Birmingham history

Some of the earliest evidence of settlement in Birmingham is artefacts dating back 10,400 years discovered near Curzon Street in the city centre.

In the early 7th century, Birmingham was an Anglo-Saxon farming hamlet on the banks of the River Rea. Birmingham was first recorded in written documents by the Domesday Book of 1086 as a small village, worth only 20 shillings.

As early as the 16th century, Birmingham's access to supplies of iron ore and coal meant that metalworking industries became established. By the time of the English Civil War in the 17th century, Birmingham had become an important manufacturing town with a reputation for producing small arms. Arms manufacture in Birmingham became a staple trade and was concentrated in the area known as the Gun Quarter.

By the 1820s, an extensive canal system had been constructed, giving greater access to natural resources to fuel to industries. Railways arrived in Birmingham in 1837 with the arrival of the Grand Junction Railway, and a year later, the London and Birmingham Railway. During the Victorian era, the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a million and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in England. Birmingham was granted city status in 1889 by Queen Victoria.The city established its own university in 1900.

Birmingham suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II's Birmingham Blitz, and the city was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s. In recent years, Birmingham has been transformed, with the construction of new areas like Centenary Square and Millennium Place. Old streets, buildings and canals have been restored, the pedestrian subways have been removed, and the Bull Ring shopping centre has been completely redeveloped. These were the first steps in the ambitious plans of Birmingham City Council for the redevelopment of Birmingham.

The University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick civic university located in the city of Birmingham, England. Founded in Edgbaston in 1900 as a successor to Mason Science College, and with origins dating back to the 1825 Birmingham Medical School, it was the first British university to gain official royal charter in the 20th century.

It is a member of the Russell Group of research universities and a founding member of Universitas 21. The student population includes around 16,500 undergraduate and 8,000 postgraduate students, making it the largest university in the West Midlands region.

Famous Alumni

Birmingham's alumni include the former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, the politicians Baroness Amos, MP Ann Widdecombe, General Sir Mike Jackson, formerly the most senior officer in the British Army, TV personalities Chris Tarrant and Ben Sheppard, actors Tamsin Greig, Norman Painting, Victoria Wood, Matthew Goode and Jane Wymark, the actor and musician Tim Curry, musician and lead singer of Duran Duran Simon Le Bon, sailor Lisa Clayton, zoologist Desmond Morris and theologian Robert Beckford.