballet to be performed in England.
Cibber was the de facto leader of the triumvirate, and he led the theatre through a controversial but generally successful period until 1733, when he sold his controlling interest to John Highmore. It is likely that the sale was at a vastly inflated price and that Colley's goal was simply to get out of debts and make a profit (see Robert Lowe in his edition of Cibber's Apology). Members of the troupe at the time were most displeased; an actor's revolt was organised and executed; Charles Fleetwood came to control the theatre. Fleetwood's tenure was tumultuous; his abolition of the practice of allowing footmen free access to the upper gallery led to riots in 1737, and Fleetwood's gambling problems entangled the theatre in his own financial difficulties.[45] It was during this period that actor Charles Macklin (a native of Inishowen in County Donegal in Ulster) rose to fame, propelled by a singular performance as Shylock in an early 1741 production of The Merchant of Venice, in which he introduced a realistic, naturalistic style of acting, abandoning the artificial bombast typical to dramatic roles prior.[45]

In 1747, Fleetwood's playhouse patent expired. The theatre and a patent renewal were purchased by actor David Garrick (who had trained under Macklin earlier) and partner James Lacy. Garrick served as manager and lead actor of the theatre until roughly 1766, and continued on in the management role for another ten years after that. He is remembered as one of the great stage actors and is especially associated with advancing the Shakespearean tradition in English theatre – during his time at Drury Lane, the company mounted at least 24 of Shakespeare's plays.[46] Some of Shakespeare's surge in popularity during this period can be traced to the Licensing Act of 1737, which mandated governmental approval of any play before it could be performed and thereby created something of a vacuum of new material to perform. Garrick shared the stage with company including Peg Woffington, Susannah Cibber, Hannah Pritchard, Kitty Clive, Spranger Barry, Richard Yates and Ned Shuter. It was under Garrick's management that spectators were for the first time barred from the stage itself.[47]
Garrick commissioned Robert Adam and his brother James to renovate the theatre's interior, which they did in 1775. Their additions included an ornate ceiling and a stucco facade facing Bridges Street. This facade was the first time any structure that might be considered part of the theatre proper actually abutted the street: the building, like the 1663 original, had been built in the centre of the block, hemmed in by other structures. The narrow passage from Bridges street to the theatre now became an interior hallway; some theatre office space also went up behind the new facade.[48]

With a series of farewell performances, Garrick left the stage in 1776 and sold his shares in the theatre to the Irish playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Sheridan and his partners, Thomas Linley the elder and Doctor James Ford (court physician to King George III[49]), completed their purchase of Drury Lane two years later, and Sheridan owned it until 1809.[50] Sheridan premiered his own comedy of manners The School for Scandal in 1777. Active management of the theatre was carried out by several parties during Sheridan's ownership, including himself, his father Thomas, and, from 1788 to 1796 and 1800 to 1802, the popular actor John Philip Kemble.[51] Linley took up the post of Musical Director at the theatre, receiving a retainer of £500 per annum.[52]
Sheridan employed dozens of children as extras at Drury Lane including Joseph Grimaldi who made his stage debut at the theatre in 1780.[53]  Grimaldi became best known for his development of the modern day white-face clown and popularised the role of Clown in many Pantomimes and Harlequinades.[54]  Towards the end of the 1790s, Grimaldi starred in Robinson Crusoe, which confirmed him as a key Christmas pantomime performer.  Many pantomimes followed, but his career at Drury Lane became turbulent, and he left the theatre for good in 1806.[55]
Third theatre: 1794

The theatre was in need of updating by the end of the 18th century and was demolished in 1791, with the company moving temporarily to the new King's Theatre, in the Haymarket. A third theatre was designed by Henry Holland and opened on 12 March 1794. In the design of the theatre boxes, Henry Holland asked John Linnell for assistance. The designs by Linnell survive in the V&A Print Room – there are also designs by Henry Holland and Charles Heathcote Tatham who were involved in the design process. This was a cavernous theatre, accommodating more than 3,600 spectators.[56] The motivation behind building on such a large scale? In the words of one owner:
I was aware of the very popular notion that our theatres ought to be very small; but it appeared to me that if that very popular notion should be suffered to proceed too far it would in every way deteriorate our dramatic performances depriving the proprietors of that revenue which is indispensable to defray the heavy expenses of such a concern.[57]

New technology facilitated the expansion: iron columns replaced bulky wood, supporting five tiers of galleries. The stage was large, too: 83 feet (25m) wide and 92 feet (28m) deep. Holland, the architect, said it was "on a larger scale than any other theatre in Europe." Except for churches, it was the tallest building in London.[57]
The "very popular notion that our theatres ought to be very small" proved hard to overcome. Various accounts from the period bemoan the mammoth size of the new theatre, longing for the "warm close observant seats of Old Drury," as one May 1794 theatre-goer put it.[58] Actress Sarah Siddons, then part of the Drury Lane company, called it "a wilderness of a place" (and left Drury Lane along with her brother John Philip Kemble in 1803). Not only was any sense of intimacy and connection to the company on stage lost, but the very size of the theatre put a great deal of the audience at such a distance from the stage so as to make hearing a player's voice quite difficult. To compensate, the productions mounted in the new theatre tended more toward spectacle than the spoken word.[57] An example of such a spectacle is a 1794 production that featured real water flowing down a rocky stream into a lake large enough on which to row a boat. This water issued from tanks in the attics above the house, which were installed – along with a much-touted iron safety curtain – as proof against fire.[59]

Richard Sheridan continued as theatre owner during the entire lifetime of this third building. He had grown in stature as a statesman during this time, but troubled finances were to be his undoing. The 1794 rebuilding had cost double the original estimate of £80,000, and Sheridan bore the entirety of the debt. Productions were more expensive to mount in the larger structure, and increased audience revenues failed to make up the difference.[60]
An assassination attempt against King George III took place at the theatre on 15 May 1800. James Hadfield fired two pistol shots from the pit toward the King, sitting in the royal box. The shots missed by inches, Hadfield having been jostled by a Mr Dyte.[61]  Hadfield was quickly subdued, and George, apparently unruffled, ordered the performance to continue.[62]
The comedy actor John Bannister became acting-manager in 1802. With Sheridan's son Tom, and in the circle of Richard Wroughton (stage-manager), William Dowton, Michael Kelly, Tom Dibdin and their likes, he helped to see the Theatre Royal through its next catastrophe.[63] On 24 February 1809, despite the previously mentioned fire safety precautions, the theatre burned down. On being encountered drinking a glass of wine in the street while watching the fire, R.B. Sheridan was famously reported to have said: "A man may surely be allowed to take a glass of wine by his own fireside."[64] Already on the shakiest financial ground, Sheridan was ruined entirely by the loss of the building. He turned to brewer Samuel Whitbread, an old friend, for help.[65] As well as investing strongly in the project, Whitbread agreed to head a committee that would manage the company and oversee the rebuilding of the theatre, but asked Sheridan to withdraw from management himself, which he did entirely by 1811.[66]
Modern theatre: 1812

The present Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, designed by Benjamin Dean Wyatt on behalf of the committee led by Whitbread, opened on 10 October 1812 with a production of Hamlet featuring Robert Elliston in the title role. The new theatre made some concessions toward intimacy, seating 3,060 people, about 550 fewer than the earlier building (though this size is still considered an extremely large theatre). On 6 September 1817, gas lighting was extended from the audience area to the stage, making it the first British theatre to be gaslit throughout.[67] In 1820 the portico that still stands at the theatre's front entrance on Catherine Street was added, and in 1822 the interior underwent a significant remodelling. The colonnade running down the Russell Street side of the building was added in 1831.[68]
Productions relying more on scenery and effects than on dialogue and acting remained commonplace in the new facility. The 1823 production of Cataract of the Ganges had a finale featuring a horseback escape up a flowing cataract "with fire raging all around."[69] Effects for an 1829 production were produced by hydraulic apparatus that reportedly could discharge 39 tons of water.[70]
There were those concerned that the theatre was failing in its role as one of the very few permitted to show legitimate drama. Management of the theatre after it reopened in 1813 fell to Samuel James Arnold, overseen by an amateur board of directors and a subcommittee focusing on the theatre as a centre for national culture. (Lord Byron was briefly on this subcommittee, from June 1815 until leaving England in April 1816.)[71] Actor Edmund Kean was the on-stage highlight; like Macklin before him, he made his reputation as Shylock, premiering in the role in 1814. Kean remained until 1820 through praise and notorious disputes with local playwrights such as Charles Bucke.[72]

Elliston leased the theatre from 1819 until he went bankrupt in 1826. An American, Stephen Price of New York City's Park Theatre, followed from 1826 to 1830.
Through most of the remainder of the 19th century, Drury Lane passed quickly from one proprietor to another. A colonnade was added to the Russell Street frontage, in 1831, by architect Samuel Beazley.[73] In 1833, Alfred Bunn gained control of both Drury Lane and Covent Garden, managing the former from 1833 to 1839, and again from 1843 to 1850.  Following the lead of the Lyceum Theatre, London, Bunn championed English opera, rather than the Italian operas that had played earlier at the theatre.  These included Fair Rosamond and Farinelli by John Barnett; a series of twelve operas by Michael Balfe including The Maid of Artois and The Bohemian Girl; Maritana and others by William Vincent Wallace and several by Julius Benedict.[74]  In 1837, actor-manager Samuel Phelps (1804–1878) joined the company at Drury Lane, appearing with William Charles Macready, the gifted actor-manager in several Shakespeare plays. He also created the role of Captain Channel in Douglas Jerrold's melodrama, The Prisoner of War (1842), and of Lord Tresham in Robert Browning's A Blot in the 'Scutcheon (1843).[75]  Macready was briefly manager in 1841–1843, putting significant reforms in place. Nevertheless, most productions there were financial disasters.[76]

The theatrical monopoly first bestowed by Royal Letters Patent 183 years earlier was abolished by the Theatres Act 1843, but the patent had been largely toothless for decades and this had little immediate effect. On the other hand, other theatres, used to presenting musical entertainments, continued to do so, and Drury Lane continued as one of the most accepted venues for legitimate theatre. The 19th-century run of financial and artistic failures at Drury Lane was interrupted by four plays produced over a twenty-five-year period by the actor-playwright Dion Boucicault: The Queen of Spades (1851), Eugenie (1855), Formosa (1869), and The Shaughraun (1875). But this period of general decline culminated with F. B. Chatterton's 1878 resignation; in his words, "Shakespeare spells ruin, and Byron bankruptcy."[45]  During the 19th century, Drury Lane staged ballet as well, with performers including Italy's Carlotta Grisi.[77]
One famous musical director of Drury Lane was the eccentric French conductor and composer of light music Louis-Antoine Jullien (1812–1860), who successfully invited Berlioz to visit London and give concerts in the Theatre.[78]
The house's fortunes rose again under the management of Augustus Harris from 1879. In the 1880s and 1890s, the theatre hosted many of the productions of the Carl Rosa Opera Company.  Harris focused increased resources on the theatre's annual pantomime, beginning at Christmas 1888, adding a well-known comedian, Dan Leno.  These spectacular Christmas shows were a major success, often playing into March.  They were choreographed by the theatre's dance master, John D'Auban. Many of the designs under Harris were created by the imaginative designer C. Wilhelm, including the spectacular drama, Armada (1888), and many of the pantomimes.[79]  Productions relying on spectacle became the norm at Drury Lane under the managements first of Harris, from 1879 to 1896, and then of Arthur Collins from 1896 to 1923.[45]  Examples include the 1909 play, The Whip, which featured not only a train crash, but also  twelve horses recreating the 2,000 Guineas Stakes on an on-stage treadmill.[80] Jimmy Glover, Director of Music from 1893 to 1923, was a significant figure at the theatre during the Collins years and wrote books which record much more than its musical life.[81]

The last major interior renovation was in 1922, under the ownership of managing director Sir Alfred Butt, at a cost of ₤150,000,[82] leaving a four-tiered theatre able to seat just over 2,000 people.[83] It was decorated with one of the most notable interiors produced by the specialist ornamental plasterwork company of Clark and Fenn.[84] Composer and performer Ivor Novello, immensely popular in his time though little-remembered today, presented his musicals in Drury Lane from 1931 until the theatre was closed in 1939 because of the outbreak of the Second World War. During the war the theatre served as the headquarters for the Entertainments National Service Association; it sustained some minor bomb damage as well. The theatre reopened with Noël Coward's Pacific 1860 in 1946.[45]
In the post-war years, four of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals made their London debuts in Drury Lane, holding the stage almost continuously for nearly a decade, including Oklahoma! (1947–1950),[85] Carousel (1950–1951),[3] South Pacific (1951–1953) and The King and I (1953–1956).[86] American imports also included Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady, which began a five-year run in 1958.[45] Productions in the 1960s included Camelot (1964–1965), Hello, Dolly! (1965–1967) and The Great Waltz (1970–1972).[3] In 1974, Monty Python recorded an album at the theatre, Live at Drury Lane.[87]
The theatre became part of the West End theatre scene and still stages popular musical productions. Later long runs at the theatre include productions of A Chorus Line (1976–1979), 42nd Street (1984–1989), Miss Saigon (1989–1999, the theatre's longest-running show),[3] The Producers (2004–2007),[88] an original musical, The Lord of the Rings (2007–2008),[89] Oliver! (2009–2011)[90] and Shrek The Musical (2011–2013).[91] Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical played from 2013 through January 2017.[92] The Drury Lane is owned and managed by LW Theatres, owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber.[93] The seating plan for the theatre remains the same and the auditorium is still one of the largest in London's West End. The building was Grade I listed in February 1958.[94] It is one of the 40 theatres featured in the 2012 DVD documentary series Great West End Theatres, presented by Donald Sinden.[95]
350th anniversary
On 15 May 2013, Lloyd Webber revealed a £4 million restoration of the theatre to mark its 350th anniversary. Using a team of specialists,[96] the detailed restoration has returned the public areas of the Rotunda, Royal Staircases and Grand Saloon, all of which were part of the 1810 theatre, to their original Regency style.[97]
Hauntings
The author Tom Ogden calls the Theatre Royal one of the world's most haunted theatres.[98] The appearance of almost any one of the handful of ghosts that are said to frequent the theatre signals good luck for an actor or production. The most famous ghost is the "Man in Grey", who appears dressed as a nobleman of the late 18th century: powdered hair beneath a tricorne hat, a dress jacket and cloak or cape, riding boots and a sword. Legend says that the Man in Grey is the ghost of a knife-stabbed man whose skeletal remains were found within a walled-up side passage in 1848.[99] Various people have reported seeing the ghost, including W. J. MacQueen-Pope, who described its usual path as starting at the end of the fourth row in the upper circle and then proceeding via the rear gangway to the wall near the royal box, where the remains were found.[100]
The ghosts of actor Charles Macklin and clown Joseph Grimaldi are also supposed to haunt the theatre. Macklin appears backstage, wandering the corridor which now stands in the spot where, in 1735, he killed fellow actor Thomas Hallam in an argument over a wig ("Goddamn you for a blackguard, scrub, rascal!" he shouted, thrusting a cane into Hallam's face and piercing his left eye).[101] Grimaldi is reported to be a helpful apparition, purportedly guiding nervous actors skilfully about the stage on more than one occasion. The comedian Stanley Lupino claimed to have seen the ghost of Dan Leno in a dressing room.[102]
The paranormal investigation programme Most Haunted investigated the theatre for Episode 10 of the first series which aired on Living TV (now known as Sky Living) on 30 July 2002.
See also
European Route of Historic Theatres
Rose Theatre
Notes

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This page articulates the languages spoken in Somalia. The official government website is available in three languages: Somali, English and Arabic.[1]
Somali

Part of a series on theCulture of Somalia
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Somalia portalvt
Somali is the official language of Somalia and the mother tongue of the Somali people, the nation's most populous ethnic group. [2][3] It is a member of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family, and its nearest relatives are the Afar and Saho languages.[4] Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages,[5] with academic studies of it dating from before 1900.

As of 2006, there were approximately 16.6 million speakers of Somali, of which about 8.3 million reside in Somalia.[6]
The Somali language is spoken by ethnic Somalis in Greater Somalia and the Somali diaspora. It is spoken as an adoptive language by a few ethnic minority groups in these regions.
Somali dialects are divided into three main groups: Northern, Benaadir and Maay (sometimes spelled Mai or Mai Mai). Northern Somali (or Northern-Central Somali) forms the basis for Standard Somali. Benaadir (also known as Coastal Somali) is spoken on the Benadir coast from Cadaley to south of Merca, including Mogadishu, as well as in the immediate hinterland. The coastal dialects have additional phonemes which do not exist in Standard Somali. Maay is principally spoken by the Digil and Mirifle (Rahanweyn) clans in the southern areas of Somalia.[7]
The Somali language is regulated by the Regional Somali Language Academy, an intergovernmental institution established in June 2013 by the governments of Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia. It is officially mandated with preserving the Somali language.[8]
Arabic

In addition to Somali, Arabic, which is also an Afro-Asiatic tongue, is an official national language in Somalia.[2] Many Somalis speak it due to centuries-old cultural and ethnic ties with the Arab world, the far-reaching influence of the Arabic media, and religious education. Variants of the Yemeni and Hadhrami dialects are most common, particularly among merchants.[9]
Somali's main lexical borrowings come from Arabic. Soravia (1994) noted a total of 1,436 Arabic loanwords in Agostini a.o. 1985, a prominent Somali dictionary. Most of the vocabulary terms consisted of commonly used nouns. These lexical borrowings may have been more extensive in the past since a few words that Zaborski (1967:122) observed in the older literature were absent in Agostini's later work.[10]
Italian (former Official Language)

Italian was the only official language in Italian Somaliland for nearly 70 years and later - during the Trusteeship period - was official together with the Somali. After 1960 independence, the Italian remained official for another dozen years. Italian was later declared an official language again by the Transitional Federal Government along with English in 2004.[11] But, in 2012, they were later removed by the establishments of the Provisional Constitution by the Federal Government of Somalia[12] leaving Somali and Arabic as the only official languages.
Italian is a legacy of the Italian colonial period of Somalia when it was part of the Italian Empire. Italian was the mother tongue of the Italian settlers of Somalia.
Although it was the primary language since colonial rule, Italian continued to be used among the country's ruling elite even after 1960 independence when it continued to remain as an official language. It is estimated that more than 200,000 native Somalis (nearly 20% of the total population of former Somalia italiana) were fluent speaking Italian when independence was declared in 1960[13].
After a military coup in 1969, all foreign entities were nationalized by Siad Barre (who spoke fluently Italian), including Mogadishu's principal university, which was renamed 'Jaamacadda Ummadda Soomaliyeed' (Somali National University). This marked the initial decline of the use of Italian in Somalia.
However, Italian is still widely spoken by the elderly, the educated, and by the governmental officials of Somalia. Prior to the Somali civil war, Mogadishu still had an Italian-language school, but was later destroyed by the conflict.[14]
Foreign and minority languages

English is widely taught in schools. It used to be a working language in the British Somaliland protectorate.
Italian was an official language in Italian Somaliland and during the trusteeship period, but the use of Italian language in Somalia significantly diminished following independence. It is now most frequently heard among older generations.[15]
Other minority languages include Bravanese (also known as Chimwiini or Chimbalazi), a variant of the Bantu Swahili language that is spoken along the southern coast by the Bravanese people. Kibajuni is a Swahili dialect that is the mother tongue of the Bajuni ethnic minority group. Additionally, a number of Bantus speak Mushunguli as a mother tongue.[16]
Somali Sign Language

The Somali Sign Language (SSL) is a sign language used by the deaf community in Somalia and Djibouti. It was originally developed by a Somali man educated in a Somali deaf school in Wajir, Kenya. In 1997, he established the first school for the deaf in the city of Borama, Somalia.
Orthography

A number of writing systems have been used for transcribing the Somali language. Of these, the Somali Latin alphabet is the most widely used, and has been the official writing script in Somalia since 1972.[17] The script was developed by the Somali linguist Shire Jama Ahmed specifically for the Somali language, and uses all letters of the English Latin alphabet except p, v and z. There are no diacritics or other special characters except the use of the apostrophe for the glottal stop, which does not occur word-initially. There are three consonant digraphs: DH, KH and SH. Tone is not marked, and front and back vowels are not distinguished.
Besides Ahmed's Latin script, other orthographies that have been used for centuries for writing Somali include the long-established Arabic script and Wadaad's writing.[18] Indigenous writing systems developed in the twentieth century include the Osmanya, Borama and Kaddare scripts, which were invented by Osman Yusuf Kenadid, Sheikh Abdurahman Sheikh Nuur and Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Kaddare, respectively.[19]
Notes

Diriye Abdullahi, Mohamed. 2000. Le Somali, dialectes et histoire. Ph.D. dissertation, Université de Montréal.
Saeed, John Ibrahim. 1987. Somali Reference Grammar. Springfield, VA: Dunwoody Press.
Saeed, John Ibrahim. 1999. Somali. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.


New York City encompasses five county-level administrative divisions called boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. All boroughs are part of New York City, and each of the boroughs is coextensive with a respective county, the primary administrative subdivision within New York State. Queens and The Bronx are concurrent with the counties of the same name, while Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island correspond to New York, Kings, and Richmond Counties respectively.
Boroughs have existed since the consolidation of the city in 1898, when the city and each borough assumed their current boundaries. However, the boroughs have not always been coextensive with their respective counties. Before 1914, the borough of The Bronx had been earlier in the southern part of Westchester County which had then been annexed to New York County in two stages in 1874 and 1895—finally, in 1914 the county was created to match the borough. Before 1899, the County of Queens included an eastern part, which was split-off during the consolidation to become Nassau County.
Terminology
The term borough was adopted to describe a form of governmental administration for each of the five fundamental constituent parts of the newly consolidated city in 1898. Under the 1898 City Charter adopted by the New York State Legislature, a "borough" is a municipal corporation that is created when a county is merged with populated areas within it.[1] The limited powers of the borough governments are inferior to the authority of the Government of New York City, contrasting significantly with other borough administrations of government used in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, where a borough is an independent level of government, as well as borough forms used in other states and in Greater London.[2]
Background

New York City is often referred to collectively as the five boroughs; the term is used to refer to New York City as a whole unambiguously, avoiding confusion with any particular borough or with the Greater New York metropolitan area. The term is also used by politicians to counter a frequent focus on Manhattan and thereby to place all five boroughs on equal footing. In the same vein, the term outer boroughs refers to all of the boroughs excluding Manhattan, even though the geographic center of the city is along the Brooklyn–Queens border. All five boroughs were created in 1898 during consolidation, when the city's current boundaries were established.
Changes after 1898
The Bronx originally included parts of New York County outside of Manhattan that had previously been ceded by neighboring Westchester County in two stages; in 1874 and then following a referendum in 1894. Ultimately in 1914, the present-day separate Bronx County became the last county to be created in the State of New York.
The borough of Queens consists of what formerly was only the western part of a then-larger Queens County. In 1899, the three eastern towns of Queens County that had not joined the city the year before—the towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead, and Oyster Bay—formally seceded from Queens County to form the new Nassau County.[6]
The borough of Staten Island, concurrent with Richmond County, was officially the borough of Richmond until the name was changed in 1975 to reflect its common appellation, while leaving the name of the county unchanged.[7]
Description of the boroughs

There are hundreds of distinct neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs of New York City, many with a definable history and character to call their own.
Manhattan (New York County) is the geographically smallest and most densely populated borough; is the symbol of New York City, as home to most of the city's skyscrapers and prominent landmarks, including Times Square and Central Park; and may be locally known simply as The City.[10][11] Manhattan's (New York County's) population density of 72,033 people per square mile (27,812/km2) in 2015 makes it the highest of any county in the United States and higher than the density of any individual U.S. city.[12] Manhattan is the cultural, administrative, and financial center of New York City and contains the headquarters of many major multinational corporations, the United Nations Headquarters, Wall Street, and a number of important universities. Manhattan is often described as the cultural, financial, media, and entertainment capital of the world.[13][14][15][16][17]Most of the borough is situated on Manhattan Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River. Several small islands are also part of the borough of Manhattan, including Randall's Island, Wards Island, and Roosevelt Island in the East River, and Governors Island to the south in New York Harbor; Liberty Island, on which the Statue of Liberty stands, is a Manhattan exclave. Manhattan Island is loosely divided into Lower, Midtown, and Uptown regions. Uptown Manhattan is divided by Central Park into the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side, and above the park is Harlem. The borough also includes a small neighborhood on the United States mainland, called Marble Hill.  Marble Hill was originally part of Manhattan Island, but is now contiguous with the Bronx after having been severed from Manhattan Island by the construction of the Harlem River Ship Canal south of the neighborhood, and having been connected to the mainland by the subsequent filling in of the Harlem River's original path to the neighborhood's north. New York City's remaining four boroughs are collectively referred to as the outer boroughs.
Brooklyn (Kings County), on the western tip of Long Island, is the city's most populous borough. Brooklyn is known for its cultural, social, and ethnic diversity, an independent art scene, distinct neighborhoods, and a distinctive architectural heritage. Downtown Brooklyn is the largest central core neighborhood in the outer boroughs. The borough has a long beachfront shoreline including Coney Island, established in the 1870s as one of the earliest amusement grounds in the country.[18] Marine Park[19] and Prospect Park are the two largest parks in Brooklyn. Since 2010, Brooklyn has evolved into a thriving hub of entrepreneurship and high technology startup firms,[20][21] and of postmodern art[22] and design.[21]
Queens (Queens County), on Long Island north and east of Brooklyn, is geographically the largest borough, the most ethnically diverse county in the United States,[23] as well as the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world.[8][9] Historically a collection of small towns and villages founded by the Dutch, the borough has since developed both commercial and residential prominence. Downtown Flushing has become one of the busiest central core neighborhoods in the outer boroughs. Queens is the site of Citi Field, the baseball stadium of the New York Mets, and hosts the annual U.S. Open tennis tournament at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The borough is also home to the largest public housing development in the Western Hemisphere, Queensbridge. Additionally, two of the three busiest airports serving the New York metropolitan area, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, are located in Queens. (The third is Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey.)
The Bronx (Bronx County) is New York City's northernmost borough and the only New York City borough that is part of the United States mainland. It is the location of Yankee Stadium, the baseball stadium of the New York Yankees, and home to the largest cooperatively owned housing complex in the United States, Co-op City.[24] It is also home to the Bronx Zoo, the world's largest metropolitan zoo,[25] which covers 265 acres (107ha) and houses over 6,000 animals.[26] Directly to the zoo's north is the New York Botanical Garden, a botanical garden and National Historic Landmark. Pelham Bay Park is the largest park in New York City, at 2,772 acres (1,122ha).[19]
Staten Island (Richmond County) is the most suburban in character of the five boroughs. Staten Island is connected to Brooklyn by the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and to Manhattan by way of the Staten Island Ferry, a free commuter ferry and popular tourist attraction which provides unobstructed views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Lower Manhattan. In central Staten Island, the Staten Island Greenbelt spans approximately 2,500 acres (10km2), including 28 miles (45km) of walking trails and one of the last undisturbed forests in the city.[27] Designated in 1984 to protect the island's natural lands, the Greenbelt comprises seven city parks.
Governance

Since 1914, each of New York City's five boroughs has been coextensive with a county of New York State – unlike most U.S. cities, which lie within a single county or extend partially into another county, constitute a county in themselves, or are completely separate and independent of any county.
Each borough is represented by a borough president. Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island each have a Borough Hall with limited administrative functions. The Manhattan Borough President's office is situated in the Manhattan Municipal Building. The Bronx Borough President's office used to be in its own Bronx Borough Hall but has been in the Bronx County Courthouse for decades. Since the abolition of the Board of Estimate in 1990 (due to a 1989 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court[28]), the borough presidents have minimal executive powers, and there is no legislative function within a borough. Executive functions in New York City are the responsibility of the Mayor of New York City, while legislative functions reside with the New York City Council. The borough presidents primarily act as spokesmen, advocates, and ceremonial leaders for their boroughs, have budgets from which they can allocate relatively modest sums of money to community organizations and projects, and appoint the members of the 59 largely advisory community boards in the city's various neighborhoods. The Brooklyn and Queens borough presidents also appoint trustees to the local public library systems in those boroughs.
Being coextensive with an individual county, each borough also elects a district attorney, as does every other county of New York State. While the district attorneys of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island are popularly referred to as such by the media (e.g., "Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance, Jr.", or "Brooklyn D.A. Kenneth P. Thompson"), they are technically and legally the district attorneys of New York County, Kings County and Richmond County, respectively. There is no such distinction made for the district attorneys of the other two counties, Queens and the Bronx, since these boroughs share the respective counties' names. Because the five district attorneys are, technically speaking, state officials (since the counties are considered to be arms of the state government), rather than officials of the city government, they are not subject to the term limitations that govern other New York City officials such as the mayor, the New York City Public Advocate, members of the city council, or the borough presidents. Some civil court judges also are elected on a borough-wide basis, although they generally are eligible to serve throughout the city.
Sixth borough

The term sixth borough is used to describe any of a number of places that have been metaphorically called a part of New York City because of their geographic location, demographics (they include large numbers of former New Yorkers),  special affiliation, or cosmopolitan character. They have included adjacent cities and counties in the New York metropolitan area as well as in other states, U.S. territories, and foreign countries.[29][30][31] In 2011, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg referred to the city's waterfront and waterways as a composite sixth borough during presentations of planned rehabilitation projects along the city's shoreline,[32][33][34][35][36][37] including Governor's Island in the Upper New York Bay.[38] The Hudson Waterfront in the U.S. state of New Jersey lies opposite Manhattan on the Hudson River, and during the Dutch colonial era, was under the jurisdiction of New Amsterdam and known as Bergen. Jersey City and Hoboken in Hudson County, New Jersey, are sometimes referred to as the sixth borough, given their proximity and connections by rapid transit PATH trains.[39][40][41][42] Fort Lee, New Jersey, in Bergen County, opposite Upper Manhattan and connected by the George Washington Bridge, has also been called the sixth borough.[43][44][45] Miami and nearby areas in Florida,[46][47] Philadelphia[48] and China[49] are locales entirely outside the city's metropolitan area which have been called New York City's sixth borough.
See also
Flags of New York City
List of counties in New York

What is the largest borough in New York City?


The Southeast Region of Brazil (Portuguese: Região Sudeste do Brasil) is composed by the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 60% of the Brazilian GDP. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais are three richest states of Brazil, the top three Brazilian states in terms of GDP. The Southeast of Brazil also has the highest GDP per capita among all Brazilian regions.
The Southeast region leads the country in population, urban population, population density, vehicles, industries, universities, airports, ports, highways, hospitals, schools, houses and many other areas.
Geography
São Paulo

Heart of the largest continued remnant of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, the Ribeira Valley is a Natural Heritage of Humanity, granted heritage as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. One of the biggest attractions is the biologic and ecosystems diversity, where approximately 400 species of birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals live. The Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park (PETAR) is paradise for ecotourists, for its enormous diversity in geologic formations, among grottos and caves, rivers and waterfalls. There are currently 454 caves registered by the Brazilian Society of Speleology (SBE) in the State of São Paulo, all at the Ribeira Valley. The 280 caves located at PETAR represent the biggest concentration of caves in Brazil.
Minas Gerais

The landscape of the State is marked by mountains, valleys and caverns. In the Serra do Cipó, Sete Lagoas, Cordisburgo and Lagoa Santa, the caves and waterfalls. Minas Gerais is the source of some of the biggest rivers in Brazil, most notably the São Francisco, the Paraná and to a lesser extent, the Rio Doce. The state also holds many hydroelectric power plants, including Furnas dam. Some of the highest peaks in Brazil are in the mountain ranges in the southern part of the state, such as Serra da Mantiqueira  and Serra do Cervo, that mark the border between Minas and its neighbors São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The most notable one is the Pico da Bandeira, the third highest mountain in Brazil at 2890 m, standing on the border with Espírito Santo state. The state also has huge reserves of iron and sizeable reserves of gold and gemstones, including emerald, topaz and aquamarine mines.
Rio de Janeiro

The state is part of the Mata Atlântica biome, and its topography comprises both mountains and plains, located between the Mantiqueira Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. Its coast is carved by the bays of Guanabara, Sepetiba and Ilha Grande.
There are prominent slopes near the ocean, featuring also diverse environments, such as restinga vegetation, bays, lagoons and tropical forests.
Rio de Janeiro is the smallest state in the Southeast macroregion and one of the smallest in Brazil.  It has, however, the third longest coastline in the country (second only to Bahia's and Maranhão's), extending 635 kilometers.
Espírito Santo

With 46.180 square kilometers, it is about the size of Estonia, or half the size of Portugal, and has a variety of habitats including coastal plains, lakes, mountain forest, mangroves and many others.
The main river in the state is the Doce. Other important river basins include the Santa Maria River Basin which is the northern branch of rivers which join the sea at Vitoria, and Jucu River Basin which flows into the sea at roughly the same place, but corresponds to the southern branch (which seems to come out of Vitoria). Espírito Santo's climate is tropical along the coast, with dry winters and rainy summers. North of Doce River it's generally drier and also hot. In the mountainous regions in the south and south west of the state, the tropical climate is strongly influenced by altitude, and the average temperatures are colder.
The state can be divided into two areas: the low lying coastline and the highland area known as Serra (where one can find the 2.890 m Pico da Bandeira mountain), which is part of the larger Serra do Caparaó, the Caparaó Mountain Range. In the map to the right it is in the gray area in the extreme southwest of the state, and is shared with Minas Gerais.
Demographics

Largest cities

Racial groups

Economy
São Paulo state is responsible for approximately one-third of Brazilian GDP. The state's GDP (PPP) consists of 550 billion dollars, making it also the second biggest economy of South America after Brazil and the biggest subdivision economy in Latin America. Its economy is based on machinery, the automobile and aviation industries, services, financial companies, commerce, textiles, orange growing, sugar cane and coffee production. Minas Gerais is a growing state.
Infrastructure
Vehicles:  36,030,943 (Jan/2012);[4]
Telephones: 23,878,000 (April/2007);
Cities: 1,668 (2007).
Education

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. English and Spanish are also part of the official high school curriculum. French is also widely studied.
Educational institutions
Universidade de São Paulo (USP);
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ);
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG);
Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (Ufes);
Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp);
Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF);
Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp);
Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV);
Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp);
Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (Ufop);
Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF);
Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (Ufu);
Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ);
Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar);
Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA);
and many others.
Infrastructure
International Airports
São Paulo

São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport connects Brazil to 28 countries and is visited every day by nearly 100 thousand people. With capacity to serve 15 million passengers a year, in two terminals, the airport currently handles 12 million users. Construction of a third passenger terminal is pending, to raise yearly capacity to 29 million passengers. The project, in the tendering phase, is part of the airport's master plan and will get under way shortly. São Paulo International Airport is also one of the main air cargo hubs in Brazil. The roughly 100 flights a day carry everything from fruits grown in the São Francisco Valley to the most sophisticated medications created by science. The airport's cargo terminal is South America's largest and stands behind only Mexico City's in all of Latin America. In 2003, over 75 thousand metric tons of freight passed through the terminal.
Rio de Janeiro
Since August 2004, with the transfer of many flights from Santos-Dumont Airport, Rio de Janeiro International Airport has returned to being the main doorway to Brazil. According to data from the official Brazilian travel bureau, Embratur, nearly 40% of foreign tourists who visit Brazil choose Rio as their gateway, meaning Galeão Airport. Besides linking Rio to the rest of Brazil with domestic flights, Galeão has connections to more than 18 countries. It can handle up to 15 million users a year in two passenger terminals. Located only 20 kilometers from downtown Rio, the international airport is served by several quick access routes, such as the Linha Vermelha and Linha Amarela freeways and Avenida Brasil, thus conveniently serving residents of the city's southern, northern and western zones. There are special shuttle buses linking Galeão to Santos-Dumont, and bus and taxi service to the rest of the city. The airport complex also has Brazil's longest runway at 4.240 meters, and one of South America's largest and best equipped cargo logistics terminals.
Belo Horizonte

Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport is located in the municipalities of Lagoa Santa and Confins, 38km from Belo Horizonte, and was opened in January 1984. It was planned from the start for future expansion in steps to meet growing demand. The first step was undertaken with careful concern for the environment, including monitoring by specialized consultants, since the region has a rich archeological heritage. The airport's location is attested to by the fact it has one of the lowest rates of shutdown for bad weather in the country. Confins is certified by the ISO 9001 standard, covering ten processes in the administrative, operational, safety/security and maintenance areas. Starting in March 2005, Confins Airport will receive flights that currently use Pampulha Airport.
National Airport
Vitória
Vitoria Airport is located on a land plot of just over 5.2 million square meters. Since construction of its first step, finished in 1946, Vitória Airport has undergone several expansions and modernizations, but current demand has surpassed its capacity of 560 thousand passengers a year. The recent construction of new aircraft parking boxes on the aprons has improved the airport's operational efficiency.
In 2003 more than 1.2 million passengers used the airport, and in 2004 this rose to some 1.25 million. Vitória is one of the 32 airports in the Infraero network that has a cargo terminal. In May 1999 the first direct international freight connection to the United States (Miami) began operating to Vitória, facilitating imports to the state of Espírito Santo. Today there are five of such flights a week.
Highways

The Southeast Brazilian region is highly covered by Paved roads – due to the policy in the Brazil's economy in the 1960s (automobilization of the country) – which led to the car's manufacturing to be a major industry not only in the region but in Brazil as well.
The Southeast's highways are generally in good or very good conditions – some exceptions are made to the southern parts of the BR-101.
Railways are present as well (and also, the region is more covered than any other region), but mainly for freight transport – soil and iron, mainly, from the farms and mines to the seaports.
Also, a very complicated hydrocanal system is present in the region, with ten major dams.

Health care and education are of major concern in the larger cities, but in smaller ones, the population are generally well-looked after.
See also
Brazil


Part of a series on theCulture of Denmark
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 Denmarkportalvt
The culture of Denmark has a rich intellectual and artistic heritage. The astronomical discoveries of Tycho Brahe (1546–1601), Ludwig A. Colding's (1815–1888) neglected articulation of the principle of conservation of energy, and the foundational contributions to atomic physics of Niels Bohr (1885–1962); in this century Lene Vestergaard Hau (born 1959) in quantum physics involving the stopping of light, advances in nano-technology, and contributions to the understanding of Bose-Einstein Condensates, demonstrate the range and endurance of Danish scientific achievement. The fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875), the philosophical essays of Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855), the short stories of Karen Blixen, penname Isak Dinesen, (1885–1962), the plays of Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754), modern authors such as Herman Bang and Nobel laureate Henrik Pontoppidan and the dense, aphoristic poetry of Piet Hein (1905–1996), have earned international recognition, as have the symphonies of Carl Nielsen (1865–1931). From the mid-1990s, Danish films have attracted international attention, especially those associated with Dogme 95 like those of Lars Von Trier. Denmark has had a strong tradition of movie making and Carl Theodor Dreyer has been recognised as one of the world's greatest film directors.[1]
Culture and the arts thrive as a result of the proportionately high amount of government funding they receive, much of which is administered by local authorities so as to involve citizens directly.[2] Thanks to a system of grants, Danish artists are able to devote themselves to their work while museums, theatres, and the film institute receive national support.[3]
Copenhagen, the capital, is home to many famous sites and attractions, including Tivoli Gardens, Amalienborg Palace (home of the Danish monarchy), Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen Cathedral, Rosenborg Castle, Opera House, Frederik's Church (Marble Church), Thorvaldsens Museum, Rundetårn, Nyhavn and The Little Mermaid sculpture.[4]
Hygge
Similar to other Scandinavian cultures, a fundamental aspect of Danish culture is "hygge". Hygge, meaning 'snug'; is a concept that evokes "coziness", particularly when relaxing with good friends or loved ones and while enjoying good food. Christmas time is a true moment of hygge, as is grilling a pølse (Danish sausage) and drinking a beer on a long summer evening.[5] It is suspected the concept of Hygge is part of the reason Danes and other Scandinavians score high on happiness.[6]
Danish Christmas

The Danish word for the Christmas holiday is Jul, from the Old Norse jól, the term for "midwinter", itself cognate with the English word, yule.[7]
Midwinter celebrations were an important part of Scandinavian culture since prehistoric times, and the term was retained to refer to "Christmas" after Christianization.[8] In many countries Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December, but in Denmark, and in the other Scandinavian countries, the most important day for celebrations is  Christmas Eve on the 24th when the family comes together. The morning can be spent in various ways but most often it is the time when preparations are made for the evening.[9]
Juleaften (Danish for Christmas Eve) or Yule Eve starts around 6 p.m. when a traditional dinner (Julemiddag) is served. The menu is:
White and browned potatoes, red cabbage and brown sauce (gravy) accompanying one or more of: roast duck or goose, a special Danish version of roast pork called flæskesteg complete with crackling or maybe a special sausage called medisterpølse. "White potatoes" are ordinary boiled potatoes without their jackets and "browned potatoes" are caramelised white potatoes.
For dessert, Ris à l'amande is served. Made out of rice, it is not to be confused with rice pudding. The chief difference is the whipped cream added to the rice. On serving, chopped almond and vanilla can be added, among other things. It is served cold, with hot cherry sauce. An unchopped almond can also be added and hidden in the dessert. The person who finds it in his portion receives a small prize.
Afterwards, the candles on the Christmas tree are lit and the family dance around it singing Christmas songs and carols and subsequently exchange presents.[9]
Folklore

Danish folklore is made up of folk tales, legends, songs, music, dancing, popular beliefs and traditions, mostly communicated by the inhabitants of towns and villages across the country. Many of these were passed on from generation to generation by word of mouth. As in neighbouring countries, interest in folklore grew with an emerging feeling of national consciousness in 19th-century Denmark. Researchers travelled across the country collecting innumerable folktales, songs and sayings while observing traditional dress in the various regions. Folklore today is part of the national heritage, represented in particular by national and local traditions, songs, folk dances and literature.
Today's folk dancing in Denmark dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, when there was renewed interest in the national heritage. A number of groups began to revive the music, dances and costumes of past generations. In 1901, the Society for the Promotion of Danish Folk Dancing (Foreningen til Folkedansens Fremme) was founded in Copenhagen, leading to local dancing societies throughout the country.[10] Today there are more than 12,000 folk dancers in 219 local clubs, providing courses in music, dancing and dressmaking.[11][12]
The traditional costumes of Denmark, though varying from region to region, date back roughly to the period between 1750 and 1900 when clothes were often home-made from yarn spun from wool or flax. In rural communities, the fabrication of garments for both family members and servants was an important part of everyday life. The artist Frederik Christian Lund, who had travelled across Denmark as a soldier in the First Schleswig War, took an interest in sketching people in local costumes in various parts of the country. He completed his collection of 31 coloured sketches in 1864, publishing them as coloured lithographs in Danske Nationaldragter (Danish National Costumes).[13]
Numerous Danish folktales contain a range of mythical figures such as trolls, elves, goblins and wights as well as figures from Nordic mythology like giants and lygtemænd (hobby lanterns). The nisse is a particularly well known legendary figure in Danish folklore, apparently dating back to pre-Christian times when it was believed there were household gods. Traditionally each farm had its own nisse living on the loft or in a stable. Dressed in grey with a pointed red cap, he was no taller than a 10-year-old boy. The nisse would be helpful if treated well, for instance by offering him a bowl of porridge with a clump of butter at night, but, failing good treatment, he could become quite troublesome and mean.[14][15]
Cuisine

Perhaps the most typically Danish contribution to the meals of the day is the traditional lunch or smørrebrød consisting of open sandwiches, usually on thinly sliced rugbrød. The meal usually begins with seafood such as marinated herring, smoked eel, crab, or breaded plaice filets with remoulade and moves on with slices of roast pork or beef, frikadeller (meatballs), hams and liver pâté. The sandwiches are richly garnished with onion rings, radish slices, cucumbers, tomato slices, parsley, remoulade or mayonnaise.[16] The meal is mostly accompanied by beer, on occasion also by shots of ice-cold snaps or akvavit.
In the evening, hot meals are usually served. Traditional dishes include fried fish, roast pork with red cabbage, pot-roasted chicken, pot-roast and slow cooked beef, meat balls, or pork chops. Game is sometimes served in the autumn. Steaks are now increasingly popular, but is a modern addition.
A popular traditional Danish dessert, especially around Christmas, consists of æbleskiver, rather like small pancake doughnuts which are fried in butter in a special pan and are served hot with jam and sugar. Traditionally, they were made with small pieces of apple in the middle which is why they are called æbleskiver, literally "apple slices".
In recent years, development of the New Danish cuisine based on the rediscovery of local ingredients presented in interesting new recipes has led to a significant number of new, highly acclaimed restaurants in Copenhagen and the provinces, several with Michelin stars. This in turn has led to new developments in food production with a series of new products based on organic farming.[17]
Sports

Sports are popular in Denmark, and its citizens participate in and watch a wide variety. The national sport is football (soccer), with the most notable results being qualifying for the European Championships six times in a row (1984–2004) and winning the Championship in 1992. Other significant achievements include winning the Confederations Cup in 1995 and reaching the quarter-final of the 1998 World Cup.
Denmark's numerous beaches and resorts are popular locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and a broad-range of other water-themed sports.
In speedway racing Denmark has won several world championships, including the Speedway World Cup in 2006 and 2008. Other popular sports include golf, mostly popular among the older demographic;[18] tennis, in which Denmark is successful on a professional level; Danish Rugby Union, which dates back to 1950;[19] and indoor sports such as badminton, handball and various forms of gymnastics.
As of January2012, the national handball team are the current reigning European champions and the team with most medals won in European championship history on the men's side with a total of five medals, those being two gold medals (2008, 2012), and three bronze medals (2002, 2004 & 2006).
And in 2016 Denmark's handball team won the gold medal for men at the Olympics in Rio.
Cycling

In recent years, Denmark has made a mark as a strong cycling nation, with Bjarne Riis winning Tour de France in 1996, and Michael Rasmussen reaching King of the Mountains status, in the Tour 2005 and 2006.
Most Danes are active cyclists, often using their bikes to commute to work or to go off on trips at the weekend. With its well-engineered cycle paths, Copenhagen is especially suited to city cycling. Every day 1.3 million km are cycled in the city,[20] with 36% of all citizens commuting to work, school or university by bicycle.[21] Cycling is generally perceived as a healthier, environmentally friendlier, cheaper and often quicker way around town than by public transport or car and it is therefore municipal policy for the number of commuters by bike to go up to 40% by 2012 and 50% by 2015.[22]
Odense has been named the "bicycle city of the year" because of the great number of bicycle lanes in the city. A complete network of 350km all-weather serviced lanes exists in the town.[23]
During the summer months, there are free "City Bikes" stationed at various spots in the downtown area of Copenhagen, Aarhus and Aalborg. The idea is that anyone can take a bike from one of the spots, ride it to one of the other spots and leave it there for the next person. There are lots of National and regional bicycle routes throughout Denmark. They are all marked and include rest areas with benches and other necessities.
Fine arts
Painting

Danish painting goes back hundreds of years. Earlier work is often manifested in churches, for example in the form of frescos such as those from the 16th-century artist known as the Elmelunde Master. But it was not until the beginning of the 19th century that the Golden Age of Danish Painting emerged with a marked increase in truly Danish art inspired by the country itself with its lifestyle and traditions. Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg was an important influence on the following generation’s study of nature, in which landscape painting came to the fore.  He had many successful students, including Wilhelm Bendz (1804–1832), Christen Købke (1810–48), Martinus Rørbye (1803–1848), Constantin Hansen (1804–1880), Jørgen Roed (1808–1888), Wilhelm Marstrand (1810–1873), C. A. Jensen (1792–1870), J. Th. Lundbye (1818–1848), and P. C. Skovgaard (1817–1875).[24]
Some years later, a number of painters including P. S. Krøyer (1851–1909) and Michael (1849–1927) and Anna Ancher (1859–1935) moved to Skagen in the far north of Jylland to paint the natural surroundings and local people. In due course, the town developed into an artists' colony. A little later, a similar phenomenon developed on Fyn with artists such as Johannes Larsen (1867–1961). Vilhelm Hammershøi is another known painter.
Collections of modern art enjoy unusually attractive settings at the Louisiana Museum north of Copenhagen, at the North Jylland Art Museum in Aalborg and at the ARoS art museum in Aarhus. The National Museum of Art and the Glyptotek, both in Copenhagen, contain treasures of Danish and international art.
Sculpture

Danish sculpture as a nationally recognized art form can be traced back to 1752 when Jacques Saly was commissioned to execute King Frederick V of Denmark while on horseback. While Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844) was undoubtedly the country's most prominent contributor of his time, many other sculptors also produced notable works in the areas of Neoclassicism, Realism, and Historicism, the latter resulting from a growing consciousness of a national identity. From modern times, many notable works of Surrealism and Modernism has been produced, inspired by European trends, especially those from Paris. Present notable Danish sculptors includes Michael Kvium, Hein Heinsen and Bjørn Nørgaard, but the field holds many skilled practitioners and the styles has diversified greatly.
Literature

The principal contributors to Danish literature are undoubtedly Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) with his fairy tales, the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855), storyteller Karen Blixen (1885–1962), playwright Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754), and modern authors such as Henrik Pontoppidan and Herman Bang.
Among today's Danish writers, probably the best-known to international readers is Peter Høeg (Smilla's Sense of Snow; Borderliners). Benny Andersen writes poems, short stories, and music. Poems by both writers have been translated into English by the Curbstone Press. Klaus Rifbjerg has published over 100 novels as well as poetry, short stories and TV plays. Two of his works have been translated into English: Witness to the Future and War. Kirsten Thorup's novel Baby, winner of the 1980 Pegasus Prize, is published in English by the University of Louisiana Press. The psychological thrillers of Anders Bodelsen also appear in English as do some of the novels of intrigue by Leif Davidsen. Suzanne Brøgger and Vita Andersen focus largely on the changing roles of women in society.
Architecture

The architecture of Denmark has changed and evolved since prehistoric times, but the oldest buildings to have survived the ravages of time dates to the early Middle Ages when bricks was introduced as building material around 1150 AD and the first Romanesque, then Gothic churches and cathedrals sprang up across the country. Brick is still a locally produced, affordable, durable and widely used building material in today's architecture of Denmark.[25] Inspired by French castles and with the assistance of Dutch designers, architecture during the Renaissance flourished with magnificent royal palaces. Neoclassicism came to Denmark from France and, in the 19th century, slowly merged into the National Romantic style when Danish designers came into their own. It was, however, not until the last half of the 20th century that Danish architects entered the world scene with their highly successful Functionalism. This, in turn, has evolved into more recent world-class designers such as Johann Otto von Spreckelsen who designed the Grande Arche in Paris. Internationally, perhaps the most celebrated of all is the architect who designed the iconic Sydney Opera House, Jørn Utzon, but within Danish borders, it is the architect Arne Jacobsen who is perhaps held in highest esteem for developing the 'Danish Modern' style and furniture/interior design, such as the now world-famous and much sought-after Swan and Egg chairs.[26] A new wave of young Danish architects are rising into international prominence, like Bjarke Ingels with works such as the Danish National Pavilion at the Shanghai 2010 Expo.
Photography

Photography in Denmark has developed from strong participation and interest in the very beginnings of the art in 1839 to some of the strongest contemporary photography in Europe today. Pioneers such as Mads Alstrup and Georg Emil Hansen paved the way for a rapidly growing profession during the last half of the 19th century while both artistic and press photographers have since made internationally recognised contributions. Today Danish photographers such as Astrid Kruse Jensen and Jacob Aue Sobol are active both at home and abroad, participating in key exhibitions around the world.[27]
Design

Danish design is a term often used to describe a style of functionalistic design and architecture that was developed in mid-20th century, originating in Denmark. Danish design is typically applied to industrial design, furniture and household objects, which have won many international awards.
The Danish Porcelain Factory ("Royal Copenhagen"), including Bing & Grøndahl, is famous for the quality of its ceramics and export products worldwide. Danish design is also a well-known brand, often associated with world-famous designers and architects such as Børge Mogensen (1914–1972), Finn Juhl (1912–1989), Hans Wegner (1914–2007), Arne Jacobsen (1902–1971), Poul Kjærholm (1929–1980), Poul Henningsen (1894–1967) and Verner Panton (1926–1998).[28] Georg Jensen (1866–1935) is known the world over for modern design in silver.
Other designers of note include Kristian Solmer Vedel (1923–2003) in the area of industrial design, Jens Harald Quistgaard (1919–2008) for kitchen furniture and implements and Ole Wanscher (1903–1985) who had a classical approach to furniture design.
The Danish Museum of Art & Design in Copenhagen exhibits the best in Danish design.
Performing arts
Music

Denmark's most famous composer of classical music is Carl Nielsen who is best known outside of Denmark for his six symphonies, but whose melodies for popular songs are cherished among Danes. Other well-known pieces of his are the incidental music for Adam Oehlenschläger's drama Aladdin (Nielsen), the operas Saul og David and Maskarade, the concertos for flute, violin, and clarinet, the Wind Quintet, and the Helios Overture, which depicts the passage of the sun in the sky from dawn to nightfall. The Royal Danish Ballet specializes in the work of Danish choreographer August Bournonville (1805–79). Hans Abrahamsen, Per Nørgård and Poul Ruders are successful composers of contemporary classical music. Danish interest in classical music is exemplified by the prestigious Opera House completed in 2000. Strategically set on Copenhagen's waterfront, it has presented operas and musicals to full houses ever since its opening.
Danes have also distinguished themselves in rhythmical music, with world-famous jazz musicians such as Svend Asmussen, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Niels Lan Doky and Marilyn Mazur. The Copenhagen Jazz Festival has acquired an international reputation.
The modern pop and rock scene has produced some bands of note like Aqua, D-A-D, The Raveonettes, Michael Learns to Rock, Alphabeat, Medina, Oh Land, Kashmir, Mew , Outlandish and Dúné. All together, Lars Ulrich, drummer of the band Metallica, has become the first Danish musician to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Cinema

In recent years, Danish films have gained increasing recognition at home and abroad. Gabriel Axel's film based on Karen Blixen's Babette's Feast was awarded an Oscar in 1987. In 1988, Bille August also received an Oscar with Pelle the Conqueror based on the novel by Martin Andersen Nexø. In 1992, August went on to win the Palme d'Or in Cannes with Ingmar Bergman's autobiography, The Best Intentions.
Since the late 1990s, the Dogme movement and figures such as Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Søren Kragh-Jacobsen and Lone Scherfig have continued to contribute to the international success of Danish cinema.[29] In 2011, Susanne Bier's In a Better World won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Theatre

The theatre in Denmark continues to thrive thanks to the many theatres across the country which put on a wide variety of Danish and foreign performances. The flagship Royal Danish Theatre presents drama, opera, ballet and music. Since the 18th century, Danish playwrights have been successful in attracting wide public interest.
Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754) is considered by many to be the founder of the Danish theatre. Satirical comedies such as Jean de France and Jeppe of the Hill are still performed today.[30]
Adam Oehlenschläger (1779–1850) introduced romanticism to the Danish theatre. Especially successful was his Earl Hakon the Mighty, premiered in 1808.
The Norwegian Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) also travelled to Copenhagen where he produced numerous plays such as A Doll’s House (1879).[31]
In recent years, there has been something of a revival in Danish theatre. Many new playwrights and producers have appeared including Astrid Saalbach (born 1955), winner of the Nordic Drama Award in 2004, and Peter Asmussen (born 1957), who wrote the film script for Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves. Danish musicals have also been a particularly successful feature of the modern theatre. Knud Christensen, commonly known as Sebastian, was particularly successful with Cyrano (1992), based on Rostand’s play and Klokkeren fra Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) (2001). Bent Fabricius-Bjerre's musical Matador (2007) is based on a successful TV series of the same name.[32]
Another popular Danish theatrical tradition is the revue which has been thriving since the mid-19th century. Today revues are performed every summer to full houses in theatres across Denmark, poking fun at the politics of the day and even the monarchy. Among the most popular are Circusrevyen in Copenhagen with Lisbet Dahl, and the Nykøbing Revy directed by Flemming Krøll in Nykøbing Falster.[33]
To this day, Denmark also has a large tradition for children and youth theater, as it hosts the largest annual children and youth theater event in the world, Aprilfestivallen, every year.[34]
Television
Danish television has also contributed to drama with a number of successful series since the 1970s. Perhaps the most notable domestic and international successes have been the political drama Borgen and the three series of Forbrydelsen (The Killing, 2007–2012). Forbrydelsen attracted more than a 30% audience share, when originally broadcast in Denmark and both series have been widely sold around the world.[35]
Science

Denmark has a long tradition for scientific engagement in all fields, often with fundamental discoveries. The intelligentsia was involved in the European scientific revolution of the renaissance early on, with prominent scientists such as Tycho Brahe (1546–1601), Ole Worm (1588–1655), Nicolas Steno (1638–1686) and Ole Rømer (1644–1710).
The contributions to science has steadily continued through the ages, with the fundamental discoveries of Hans Christian Ørsted (1777–1851), the contributions to linguistics by Rasmus Rask (1787–1832), the neglected articulation of the principle of conservation of energy by Ludwig A. Colding's (1815–1888), Vilhelm Thomsen (1842–1927), Otto Jespersen (1860–1943) and others, into modern times with the brilliant contributions to atomic physics of Niels Bohr (1885–1962).

Niels Bohr founded several institutions in relation to quantum physics and both attracted and stimulated an important international and lasting scientific milieu in the country.[38] This has since produced many important discoveries and advancements in physics, astrophysics, chemistry, mathematics and engineering, particularly in the areas of quantum physics, quantum optics and lately nano-technology. Although an international environment, notable Danish scientists from this milieu includes Bengt Strömgren (1908–1987), Aage Bohr (1922–2009), Holger Bech Nielsen (born 1941) and Lene Vestergaard Hau (born 1959).
The sciences of geology and geophysics has benefited from Danish scientists who have been - and are - heavily involved in the description and understanding of the geology of Greenland, one of the most important regions in the world to study the geological evolution of Earth. The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) was founded in 1888 and Inge Lehmann (1888–1993) revealed that Earth have a solid inner core in 1936, by the use of seismology. In the 1960s, Willi Dansgaard was the first to understand and describe how to use ice core drills to gain knowledge about Earth's paleoclimate, now a widely used method to understand climate changes. Lately, Greenland-born geologist Minik Rosing and his team, unravelled groundbreaking knowledge about the early evolution of life through studies of Greenland's geology in the 2000s.[39][40]
The young science of archaeology, has also benefited from many Danish contributions, with prominent scholars such as Sophus Müller (1846-1934), Georg F.L. Sarauw, J.J.A. Worsaae and Peter Glob. The contributions have often been of a fundamental nature, such as the discoveries of kitchen middens or bog bodies and their great potential for advancing archaeology. Christian Jürgensen Thomsen refined and introduced the now universally recognized three-age system, dividing eras of prehistory into the well-known Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age respectively. Danish archaeologists have contributed with many defining archaeological discoveries, such as the Kongemose culture, Maglemosian culture and the Ertebølle culture of the Nordic Stone Age and of course the Viking Age. With a great international engagement and a long tradition for interdisciplinary collaborations with anthropologists, geologists, zoologists, botanists, antiquarians and historians, Danish archaeologists have been, and still are, involved with all kinds of cultural archaeology around the globe, including the Middle East[41] (Peter Glob, Peter Rowley-Conwy), the Mediterranean region[42] (Peter Oluf Brøndsted, Jörgen Zoega) the Americas (Peter Wilhelm Lund, Frans Blom, Rane Willerslev) and the Arctic region (Therkel Mathiassen, Erik Holtved, Eigil Knuth).
Danes have made significant contributions to the field of computer science. Some notable figures include: Per Brinch Hansen, known for concurrent programming theory; Bjarne Stroustrup, who invented the C++ programming language; Janus Friis, the co-inventor of Skype; Jens and Lars Rasmussen, the co-founders of Google Maps; and Peter Naur, a contributor to ALGOL 60 and a recipient of the Turing Award.

LGBT

Social equality, including sexual equality, is a priority in Denmark.[43] Danes are somewhat tolerant towards sexual minorities.
Copenhagen is a popular destination for lesbian and bisexual travellers.[44] The main gay and lesbian festival of the year is the Copenhagen Pride Parade, a big Mardi Gras festival-like bash that occurs on a Saturday in early August. There's also the Copenhagen Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, held each year in October. In addition, Copenhagen has been host to the 2009 World Outgames. The LBL (Landsforeningen for Bøsser og Lesbiske, a national organisation for gay men and lesbians) was established in 1948, and in 1989 Denmark became the first country in the world to offer same-sex couples most of the same legal rights as opposite-sex couples, in the form of "registered partnership."[45][46]
Same-sex marriage became legal in Denmark on 15 June 2012, after the Danish parliament on 7 June voted in favour of it, including in the Church of Denmark.[47][48]
Adoption laws are liberal compared to other Western countries and public displays of affection between people of the same sex are less likely to provoke ire.[49] In March 2009 adoption was legalized for same-sex couples.
See also

Law of Jante
Scandinavia
Danish Golden Age
List of museums in Denmark
List of World Heritage Sites in Northern Europe (including Denmark)
Culture of the Faroe Islands
Danish Culture Canon
Further reading

Part of a series on theCulture of Denmark
Architecture
Art
Cinema
Cuisine
Design
Folklore
Literature
Music
Philosophy
Photography
Sculpture
Sports
Theatrevt
Morten Strange, "Culture Shock! Denmark", London: Kuperard, 1996, 228 pp.ISBN1-85733-159-1.
Helen Dyrbye, Steven Harris, Thomas Golzen, "The Xenophobe's Guide to the Danes", Horsham, West Sussex: Ravette Publishing, 1997, 64 pp.

 Figuring out Hyggelig.