Cambridge University

The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world (after Oxford). The start of the University is generally taken as 1209, when some masters and students arrived in Cambridge after fleeing from rioting in Oxford.

The university was basically established to study for religious purposes. The earliest teaching sessions of the University were carried out in churches or private houses. This was obviously unsatisfactory, and so the University authorities began to establish buildings for its own use. Some of these early 'schools' still exist on the site known, appropriately, as the 'Old Schools'. During the 14th and 15th centuries, the University gradually gained its independence from the church, with the Chancellor taking on both religious and civil duties.

Cambridge University is composed of more than thirty constituent colleges, one of the most illustrious of which is Emmanuel College. This college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Queen Elizabeth I. Many Emmanuel graduates, including John Harvard, were among those who settled in New England in the first half of the 17th century. The oldest building is in St John's College but the oldest college as institution is Peterhouse, dates from 1284. King Henry VIII founded the largest college, Trinity, in 1546.

Many of the University buildings are of historical or architectural interest, and the University's museums contain many rare, valuable and beautiful items. King's College Chapel, begun in 1446, is one of Britain's most magnificent buildings. The mulberry tree under which the poet John Milton is reputed to have written Lucida is on the grounds of Christ's College. Samuel Pepys's library, housed in the original cases, is at Magdalene College. Two of the colleges contain chapels designed by Christopher Wren-Pembroke and Emmanuel. The gardens and grounds of the colleges along the River Cam are known as the "Backs," and together they form a unique combination of large-scale architecture, natural and formal gardens, and river scenery with student boaters.

The University at present has more than 16,500 full-time students - over 11,600 undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduates. About 17% of the student body is from overseas, coming from over 100 different countries.

The University also has a worldwide reputation for other aspects of its work. Cambridge University Press (one of the world's oldest and largest publishers) and UCLES (University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate) are world leaders in their respective fields and allow the University to make a direct educational and academic contribution to the lives of millions of people around the world.

Cambridge University is more renowned than its rival for mathematics and natural sciences, and has produced 80 Nobel-prize winners (33 more than Oxford and the highest number of any university worldwide), 13 British Prime Ministers (12 less than the other place) and 8 Archbishops of Canterbury, among others.

The list of illustrious alumni is endless. Among the most famous are Desiderius Erasmus, Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, Lord Byron, Charles Darwin, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vladimir Nabokov, Lee Kuan Yew (PM of Singapore from 1959 to 1990), and Rajiv Gandhi. The great Russian scientist Pavlov came to Cambridge to receive the degree of the Honorary Doctor of Cambridge. University of Cambridge is known as a great centre of science, where many famous scientists have worked.