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1896 Summer Olympics
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Games of the I Olympiad
Host city
Athens, Greece
Nations participating
14[1]
Athletes participating
241[2]
Events
43 in 9 sports
Opening ceremony
April 6
Closing ceremony
April 15
Officially opened by
King George I
Stadium
Panathenaic Stadium
Summer
Paris 1900 >
The 1896 Summer Olympics (Greek: Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had been created by Pierre de Coubertin, it was held in Athens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896.
Winners were given a silver medal, while runners-up received a copper medal. Retroactively, the IOC has converted these to gold and silver, and awarded bronze medals to third placed athletes. Ten of the 14 participating nations earned medals. The United States won the most gold medals, 11; host nation Greece won the most medals overall, 46. The highlight for the Greeks was the marathon victory by their compatriot Spyridon Louis. The most successful competitor was German wrestler and gymnast Carl Schuhmann, who won four events.
Athens had been unanimously chosen to stage the inaugural modern Games during a congress organised by Coubertin in Paris on 23 June 1894, during which the IOC was also created, because Greece was the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games. The main venue was the Panathenaic Stadium, where athletics and wrestling took place; other venues included the Neo Phaliron Velodrome for cycling, and the Zappeion for fencing. The opening ceremony was held in the Panathenaic Stadium on 6 April, during which most of the competing athletes were aligned on the infield, grouped by nation. After a speech by the president of the organising committee, Crown Prince Constantine, his father officially opened the Games. Afterwards, nine bands and 150 choir singers performed an Olympic Hymn, composed by Spyridon Samaras, with words by poet Kostis Palamas.
The 1896 Olympics were regarded as a great success. The Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date. The Panathenaic Stadium, the only Olympic stadium used in the 1800s, overflowed with the largest crowd ever to watch a sporting event.[3] After the Games, Coubertin and the IOC were petitioned by several prominent figures, including Greece's King George and some of the American competitors in Athens, to hold all the following Games in Athens. However, the 1900 Summer Olympics were already planned for Paris and, except for the Intercalated Games of 1906, the Olympics did not return to Greece until the 2004 Summer Olympics, 108 years later.
Contents
[hide]
1 Reviving the Games
2 Organization
3 Venues
4 Calendar
5 Opening ceremony
6 Events
6.1 Athletics
6.2 Cycling
6.3 Fencing
6.4 Gymnastics
6.5 Sailing/Rowing
6.6 Shooting
6.7 Swimming
6.8 Tennis
6.9 Weightlifting
6.10 Wrestling
7 Closing ceremony
8 Participating nations
8.1 Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees
9 Medal count
10 Female competitors
11 Notes
12 External links
13 Further reading
Reviving the Games[edit]
During the 19th century, several small-scale sports festivals across Europe were named after the Ancient Olympic Games. The 1870 Olympics at the Panathenaic stadium, which had been refurbished for the occasion, had an audience of 30,000 people.[4] Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogue and historian, adopted Dr William Penny Brookes' idea to establish a multi-national and multi-sport event—the ancient games only allowed male athletes of Greek origin to participate.[5][6] In 1890, Coubertin wrote an article in La Revue Athletique, which espoused the importance of Much Wenlock—a rural market town in the English county of Shropshire. It was here that, in October 1850, the local physician William Penny Brookes had founded the Wenlock Olympian Games, a festival of sports and recreations that included athletics and team sports, such as cricket, football and quoits.[7] Coubertin also took inspiration from the earlier Greek games organised under the name of Olympics by businessman and philanthropist Evangelis Zappas in 1859, 1870 and 1875.[8] The 1896 Athens Games was funded by the legacies of Evangelis Zappas and his cousin Konstantinos Zappas[9][10][11] and by George Averoff[12] who had been specifically requested by the Greek government, through crown prince Constantine, to sponsor the second refurbishment of the Panathenaic Stadium. This the Greek government did despite the fact that the cost of refurbishing the stadium in marble had already been funded in full by Evangelis Zappas forty years earlier.[13]
With deep feeling towards Baron de Coubertin's courteous petition, I send him and the members of the Congress, with my sincere thanks, my best wishes for the revival of the Olympic Games.
—  King George of Greece (21 June 1894)[14]
On 18 June 1894, Coubertin organised a congress at the Sorbonne, Paris, to present his plans to representatives of sports societies from 11 countries. Following his proposal's acceptance by the congress, a date for the first modern Olympic Games needed to be chosen. Coubertin suggested that the Games be held concurrently with the 1900 Universal Exposition of Paris. Concerned that a six-year waiting period might lessen public interest, congress members opted instead to hold the inaugural Games in 1896. With a date established, members of the congress turned their attention to the selection of a host city. It remains a mystery how Athens was finally chosen to host the inaugural Games. In the following years both Coubertin and Demetrius Vikelas would offer recollections of the selection process that contradicted the official minutes of the congress. Most accounts hold that several congressmen first proposed London as the location, but Coubertin dissented. After a brief discussion with Vikelas, who represented Greece, Coubertin suggested Athens. Vikelas made the Athens proposal official on 23 June, and since Greece had been the original home of the Olympics, the congress unanimously approved the decision. Vikelas was then elected the first president of the newly established International Olympic Committee (IOC).[15]
Organization[edit]
News that the Olympic Games would return to Greece was well received by the Greek public, media, and royal family. According to Coubertin, "the Crown Prince Constantine learned with great pleasure that the Games will be inaugurated in Athens." Coubertin went on to confirm that, "the King and the Crown Prince will confer their patronage on the holding of these games." Constantine later conferred more than that; he eagerly assumed the presidency of the 1896 organising committee.[16]
However, the country had financial troubles and was in political turmoil. The job of prime minister alternated between Charilaos Trikoupis and Theodoros Deligiannis frequently during the last years of the 19th century. Because of this financial and political instability, both prime minister Trikoupis and Stephanos Dragoumis, the president of the Zappas Olympic Committee, which had attempted to organise a series of national Olympiads, believed that Greece could not host the event.[17] In late 1894, the organising committee under Stephanos Skouloudis presented a report that the cost of the Games would be three times higher than originally estimated by Coubertin. They concluded the Games could not be held, and offered their resignation. The total cost of the Games was 3,740,000 gold drachmas.[18]
Demetrius Vikelas, the first president of the International Olympic Committee, was credited with the successful organisation of the 1896 Games
With the prospect of reviving the Olympic games very much in doubt, Coubertin and Vikelas commenced a campaign to keep the Olympic movement alive. Their efforts culminated on 7 January 1895 when Vikelas announced that crown prince Constantine would assume the presidency of the organising committee. His first responsibility was to raise the funds necessary to host the Games. He relied on the patriotism of the Greek people to motivate them to provide the required finances.[19] Constantine's enthusiasm sparked a wave of contributions from the Greek public. This grassroots effort raised 330,000 drachmas. A special set of postage stamps were commissioned; the sale of which raised 400,000 drachmas. Ticket sales added 200,000 drachmas. At the request of Constantine, businessman George Averoff agreed to pay for the restoration of the Panathenaic Stadium. Averoff would donate 920,000 drachmas[12] to this project.[20] As a tribute to his generosity, a statue of Averoff was constructed and unveiled on 5 April 1896 outside the stadium. It stands there to this day.[21]
Some of the athletes would take part in the Games because they happened to be in Athens at the time the Games were held, either on holiday or for work (e.g., some of the British competitors worked for the British embassy). A designated Olympic Village for the athletes did not appear until the 1932 Summer Olympics. Consequently, the athletes had to provide their own lodging.
The first regulation voted on by the new IOC in 1894 was to allow only amateur athletes to participate in the Olympic Games.[22] The various contests were thus held under amateur regulations with the exception of fencing matches.[23] The rules and regulations were not uniform, so the Organising Committee had to choose among the codes of the various national athletic associations. The jury, the referees and the game director bore the same names as in antiquity (Ephor, Helanodic and Alitarc). Prince George acted as final referee; according to Coubertin, "his presence gave weight and authority to the decisions of the ephors."[24]
Venues[edit]
Panorama of the Panathenaic Stadium
Seven venues were used for the 1896 Summer Olympics. Panathenaic Stadium was the main venue, hosting four of the nine sports contested. The city of Marathon served as host to the marathon event and the individual road race events. Swimming was held in the Bay of Zea, fencing at the Zappeion, sport shooting at Kallithea, and tennis at the Athens Lawn Tennis Club. Tennis was a sport unfamiliar to Greeks at the time of the 1896 Games.[25]
The Bay of Zea is a seaport and marina in the Athens area;[26] it was used as the swimming venue because the organizers of the Games wanted to avoid spending money on constructing a special purpose swimming venue.[27]
Four of the 1896 venues were reused as competition venues for the 2004 Games. The velodrome would be renovated into a football stadium in 1964 and was known as Karaiskakis Stadium.[28] This venue was renovated in 2003 for use as a football venue for the 2004 Games.[29] During the 2004 Games, Panathinaiko Stadium served as host for archery competitions and was the finish line for the athletic marathon event.[30] The city of Marathon itself served as the starting point for both marathon events during the 2004 Games.[31] The Zappeion served as the first home of the organizing committee (ATHOC) for the 2004 Games from 1998 to 1999, and served as the main communications center during those Games.[32][33]
Venue
Sports
Capacity
Ref.
Athens Lawn Tennis Club Tennis Not listed. [25]
Bay of Zea Swimming Not listed. [34]
Kallithea Shooting Not listed. [35]
Marathon (city) Athletics (Marathon (sport)), Cycling (Individual road race). Not listed. [36]
Neo Phaliron Velodrome Cycling (track) Not listed. [37]
Panathinaiko Stadium Athletics, Gymnastics, Weightlifting, and Wrestling 80,000 [38]
Zappeion Fencing Not listed. [39]
Calendar[edit]
OC Opening ceremony ● Event competitions 1 Event finals CC Closing ceremony
April
6
Mon
7
Tue
8
Wed
9
Thu
10
Fri
11
Sat
12
Sun
13
Mon
14
Tue
15
Wed
Events
‡ Ceremonies OC CC N/A
Athletics 3 4 1 4 12
Cycling 1 3 1 1 6
Fencing 2 1 3
Gymnastics 5 2 7
Shooting ● 1 1 3 1 6
Swimming 4 4
Tennis ● ● ● 2 2
Weightlifting 2 2
Wrestling ● 1 1
Daily medal events
3
8
1
8
7
13
2
1
0
0
43
Cumulative total
3
11
12
20
27
40
42
43
43
43
April
6
Mon
7
Tue
8
Wed
9
Thu
10
Fri
11
Sat
12
Sun
13
Mon
14
Tue
15
Wed
Total events

‡ The iconic Olympic rings symbol was not designed by Baron Pierre de Coubertin until 1912.

Opening ceremony[edit]
The opening ceremony in the Panathenaic Stadium
On 6 April (25 March according to the Julian calendar then in use in Greece), the games of the First Olympiad were officially opened; it was Easter Monday for both the Western and Eastern Christian Churches and the anniversary of Greece's independence.[40] The Panathenaic Stadium was filled with an estimated 80,000 spectators, including King George I of Greece, his wife Olga, and their sons. Most of the competing athletes were aligned on the infield, grouped by nation. After a speech by the president of the organising committee, Crown Prince Constantine, his father officially opened the Games with the words (in Greek):[41]
"I declare the opening of the first international Olympic Games in Athens. Long live the Nation. Long live the Greek people."
Afterwards, nine bands and 150 choir singers performed an Olympic Hymn, composed by Spyridon Samaras, with words by poet Kostis Palamas. Thereafter, a variety of musical offerings provided the backgrounds to the Opening Ceremonies until 1960, since which time the Samaras/Palamas composition has become the official Olympic Anthem (decision taken by the IOC Session in 1958). Other elements of current Olympic opening ceremonies were initiated later: the Olympic flame was first lit in 1928, the first athletes' oath was sworn at the 1920 Summer Olympics, and the first officials' oath was taken at the 1972 Olympic Games.[41]
Events[edit]
At the 1894 Sorbonne congress, a large roster of sports were suggested for the program in Athens. The first official announcements regarding the sporting events to be held featured sports such as football and cricket,[42] but these plans were never finalised, and these sports did not make the final list for the Games.[43] Rowing and yachting were scheduled, but had to be cancelled due to poor weather on the planned day of competition.[44] As a result, the 1896 Summer Olympics programme featured 9 sports encompassing 10 disciplines and 43 events. The number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.
Athletics (12)
Cycling
Road (1)
Track (5)
Fencing (3)
Gymnastics (8)
Sailing (0) (Canceled)
Shooting (5)
Swimming (4)
Tennis (2)
Weightlifting (2)
Wrestling (1)
Athletics[edit]
Main article: Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics
The athletics events had the most international field of any of the sports. The major highlight was the marathon, held for the first time in international competition. Spyridon Louis, a previously unrecognised water carrier, won the event to become the only Greek athletics champion and a national hero. Although Greece had been favoured to win the discus and the shot put, the best Greek athletes finished just behind the American Robert Garrett in both events.[3]
No world records were set, as few top international competitors had elected to compete. In addition, the curves of the track were very tight, making fast times in the running events virtually impossible. Despite this, Thomas Burke, of the United States, won the 100-meter race in 12.0 seconds and the 400-meter race in 54.2 seconds. Burke was the only one who used the "crouch start" (putting his knee on soil), confusing the jury. Eventually, he was allowed to start from this "uncomfortable position".[45]
Australian competitor Edwin Flack came to Athens to watch the games, but decided to compete in the athletics events. He won two races—the 800-meter and the 1500-meter.
Frenchmen Léon Flameng (left) and Paul Masson won four cycling events
Fencer Leonidas Pyrgos became the first Greek modern Olympic champion by winning the masters foil competition
The German individual gymnastics champions: Schuhmann, Flatow, and Weingärtner
Chile claims one athlete, Luis Subercaseaux, competed for the nation at the 1896 Summer Olympics. This makes Chile one of the 14 nations to appear at the inaugural Summer Olympic Games. Subercaseaux's results are not listed in the official report, though that report typically includes only winners and Subercaseaux won no medals.[46][46] A study conducted by Chilean forensic police decided (by use of facial recognition), that Subercaseaux was the participant in a famous photo of 100 meter's second series.[47]
Cycling[edit]
Main article: Cycling at the 1896 Summer Olympics
The rules of the International Cycling Association were used for the cycling competitions.[48] The track cycling events were held at the newly built Neo Phaliron Velodrome. Only one road event was held, a race from Athens to Marathon and back (87 kilometres).
In the track events, the best cyclist was Frenchman Paul Masson, who won the one lap time trial, the sprint event, and the 10,000 meters. In the 100 kilometres event, Masson entered as a pacemaker for his compatriot Léon Flameng. Flameng won the event, after a fall, and after stopping to wait for his Greek opponent Georgios Kolettis to fix a mechanical problem. The Austrian fencer Adolf Schmal won the 12-hour race, which was completed by only two cyclists, while the road race event was won by Aristidis Konstantinidis.[49]
Fencing[edit]
Main article: Fencing at the 1896 Summer Olympics
The fencing events were held in the Zappeion, which, built with money Evangelis Zappas had given to revive the ancient Olympic Games, had never seen any athletic contests before.[50] Unlike other sports (in which only amateurs were allowed to take part at the Olympics), professionals were allowed to compete in fencing, though in a separate event. These professionals were considered gentlemen athletes, just as the amateurs.[24]
Four events were scheduled, but the épée event was cancelled for unknown reasons. The foil event was won by a Frenchman, Eugène-Henri Gravelotte, who beat his countryman, Henri Callot, in the final.[50] The other two events, the sabre and the masters foil, were won by Greek fencers. Leonidas Pyrgos, who won the latter event, became the first Greek Olympic champion in the modern era.
Gymnastics[edit]
Main article: Gymnastics at the 1896 Summer Olympics
The gymnastics competition was carried out on the infield of the Panathinaiko Stadium. Germany had sent an 11-man team, which won five of the eight events, including both team events. In the team event on the horizontal bar, the German team was unopposed. Three Germans added individual titles: Hermann Weingärtner won the horizontal bar event, Alfred Flatow won the parallel bars; and Carl Schuhmann, who also competed successfully in wrestling, won the vault. Louis Zutter, a Swiss gymnast, won the pommel horse, while Greeks Ioannis Mitropoulos and Nikolaos Andriakopoulos were victorious in the rings and rope climbing events, respectively.[51]
Sailing/Rowing[edit]
German team at the 1896 Summer Olympics
A regatta of sailing boats was on the program of the Games of the First Olympiad for 31 March 1896. However this event had to be given up.
The Official English report states:
The Regatta could not take place because some special boats embarkation had not been provided for.
—  Charalambos Annino
The German version gives a bit more clues:
Die Wettkämpfe im Segeln wurden vereitelt, da man weder bei uns die besonderen Boote dafür besass, noch fremde Bewerber sich gemeldet hatten.
—  same source.
Shooting[edit]
Main article: Shooting at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Held at a range at Kallithea, the shooting competition consisted of five events—two using a rifle and three with the pistol. The first event, the military rifle, was won by Pantelis Karasevdas, the only competitor to hit the target with all of his shots. The second event, for military pistols, was dominated by two American brothers: John and Sumner Paine became the first siblings to finish first and second in the same event. To avoid embarrassing their hosts, the brothers decided that only one of them would compete in the next pistol event, the free pistol. Sumner Paine won that event, thereby becoming the first relative of an Olympic champion to become Olympic champion himself.[52]
The Paine brothers did not compete in the 25-meter pistol event, as the event judges determined that their weapons were not of the required calibre. In their absence, Ioannis Phrangoudis won. The final event, the free rifle, began on the same day. However, the event could not be completed due to darkness and was finalised the next morning, when Georgios Orphanidis was crowned the champion.[52]
Swimming[edit]
Main article: Swimming at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Alfréd Hajós, the first Olympic champion in swimming, is one of only two Olympians to have won medals in both sport and art competitions
The swimming competition was held in the open sea because the organizers had refused to spend the money necessary for a specially constructed stadium. Nearly 20,000 spectators lined the Bay of Zea off the Piraeus coast to watch the events. The water in the bay was cold, and the competitors suffered during their races. There were three open events (men's 100-metre freestyle, men's 500-metre freestyle, and men's 1200 metre freestyle), in addition to a special event open only to Greek sailors, all of which were held on the same day (11 April).[49]
For Alfréd Hajós of Hungary, this meant he could only compete in two of the events, as they were held too close together, which made it impossible for him to adequately recuperate. Nevertheless, he won the two events in which he swam, the 100 and 1200 meter freestyle. Hajós later became one of only two Olympians to win a medal in both the athletic and artistic competitions, when he won a silver medal for architecture in 1924. The 500-meter freestyle was won by Austrian swimmer Paul Neumann, who defeated his opponents by more than a minute and a half.
Tennis[edit]
Main article: Tennis at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Although tennis was already a major sport by the end of the 19th century, none of the top players turned up for the tournament in Athens. The competition was held at the courts of the Athens Lawn Tennis Club, and the infield of the velodrome used for the cycling events. John Pius Boland, who won the event, had been entered in the competition by a fellow-student of his at Oxford; the Greek, Konstantinos Manos. As a member of the Athens Lawn Tennis sub-committee, Manos had been trying, with the assistance of Boland, to recruit competitors for the Athens Games from among the sporting circles of Oxford University. In the first round, Boland defeated Friedrich Traun, a promising tennis player from Hamburg, who had been eliminated in the 100-meter sprint competition. Boland and Traun decided to team up for the doubles event, in which they reached the final and defeated their Greek and Egyptian opponents after losing the first set.[53]
Weightlifting[edit]
Main article: Weightlifting at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Launceston Elliot, winner of the one-armed weightlifting event, was popular with the Greek audience, who found him very handsome
The sport of weightlifting was still young in 1896, and the rules differed from those in use today. Competitions were held outdoors, in the infield of the main stadium, and there were no weight limits. The first event was held in a style now known as the "clean and jerk". Two competitors stood out: Scotsman Launceston Elliot and Viggo Jensen of Denmark. Both of them lifted the same weight; but the jury, with Prince George as the chairman, ruled that Jensen had done so in a better style. The British delegation, unfamiliar with this tie-breaking rule, lodged a protest. The lifters were eventually allowed to make further attempts, but neither lifter improved, and Jensen was declared the champion.[54]
Elliot got his revenge in the one hand lift event, which was held immediately after the two-handed one. Jensen had been slightly injured during his last two-handed attempt, and was no match for Elliot, who won the competition easily. The Greek audience was charmed by the Scottish victor, whom they considered very attractive. A curious incident occurred during the weightlifting event: a servant was ordered to remove the weights, which appeared to be a difficult task for him. Prince George came to his assistance; he picked up the weight and threw it a considerable distance with ease, to the delight of the crowd.[54]
Wrestling[edit]
Main article: Wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Carl Schuhmann (left) and Georgios Tsitas shake hands before the final match of the wrestling competition
No weight classes existed for the wrestling competition, held in the Panathenaic Stadium, which meant that there would only be one winner among competitors of all sizes. The rules used were similar to modern Greco-Roman wrestling, although there was no time limit, and not all leg holds were forbidden (in contrast to current rules).
Apart from the two Greek contestants, all the competitors had previously been active in other sports. Weightlifting champion Launceston Elliot faced gymnastics champion Carl Schuhmann. The latter won and advanced into the final, where he met Georgios Tsitas, who had previously defeated Stephanos Christopoulos. Darkness forced the final match to be suspended after 40 minutes; it was continued the following day, when Schuhmann needed only fifteen minutes to finish the bout.[55]
Closing ceremony[edit]
A silver medal was awarded to the winner of each event. The current system of gold, silver, and bronze medals was not implemented until the 1906 Olympic Games.
On the morning of Sunday 12 April (or 3 April, according to the Julian calendar then used in Greece), King George the Great organised a banquet for officials and athletes (even though some competitions had not yet been held). During his speech, he made clear that, as far as he was concerned, the Olympics should be held in Athens permanently. The official closing ceremony was held the following Wednesday, after being postponed from Tuesday due to rain. Again the royal family attended the ceremony, which was opened by the national anthem of Greece and an ode composed in ancient Greek by George S. Robertson, a British athlete and scholar.[56]
Afterwards, the king awarded prizes to the winners. Unlike today, the first-place winners received a silver medal, an olive branch and a diploma, while runners-up received a copper medal, a laurel branch, and diploma.[57][58] Third place winners did not receive a prize.
Some winners also received additional prizes, such as Spyridon Louis, who received a cup from Michel Bréal, a friend of Coubertin, who had conceived the marathon event. Louis then led the medalists on a lap of honour around the stadium, while the Olympic Hymn was played again. The King then formally announced that the first Olympiad was at an end, and left the Stadium, while the band played the Greek national hymn and the crowd cheered.[56]
Like the Greek king, many others supported the idea of holding the next Games in Athens; most of the American competitors signed a letter to the Crown Prince expressing this wish. Coubertin, however, was heavily opposed to this idea, as he envisioned international rotation as one of the cornerstones of the modern Olympics. According to his wish, the next Games were held in Paris, although they would be somewhat overshadowed by the concurrently held Universal Exposition.[59]
Participating nations[edit]
Participating countries
The concept of national teams was not a major part of the Olympic movement until the Intercalated Games 10 years later, though many sources list the nationality of competitors in 1896 and give medal counts. There are significant conflicts with regard to which nations competed. The International Olympic Committee gives a figure of 14, but does not list them.[41] The following 14 are most likely the ones recognised by the IOC. Some sources list 12, excluding Chile and Bulgaria; others list 13, including those two but excluding Italy. Egypt is also sometimes included because of Dionysios Kasdaglis' participation. Belgium and Russia had entered the names of competitors, but withdrew.
[hide]Participating Nations
Australia – Prior to 1901 Australia was not a unified nation but six separately administered British colonies, but the results of Edwin Flack are typically given with him listed as Australian. (1)
Austria Austria-Hungary– Austria was part of Austria–Hungary at the time, though the results of Austrian athletes are typically reported separately. (3)
Bulgaria – The Bulgarian Olympic Committee claims that gymnast Charles Champaud was competing as a Bulgarian.[60] Champaud was a Swiss national living in Bulgaria. Mallon and de Wael both list Champaud as Swiss.[61] (1)
Chile – The Chilean Olympic Committee claims to have had one athlete, Luis Subercaseaux, compete in the 100, 400, and 800-meter races in the athletics programme.[62][63][64][65] No further details are given, and no mention is made of Subercaseaux in de Wael, or the Official Report. (1)
Denmark (3)
France (12)
Germany (19)
Great Britain – The United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ireland) maintains separate athletic organisations for each of its constituent countries. In the Olympic Games, the UK participates as a single entity, but conventionally under the name "Great Britain" rather than the more accurate "United Kingdom". (10)
Greece – Greek results typically include the results of competitors from Cyprus, Smyrna and Egypt.[66] Some sources give Cypriot results separately, though most count Anastasios Andreou, a Greek-Cypriot and the only athlete from Cyprus, as Greek (Cyprus was a protectorate of the United Kingdom at the time). Kasdaglis, an athlete of Greek origins living in Alexandria, Egypt, is listed by the IOC as Greek during his competition in the singles tennis competition but Kasdaglis and his doubles tennis teammate, Greek athlete Demetrios Petrokokkinos, are listed as a mixed team.[67] (169)
Hungary Austria-Hungary- Hungary is usually listed separately from Austria, despite the two being formally joined as Austria–Hungary at the time. (7)
Italy – The most prominent Italian involved with the games, Carlo Airoldi, was deemed a professional and excluded from competition. However, the shooter Giuseppe Rivabella was also Italian and did compete.[68][69] (1)
Sweden (1) – Although Sweden was in state union with Norway at the time, Norway did not send any athletes.
Switzerland (3)
United States (14)
Mixed team – Tennis doubles teams could consist of players from different countries; the IOC labels these Mixed Teams.
Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees[edit]
[show]IOC
Country
Athletes
GRE Greece 169
GER Germany 19
USA United States 14
FRA France 12
GBR Great Britain 10
HUN Hungary 7
AUT Austria 3
DEN Denmark 3
SUI Switzerland 2/3 [70]
AUS Australia 1
ITA Italy 1
SWE Sweden 1
BUL Bulgaria 0/1
Total 243
Medal count[edit]
Further information: 1896 Summer Olympics medal table
Ten of the 14 participating nations earned medals, in addition to three medals won by mixed teams, i.e. teams made up of athletes from multiple nations. The IOC has retroactively assigned gold, silver and bronze medals to the three best placed athletes in each event to comport with more recent traditions.[67] The United States won the most gold medals* (11), while host nation Greece won the most medals overall (46) as well as the most silver* (17) and bronze* (19) medals, finishing with one fewer gold medal than the United States.[67]
To sort this table by nation, total medal count, or any other column, click on the icon next to the column title.
Key Host nation (Greece)
Rank
Nation
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Total
1 United States (USA) 11 7 2 20
2 Greece (GRE) 10 17 19 46
3 Germany (GER) 6 5 2 13
4 France (FRA) 5 4 2 11
5 Great Britain (GBR) 2 3 2 7
6 Hungary (HUN) 2 1 3 6
7 Austria (AUT) 2 1 2 5
8 Australia (AUS) 2 0 0 2
9 Denmark (DEN) 1 2 3 6
10 Switzerland (SUI) 1 2 0 3
11 Mixed team (ZZX) 1 1 1 3
Total (11 NOCs)
43
43
36
122
Female competitors[edit]
Women were unallowed to compete at the 1896 Summer Olympics, because de Coubertin felt that their inclusion would be "impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic and incorrect".[71] However, one woman, Stamata Revithi, ran the marathon course on 11 April, the day after the men had run the official race. Although she was not allowed to enter the stadium at the end of her race, Revithi finished the marathon in about five hours and 30 minutes, and found witnesses to sign their names and verify the starting and finishing times. Revithi intended to present this documentation to the Hellenic Olympic Committee, hoping that they would recognise her achievement. Neither her reports nor documents from the Hellenic Olympic Committee have been discovered to provide corroboration.[72]
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ The number, given by the International Olympic Committee, is open to interpretation and could be as few as 10 and as many as 15. There are numerous reasons for the disparity: National teams hardly existed at the time, and most athletes represented themselves or their clubs. In addition, countries were not always as well-defined as they are today. The number of countries here reflects the number used by most modern sources. See the relevant section for further details.
Jump up ^ This number of competitors is according to the International Olympic Committee. The identities of 179 competitors are known. Mallon & Widlund calculate 245 athletes, while De Wael finds 246.
^ Jump up to: a b Young (1996), 153
Jump up ^ The Modern Olympics, A Struggle for Revival by David C. Young, Chapter 4
Jump up ^ Bijkerk (2004), 457
Jump up ^ Toohey (2007), 20
Jump up ^ Mullins, "Pierre de Coubertin and the Wenlock Olympian Games"
Jump up ^ Matthews (2005), 66; Young (1996), 81
Jump up ^ Young (1996), p.117
Jump up ^ Memoire sure le conflit entre la Grece et la Roumanie concernant l'affaire Zappa – Athens 1893, by F. Martens
Jump up ^ L'affaire Zappa – Paris 1894, by G. Streit
^ Jump up to: a b Young (1996), p.128
Jump up ^ Young (1996), p.14
Jump up ^ Young (1996), 102
Jump up ^ Young (1996), 100–105
Jump up ^ Young (1996), 108
Jump up ^ Young (1996), 111–118
Jump up ^ Zarnowski (1992), 16–32
Jump up ^ Young (1996), 118. According to Young (2004), 153, "Vikelas and the other Greeks did most of the work. Coubertin did very little."
Jump up ^ Darling (2004), 135
Jump up ^ George Averoff Dead, New York Times
Jump up ^ Some scholars allege that during the Sorbonne congress Coubertin was led by tactical considerations, and used the amateur requirement only as a bait in order to realize his actual aim—namely the reintroduction of the Olympic Games—more quickly (Lennartz–Wassong [2004]), 20.
Jump up ^ Professionalism vs amateurism was one of the dominant themes of the 19th century regarding athletics. In Greece the amateurism of athletes debate was taken a step further to encompass the question of the participation of the lower classes in the Games. In 1870, during the Zappian Olympic Games, Philippos Ioannou, a classical scholar and professor, criticised the games, and attacked the ideal of amateurism. His contention was that they were a parody, because people from the working class had taken part in the games. Ioannou suggested that only young people from the upper class should be accepted in the following Olympiad (Professionals and Amateurs, Foundation of the Hellenic World).
^ Jump up to: a b Coubertin (1896), 46–47
^ Jump up to: a b History of the Athens Lawn Tennis Club. Archived 29 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine. (in English) & (in Greek) - accessed 3 October 2010.
Jump up ^ Worldportsource.com profile of the Zea, Greece marina. - accessed 4 July 2010.
Jump up ^ Lennartz, Karl; Wassong, Stephen (2004). "Athens 1896". In John E. Findling, Kimberly D. Pelle. Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-32278-3. OCLC 52418065. . p. 23.
Jump up ^ Stadia.gr profile of Karaiskakoid Stadium in 1895, 1964, and 2003. - accessed 3 October 2010.
Jump up ^ 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 19 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Volume 2. p. 324. Accessed 3 October 2010.
Jump up ^ 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 19 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Volume 2. pp. 237, 242, 244. Accessed 3 October 2010.
Jump up ^ 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 19 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Volume 2. p. 242. Accessed 3 October 2010.
Jump up ^ 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. pp. 116-7.. Accessed 3 October 2010.
Jump up ^ 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 19 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Volume 2. p. 20. (Listed as Zappeio). Accessed 3 October 2010.
Jump up ^ Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Swimming (Men): 100-Meter Freestyle". In The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 897-8.
Jump up ^ 1896 Summer Olympic official report. Volume 2. pp. 83-4. Accessed 3 October 2010.
Jump up ^ 1896 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. pp. 86-90, 100-2. Accessed 3 October 2010.
Jump up ^ 1896 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. pp. 74-75, 97-99. Accessed 3 October 2010.
Jump up ^ 1896 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. pp. 31-49. Accessed 3 October 2010.
Jump up ^ Zappeion history. - accessed 3 October 2010.
Jump up ^ Coubertin (1896), 42
*Martin–Gynn (2000), 7–8
^ Jump up to: a b c Athens 1896 – Games of the I Olympiad, International Olympic Committee
Jump up ^ "The ignorant Olympians".
Jump up ^ "No spot the Olympics? It's not cricket".
Jump up ^ Coubertin–Philemon–Politis–Anninos (1897), 98–99, 108–109
Jump up ^ Sears (2001), 159
^ Jump up to: a b Fernando Arrechea Rivas. "Olimpismo". olimpismo2007.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
Jump up ^ LUN. "www.lun.com". lun.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
Jump up ^ Coubertin (1896), 46–47; Lennartz–Wassong (2004), 23
^ Jump up to: a b Lennartz-Wassong (2004), 23
^ Jump up to: a b Young (1996), 148
Jump up ^ Young (1996), 151
^ Jump up to: a b Coubertin–Philemon–Politis–Anninos (1897), 76, 83–84
Jump up ^ Gillmeister (1995), 23–24
^ Jump up to: a b Coubertin–Philemon–Politis–Anninos (1897), 70–71
Jump up ^ Coubertin–Philemon–Politis–Anninos (1897), 93–94
^ Jump up to: a b Coubertin (1896), 50
Jump up ^ Coubertin–Philemon–Politis–Anninos (1897), 232–234
Jump up ^ IOC Olympic Museum exhibition panel, 2010
Jump up ^ Young (1996), 156
Jump up ^ "Athens 1896". Bulgarian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2007-03-12.
Jump up ^ De Wael, KONRAD Gymnastics 1896
Jump up ^ Guttmann (1994), 128; "La Presencia de Chile en los Juegos Olimpicos". Archived from the original on 2 July 2008. Retrieved 2006-12-28. , Olympic Committee of Chile; McGehee (2000), 107
Jump up ^ aboutolympics.co.uk. "1896 Athens Olympics". Retrieved 21 February 2011. Fourteen nations were represented – Australia, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, USA, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland
Jump up ^ Mallon, Bill, and Ture Widlund (1988). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary (PDF). Jefferson: McFarland. p. 39. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. Retrieved 21 February 2011. Across the field, in answer to the Herald's trumpet, come two Hungarians, a Chilian, a Frenchman, a German, an Englishman and an American, to run the 100-meters race
Jump up ^ Olympic Games Museum (2011). "Participating Countries – Olympic Games Athens 1896". olympic-museum.de. Archived from the original on 2011-11-27. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
Jump up ^ Gillmeister (1998), 364
^ Jump up to: a b c Athens 1896–Medal Table, International Olympic Committee
Jump up ^ De Wael, Shooting 1896
Jump up ^ "Giuseppe Rivabella". Sports-Reference. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
Jump up ^ Charles Champaud can be considered an athlete for either Switzerland or Bulgaria.
Jump up ^ "Women at the Olympic Games". topendsports.com. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
Jump up ^ Martin–Gynn (2000), 22
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1896 Summer Olympics.
"Athens 1896". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee.
"Results and Medalists". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee.
"Almanac of the 18 June". Almanac of the Day. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
"Athens 1896". Bulgarian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 7 July 2008.
Bijkerk, Anthony T. (2004). "Pierre de Coubertin". In John E. Findling, Kimberly D. Pelle. Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-32278-3. OCLC 52418065.
Coubertin, Pierre De; Hambidge, Jay (November 1896). "The Olympic Games of 1896". LIII (1). The Century Magazine. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
Coubertin, Pierre De; Timoleon J. Philemon, N.G. Politis and Charalambos Anninos (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896 (PDF). The Olympic Games in 1896 – Second Part. Athens: Charles Beck. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
Darling, Janina K. (2004). "Panathenaic Stadium, Athens". Architecture of Greece. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-32152-3. OCLC 54500822. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
De Wael, Herman. "Herman's Top Athina 1896 Olympians". Archived from the original on 2007-11-30. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
"George Averoff Dead" (PDF). The New York Times. 4 August 1899. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
Gillmeister, Heiner (1998). Tennis: a Cultural History (PDF). Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-7185-0195-0. OCLC 67496016. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
Gillmeister, Heiner (Winter 1995). "Olympic Tennis: Some Afterthoughts" (PDF). Citius, Altius, Fortius. 3 (1): 23–25. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
Guttmann, Allen (1994). Games and Empires: Modern Sports and Cultural Imperialism. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10042-6. OCLC 231638134. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
"La Presencia de Chile en los Juegos Olimpicos" (in Spanish). Olympic Committee of Chile. Archived from the original on 2 July 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
Lennartz, Karl; Wassong, Stephen (2004). "Athens 1896". In John E. Findling, Kimberly D. Pelle. Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-32278-3. OCLC 52418065. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
Martin, David E.; Gynn, Roger W. H. (2000). "The Olympic Marathon". Running through the Ages. Human Kinetics. ISBN 0-88011-969-1. OCLC 42823784. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
Matthews, George R. (2005). "The Ghost of Plato". America's First Olympics: The St. Louis Games Of 1904. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 0-8262-1588-2. OCLC 58468164. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
McGehee, Richard V. (2000). "The Impact of Imported Sports on the Popular Culture of Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Mexico and Central America". In Ingrid Elizabeth Fey, Karen Racine. Strange Pilgrimages: Exile, Travel, and National Identity in Latin America (PDF). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-8420-2694-0. OCLC 237382448. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
Mullins, Samuel P. "Pierre de Coubertin and the Wenlock Olympian Games". Proceedings of the International Olympic Academy–Selected 1980s Proceedings. University of Leeds. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
"Professionals and Amateurs". From Ancient Olympia to Athens of 1896. Foundation of the Hellenic World. Retrieved 18 July 2008.
Sears, Edward S. (2001). "The Revival of the Olympic Games". Running through the Ages. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0971-1. OCLC 46650949. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
Toohey, Kristine (2007). The Olympic Games: A Social Sciences Perspective. CABI. ISBN 1-84593-355-9.
Young, David C. (1996). The Modern Olympics: A Struggle for Revival. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-7207-3.
Young, David C. (2004). "The Modern Olympic Games". A Brief History of the Olympic Games. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 1-4051-1130-5. OCLC 54111254. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
Zarnowski, C. Frank (Summer 1992). "A Look at Olympic Costs" (PDF). Citius, Altius, Fortius. 1 (1): 16–32. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
Further reading[edit]
Greenberg, Stan (1996). The Guinness Book of Olympic Facts and Feats. Enfield: Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-639-1. OCLC 35921786.
Kluge, Volker (1997). Olympische Sommerspiele: die Chronik I. Berlin: Sportverlag. ISBN 3-328-00715-6. OCLC 38258227.
Lennartz, Karl (ed.) (1996). Die olympischen Spiele 1896 in Athen: Erläuterungen zum Neudruck des Offiziellen Berichtes. Kassel: Agon. CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)
MacAloon, John J (1982). This Great Symbol: Pierre de Coubertin and the Origins of the Modern Olympic Games. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X. OCLC 186174794.
Wallechinsky, David (2000). The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics. Woodstock: Overlook Press. ISBN 1-58567-033-2. OCLC 43561597.
Randall, David (2011). 1896: The First Modern Olympics (ebook). London: Blacktoad Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9570591-0-8. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
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values: الألعاب الأولمبية الصيفية 1896 – Arabic

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values: Chuegos Olimpicos d'Atenas 1896 – Aragonese

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values: Xuegos Olímpicos d'Atenes 1896 – Asturian

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values: 1896 Yay Olimpiya Oyunları – Azerbaijani

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values: ১৮৯৬ গ্রীষ্মকালীন অলিম্পিক – Bangla

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values: 1896 nî Hā-kùi Olympic Ūn-tōng-hoē – Chinese (Min Nan)

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values: Летнія Алімпійскія гульні 1896 – Belarusian

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values: Летнія Алімпійскія гульні 1896 году – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)

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values: 1896 Olimpiko sa Tig-init – Central Bikol

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values: Летни олимпийски игри 1896 – Bulgarian

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values: 1896. aasta suveolümpiamängud – Estonian

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values: Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896 – Greek

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values: Ամառային օլիմպիական խաղեր 1896 – Armenian

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values: 1896 ग्रीष्मकालीन ओलम्पिक – Hindi

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values: I. Olimpijske igre - Atena 1896. – Croatian

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values: Жазғы Олимпиада ойындары 1896 – Kazakh

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values: 1896. gada vasaras olimpiskās spēles – Latvian

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values: 1896 m. vasaros olimpinės žaidynės – Lithuanian

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values: 1896. évi nyári olimpiai játékok – Hungarian

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values: Летни олимписки игри 1896 – Macedonian

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values: Кеҥеж Олимпий модмаш - Афине 1896 – Eastern Mari

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values: Poletne olimpijske igre 1896 – Slovenian

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values: 1896 கோடை கால ஒலிம்பிக்கு விளையாட்டுப் போட்டிகள் – Tamil

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Literacy in the United States
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Rates of literacy in the United States depend on which of the various definitions of literacy is used. Governments may label as literate those individuals who can read a couple of thousand simple words they learned by sight in the first four grades in school. Other sources may term such individuals functionally illiterate if they are unable to use basic sources of written information like warning labels and driving directions. The CIA World Factbook uses the common definition of literacy as "age 15 and over can read and write" but notes that the Factbook is used for country comparisons, not detailed standards, which is beyond the scope of the Factbook.[1]
In 1988, the U.S. Department of Education was asked by Congress to undertake a national literacy survey of American adults.[2]:xi The National Adult Literacy Survey undertaken in 1992, was the first literacy survey that provided "accurate and detailed information on the skills of the adult population as a whole." The U. S. has participated in cyclical, large-scale assessment programs undertaken by the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) and sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) since 1992. The survey revealed that the literacy competence of about 40 million adults was limited to the lowest level, Level 1 which meant they could only understand the simplest written instructions.[3]
The Institute of Education Sciences conducted large scale[vague] assessments of adult proficiency in 1992 and 2003 using a common methodology from which trends could be measured. The study measures Prose, Document, and Quantitative skills and 19,000 subjects participated in the 2003 survey. There was no significant change in Prose or Document skills and a slight increase in Quantitative attributes. As in 2008, roughly 15% of the sample could function at the highest levels in all three categories. Roughly 50% were at either basic or below basic levels of proficiency in all three categories.[2] This government study showed that 21% to 23% of adult Americans were not "able to locate information in text", could not "make low-level inferences using printed materials", and were unable to "integrate easily identifiable pieces of information." Approximately one-quarter of the individuals who performed in this level reported that they were born in another country, and some of them were undoubtedly recent immigrants with a limited command of English. In addition, 62 percent of the individuals on that level of the prose scale stated they had not completed high school; 35 percent, in fact, had finished no more than 8 years of schooling. Relatively high percentages of the respondents in this level were Black, Hispanic, or Asian/Pacific Islander, and many — approximately 33 percent — were age 65 or older. Further, 26 percent of the adults who performed in Level 1 said they had a physical, mental, or health condition that kept them from participating fully in work and other activities, and 19 percent reported having vision problems that made it difficult for them to read print. In sum, the individuals in this level of literacy had a diverse set of characteristics that influenced their performance in the assessment. Additionally, this study showed that 41% to 44% of U.S. adults in the lowest level on the literacy scale were living in poverty.[2]
A NAAL follow-up study by the same group of researchers using a smaller database (19,714 interviewees) was released in 2006 that showed some upward movement of low end (basic and below to intermediate) in U.S. adult literacy levels and a decline in the full proficiency group.[4]
In 2003 United States was one of seven countries that participated in the large-scale collaborative effort, the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) with results published in 2005. Starting in 2011, the U.S., along with dozens of other countries, participated in the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), a large-scale assessment of adult skills, including literacy, under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The NCES describes the PIACC as the "most current indicator of the nation's progress in adult skills in literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments."[5]
Contents
1 Defining and measuring literacy
2 United States Department of Education surveys
2.1 English Language Proficiency Survey (1982)
2.2 National Adult Literacy Survey (1992)
2.3 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (2003)
3 International surveys
3.1 The Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey
3.2 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies
4 Other studies
4.1 Central Connecticut State University
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Defining and measuring literacy[edit]
Governments may label as literate those individuals who can read a few thousand simple words they learned by sight in the first four grades in school. Other sources may term such individuals functionally illiterate if they are unable to use basic sources of written information like warning labels and driving directions.
Thus, if this bottom quantile of the study is equated with the functionally illiterate, and these are then removed from those classified as literate, then the resultant literacy rate for the United States would be at most 65-85% depending on where in the basic, minimal competence quantile one sets the cutoff.
The 15% figure for full literacy, equivalent to a university undergraduate level, is consistent with the notion that the "average" American reads at a 7th or 8th grade level which is also consistent with recommendations, guidelines, and norms of readability for medication directions, product information, and popular fiction.
The CIA The World Factbook states that "There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy" and that their statistics are based on the most common definition - "the ability to read and write at a specified age." It is also noted in The Factbook that "Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of the Factbook. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons."[1]
United States Department of Education surveys[edit]
English Language Proficiency Survey (1982)[edit]
In 1982, funded by the United States Department of Education,[6] the United States Census Bureau conducted an in-home literacy test of 3,400 adults known as the English Language Proficiency Survey (ELPS).[7] The Education department considered this direct measure of literacy more accurate than a previous estimate in 1979, which inferred literacy based on years of education completed.[8] The data from the test were presented in the 1986 Census Bureau report, concluding that 13% of the adults living in the United States were illiterate in English.[8] Nine percent of adults whose native language was English (native speakers), were illiterate while 48% of nonnative speakers were illiterate in English but not necessarily illiterate in their maternal language.[8]
In his 1985 book Illiterate America,, Jonathan Kozol ascribed the very high figures for literacy to weaknesses in methodology.[9] The Census Bureau reported literacy rates of 86% based on personal interviews of a relatively small portion of the population and on written responses to Census Bureau mailings. They also considered individuals literate if they simply stated that they could read and write, and made the assumption that anyone with a fifth grade education had at least an 80% chance of being literate. Finally, he suggests that because illiterate people are likely to be unemployed and may not have telephones or permanent addresses, the census bureau would have been unlikely to find them.
National Adult Literacy Survey (1992)[edit]
In 1988, the U.S. Department of Education was asked by Congress to undertake a national literacy survey of American adults.[2]:xi The National Center for Education Statistics, which is part of the United States Department of Education, awarded a contract to the Educational Testing Service and a subcontract to Westat to design and conduct the survey.[10]
The 1992 survey, National Adult Literacy Survey provided "accurate and detailed information on the skills of the adult population as a whole. The survey interviewed around 26,000 people ages 16 and older: a nationally representative sample of around 14,000 people and an additional 12,000 surveys from states which opted in to state-level assessments. Results were published in 1993.[3]:xiv In 1993 the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) was used as a "nationally representative and continuing assessment of English language literary skills of American Adults.[11] The study explicitly avoided a single standard of literacy or illiteracy, instead assessing individuals in three aspects of literacy, with each aspect defined on a 500 point scale. Scores in each individual aspect (prose, document, quantitative) were grouped together in five levels: level 1 (0-225), level 2 (226-275), level 3 (276-325), level 4 (326-375), and level 5 (376-500).
National Assessment of Adult Literacy (2003)[edit]
The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), is sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) as one of their assessment programs.[12]
The study included comparisons to the 1992 survey. Adults (over sixteen years of age) were scored on their prose, document and quantitative literacy. There was "no significant change in prose and document literacy between 1992 and 2003; but quantitative literacy improved.[5] The study maintained the practice from the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey of dividing literacy into three different aspects, each measured on a 500 point scale. Scores in each aspect were again grouped into five different levels, but using a new numerical scale which was different for each aspect.
International surveys[edit]
The Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey[edit]
The United States was a participant in the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL), along with Bermuda, Canada, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, and the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. Data was collected in 2003 and the results were published in 2005.[13] Adults were scored on "five levels of difficulty in prose, document and numeracy literacy. In 2003, only 8% of the population aged 16 to 65 in Norway fell into the lowest skill level, level 1; the highest percentage was 47% in Italy. The United States was third highest at 20% in 2003.[13]:17
Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies[edit]
Main article: Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies
The United States participated in studies as part of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) which was "developed under the auspices" of the "Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The PIACC is a "collaborative endeavour involving the participating countries, the OECD Secretariat, the European Commission and an international Consortium led by Educational Testing Service (ETS)".[14] According to National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the PIACC, provides the "most current indicator of the nation's progress in adult skills in literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments" is a "large-scale assessment of adult skills."[5]
In 2012, twenty four countries, including the United States participated in this large-scale study.[15]
In 2014 thirty three countries, including the United States, participated in the survey.[15]
The 2013 OECD report entitled "First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills", which published results of test undertaken in 2011 and 2012, revealed that the "skills of adults in the United States [had] remained relatively unchanged in the decade since the previous report,3 while other countries have been showing improvements, especially among adults with low basic skills."[16] showed that [17]
In 2016, PIAAC 2012 and 2014 data were released.[15]. Participating adults from Singapore and the United States had the largest number of adults scoring "at or below Level 1 in literacy proficiency" compared to other participating countries in their performance in "all three reading components". The authors of the OECD report stated, "These results may be related to the language background of the immigrant population in the United States."[14]
Other studies[edit]
Central Connecticut State University[edit]
Between 2005 and 2009, Dr. Jack Miller of the Central Connecticut State University conducted annual studies aimed at identifying America's most literate cities drawing from a variety of available data resources, the America’s Most Literate Cities study ranks the largest cities (population 250,000 and above) in the United States. This study focuses on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources[18]
City
Rankings
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
Seattle, WA 1 1.5 2 1 1
Washington, D.C. 2 3 5 3.5 3
Minneapolis, MN 3 1.5 1 2 2
Pittsburgh, PA 4 12 9 6 8
Atlanta, GA 5 6 8 3.5 4
Portland, OR 6 10.5 12 10 11
St. Paul, MN 7 4 3 5 9.5
Boston, MA 8 8 10 11 7
Cincinnati, OH 9 10.5 11 7 9.5
Denver, CO 10 7 4 8 6
See also[edit]
Books in the United States
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Notes and definitions, CIA World Factbook, retrieved October 29, 2017, This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of the Factbook. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons. Low levels of literacy, and education in general, can impede the economic development of a country in the current rapidly changing, technology-driven world.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Kirsch, Irwin S.; Jungeblut, Ann; Jenkins, Lynn; Kolstad, Andrew (April 2002), Adult Literacy in America (PDF) (3 ed.), National Center for Educational Statistics, retrieved October 29, 2017, Prose level 4: "These tasks require readers to perform multiple-feature matches and to integrate or synthesize information from complex or lengthy passages. More complex inferences are needed to perform successfully." This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. The study identifies a class of adults who, although not meeting criteria for functional illiteracy, face reduced job opportunities and life prospects due to inadequate literacy levels relative to the requirements released in April 2002 and reapplied in 2003 giving trend data. It involved lengthy interviews of over -4.7% adults statistically balanced[clarification needed] for age, gender, ethnicity, education level, and location (urban, suburban, or rural) in 12 states across the U.S. and was designed to represent the U.S. population as a whole.
^ Jump up to: a b Kirsch, Irwin S.; Jungeblut, Ann; Jenkins, Lynn; Kolstad, Andrew (September 1993). Adult Literacy in America (Report). National Center for Educational Statistics. National Center for Education Studies.
Jump up ^ A First Look at the Literacy of America's Adults in the 21st century (PDF), National Center for Educational Statistics, 2006, retrieved 2007-12-11
^ Jump up to: a b c Demographics, National Center for Education Statistics, 2017, retrieved October 29, 2017
Jump up ^ Language Characteristics and Schooling in the U. S.: A Changing Picture, 1979 and 1989. p. 4.
Jump up ^ "English Language Proficiency Study (ELPS), 1982 Microdata File. Technical Documentation". 1987.
^ Jump up to: a b c Werner, Leslie Maitland (April 21, 1986), 13% of U.S. adults are illiterate in English, a Federal study finds, Special to the New York Times, Washington, retrieved October 29, 2017
Jump up ^ Kozol, Jonathan (1985). Illiterate America. New York: New American Library. pp. 37–39. ISBN 0-452-26203-8. Kozol noted that, in addition to these weaknesses, the reliance on written forms would have obviously excluded many individuals who did not have a literate family member to fill out the form for them... (and that if they did, these people might be especially reluctant to talk to a stranger who might be a bill collector, tax auditor, or salesperson)
Jump up ^ "Adult Literacy in America" (PDF). p. xiii. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Jump up ^ Schierloh, Jane M. (August 30, 1993), Adult Literacy in America: A First Look at the Results of the National Adult Literacy Survey, retrieved October 29, 2017
Jump up ^ "What is NALS?". National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). nd. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b Learning a Living: First Results of the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (PDF) (Report). Paris: OECD. OECD and Statistics Canada. 2005. p. 333. Retrieved October 29, 2017. "Proportionally to population size, the United States has built the largest pool of highly skilled adults in the world." "Level 1:Tasks in this level tend to require the respondent either to locate a piece of information based on a literal match or to enter information from personal knowledge onto a document. Little, if any, distracting information is present
^ Jump up to: a b OECD Skills Studies Skills Matter Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills (PDF) (Report). OECD Skills Studies. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). doi:10.1787/9789264258051-en. ISBN 978-92-64-25805-1.
^ Jump up to: a b c Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2016, retrieved October 29, 2017
Jump up ^ OECD Skills Outlook 2013: First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills (Report). Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
Jump up ^ Understanding the Basic Reading Skills of U.S. Adults: Reading Components in the PIAAC Literacy Survey, Educational Testing Service (ETS)
Jump up ^ America's Most Literate Cities, Central Connecticut State University.
External links[edit]
National Assessment of Adult Literacy
ProLiteracy
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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Literacy_in_the_United_States&oldid=851671259"
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