Manchester, University of, is an institution of higher education in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. Owens College was named in honor of John Owens, a textile merchant who left nearly 100,000 pounds for the establishment of the college. Courses were originally taught in a private house. In 1873, Owens College moved to the present site of the university, on Oxford Road.
In 1880, the college became Victoria University and established additional colleges in Liverpool and Leeds. In 1903, these three institutions separated, and Victoria University became the Victoria University of Manchester. In the 1900’s, many scientific breakthroughs were made at the university. These achievements included the splitting of the atom by the British physicist Ernest Rutherford and the construction of the world’s largest steerable radio-telescope.
The university’s website at https://www.manchester.ac.uk/ offers additional information.
See also Manchester; Rutherford, Ernest.
