Shot heard round the world
Encyclopedia
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
's "Concord Hymn
Concord Hymn
"Concord Hymn" is an 1837 poem by American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson. It was written for a memorial to the Battles of Lexington and Concord.-Background:...
" (1837), and referred to the beginning of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. This 1775 proverbial first shot was fired during an armed stand-off between British forces and local militia in Lexington
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
, escalating into engagements at the Old North Bridge in the battles of Lexington and Concord
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
.
Later, in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, the phrase became synonymous with the shot that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Franz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia...
and plunged Europe into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Since then, the phrase has also been used to allude to the importance of single actions in sporting and other cultural and social events.
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
In Europe and the Commonwealth of NationsCommonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, formerly known as the British Commonwealth, which is completely made up of countries (except for Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
and Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
) that were formerly part of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, the phrase "The Shot heard around the World" has become associated with Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip was the Bosnian Serb who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914...
's assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, an event considered to be one of the immediate causes of World War I
Causes of World War I
The causes of World War I, which began in central Europe in July 1914, included many intertwined factors, such as the conflicts and hostility of the four decades leading up to the war. Militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism played major roles in the conflict as well...
.
While Princip fired two shots, the first hitting Duchess Sophie
Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg
Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg ; 1 March 1868 – 28 June 1914) was a Czech aristocrat, the morganatic wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Their assassination sparked World War I.- Early life :...
, with the second hitting Archduke Franz, it was the death of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne that propelled Austria Hungary and the rest of Europe into what was known as the "War To End All Wars".
In sports
The phrase has been applied to several dramatic moments in sports history.
- In baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, it refers to Bobby Thomson's game winning home runShot Heard 'Round the World (baseball)In baseball, the "Shot Heard 'round the World" is the term given to the walk-off home run hit by New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca at the Polo Grounds to win the National League pennant at 3:58 p.m...
that clinched the 1951 National League pennant for the New York GiantsSan Francisco GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
.
- In International Men's Ice Hockey, it refers to the winning goal of Paul Henderson in the final seconds of the 8th and final match to secure Team Canada's victory in the 1972 Canada-USSR Super-series. The goal was made famous by a Frank LennonFrank LennonFrank Lennon was a Canadian photographer and photojournalist. He was best known for taking the photograph of Paul Henderson celebrating Canada's win over the Soviet Union at the 1972 Summit Series....
photograph. In 1980, it was used to refer to the game-winning goal scored by U.S. Olympic team captain Mike Eruzione, putting the U.S. team in the lead for good with 10:00 minutes remaining against the highly favored Soviet Union Olympic team (the U.S. went on to win an improbable gold medal against Finland two days later). Later, in 1987, it referred to the game-winning goal scored by Canada's Mario Lemieux with 1:26 remaining in the third and final game of the Canada Cup finals versus the Soviet Union.
- In golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, it is used most often to describe Gene SarazenGene SarazenGene Sarazen was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s. He is one of five golfers to win all the current major championships in his career, the Career Grand Slam:U.S...
's albatross on the fifteenth hole at the 1935 Masters Tournament, which helped propel him into a 36-hole playoff with Craig WoodCraig Wood (golfer)Craig Ralph Wood was an American professional golfer in the 1930s and 1940s, the winner of 21 PGA Tour titles including two major championships and a member of three Ryder Cup teams ....
. Sarazen would win the playoff by five strokes.
- In college basketball, it refers to the last second shot by Ernie CalverleyErnie CalverleyErnest A. "Ernie" Calverley was an American basketball guard for the University of Rhode Island. His famous "shot heard round the world," a midcourt shot, as time expired at Madison Square Garden in the National Invitation Tournament moved URI past Bowling Green State University into the semifinal...
of the University of Rhode IslandUniversity of Rhode IslandThe University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
against Bowling Green State UniversityBowling Green State UniversityBowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
which tied the 1946 National Invitation Tournament1946 National Invitation TournamentThe 1946 National Invitation Tournament was the 1946 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.-Selected teams:Below is a list of the 8 teams selected for the tournament.-Brackets/Results:Below is the tournament bracket....
quarterfinal game and sent it into overtime. Rhode Island went on to win the game 82-79.
- In US soccerFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, it is used to describe the goal scored by Paul CaligiuriPaul CaligiuriPaul David Caligiuri is a retired American soccer player.Caliguiri's professional career spanned 16 years, during which he played for numerous teams in the United States and Germany, and for the U.S. national team...
for the United StatesUnited States men's national soccer teamThe United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
against Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago national football teamThe Trinidad and Tobago national football team, nicknamed The Soca Warriors, is the national team of Trinidad and Tobago and is run by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation. It reached the first round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Finals...
in Port of SpainPort of SpainPort of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
in 1989. The win propelled the team to the 1990 FIFA World Cup1990 FIFA World CupThe 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
, helping to start a resurgence of American soccer, which has seen the U.S. appear in every World CupFIFA World CupThe FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
since that time, including its hosting of the 1994 World Cup1994 FIFA World CupThe 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
, which in turn led to the creation of Major League SoccerMajor League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
.
- In American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, it is used to describe a play in the 1964 American Football League Championship Game where Buffalo BillsBuffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
linebacker Mike StrattonMike StrattonDavid Michael Stratton was an American football linebacker in the AFL and NFL for the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers....
laid a particularly hard hit on San Diego ChargersSan Diego ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
wide receiver Keith LincolnKeith LincolnKeith Payson Lincoln is a former American football running back who started his career playing college football at Washington State University. He maintained his versatility after being drafted by the American Football League's San Diego Chargers in 1961. In 1963 he led the team in rushing, punt...
.
In popular culture
- Schoolhouse Rock also used the event in a song for their morning program in a song entitled "Shot Heard 'Round the World," as reference to the American Revolution.
- Seconds by Human League uses the phrase as a refrain.
- Various sources have made the play-on-words "herd shot 'round the world" in reference to rocketry and cows.
- In the 2006 film DeliriousDelirious (2006 film)Delirious is a 2006 film released directed by Tom DiCillo. It stars Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt and Alison Lohman.It is the story of twenty-year old Toby Grace who progresses from a homeless scavenger in New York City to the assistant of a self-absorbed, obsessive-compulsive, familial-complexed...
the phrase is used by a Hollywood talk show host as a description of a photo taken by one of the film's main characters.
- On the 2009 album Love Drunk by the pop/rock band Boys Like GirlsBoys Like GirlsBoys Like Girls is an American rock band from Massachusetts. Formed in 2005, the group gained mainstream recognition when it released its self-titled debut album. Boys Like Girls was the co-headliner with Good Charlotte for the Soundtrack of Your Summer Tour 2008 that toured across the United...
one of the tracks is titled 'The Shot Heard 'Round The World'
- The 1986 album "Bedtime for Democracy" by the band "The Dead KennedysDead KennedysDead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
" contained a song called "Potshot heard around the world" which discussed the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing1983 Beirut barracks bombingThe Beirut Barracks Bombing occurred during the Lebanese Civil War, when two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces—members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon—killing 299 American and French servicemen...
.
In media
- During the 2009 swine flu outbreak the New York Times referred to 'patient zero', a 5-year-old Mexican boy named Édgar Hernández, as the source of "Coughs Heard Round the World."
- In 2006, the phrase was used by NewsweekNewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
and other news outlets in describing then-Vice PresidentVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Dick CheneyDick CheneyRichard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
's accidental shootingDick Cheney hunting incidentThe Dick Cheney hunting incident occurred on February 11, 2006, when then U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney shot Harry Whittington, a 78-year-old Texas attorney, while participating in a quail hunt on a ranch in Kenedy County, Texas...
of Harry WhittingtonHarry WhittingtonHarry M. Whittington is an American lawyer, real estate investor, and political figure from Austin, Texas who received international media attention on February 11, 2006, when he was shot by Vice President Dick Cheney while hunting quail with two women on a ranch in Kenedy County, Texas, near...
while quail hunting in TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
- In a New York Times article in December 2010, EFFElectronic Frontier FoundationThe Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
co-founder John Perry BarlowJohn Perry BarlowJohn Perry Barlow is an American poet and essayist, a retired Wyoming cattle rancher, and a cyberlibertarian political activist who has been associated with both the Democratic and Republican parties. He is also a former lyricist for the Grateful Dead and a founding member of the Electronic...
described the unprecedented online activismHacktivismHacktivism is the use of computers and computer networks as a means of protest to promote political ends. The term was first coined in 1994 by a member of the Cult of the Dead Cow hacker collective named Omega...
in support of Julian AssangeJulian AssangeJulian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
by the collective AnonymousAnonymous (group)Anonymous is an international hacking group, spread through the Internet, initiating active civil disobedience, while attempting to maintain anonymity. Originating in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan, the term refers to the concept of many online community users simultaneously existing as an anarchic,...
during Operation PaybackOperation PaybackOperation Payback is a coordinated, decentralized group of attacks on opponents of Internet piracy by Internet activists using the "Anonymous" moniker - a group sometimes affiliated with the website 4chan. Operation Payback started as retaliation to distributed denial of service attacks on torrent...
as "the shot heard round the world — this is LexingtonBattles of Lexington and ConcordThe Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
."