Victoria University of Manchester
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| Victoria University of Manchester | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the Victoria University of Manchester, before it merged with UMIST. |
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| Motto | Latin: Arduus ad solem |
| Motto in English | "Striving towards the sun" |
| Active | 12 March 1851[1]—1 October 2004 |
| Type | Public |
| Location | Manchester, England, UK |
| Former names | Owens College |
The Victoria University of Manchester (commonly known as the University of Manchester) was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".
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[edit] History
The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College, named after John Owens, a textile merchant, who left a bequest of £96,942 for the purpose. It moved to its current location in 1873, in a building designed by Alfred Waterhouse. It was granted its Royal Charter in 1880, becoming the first institution of the federal Victoria University. In 1884, University College Liverpool joined the University, followed in 1887 by the Yorkshire College in Leeds.
In 1903, the college in Liverpool left the Victoria University to become the independent University of Liverpool and Leeds followed in 1904 to become the University of Leeds. The remaining university and college were merged by Act of Parliament, 24 June 1904 (the Victoria University of Manchester was established by royal charter 15 July 1903).
The University had over 18,000 full-time students (including 2500 international students from more than 120 countries) by the time it merged with UMIST. It was regarded as one of the top universities in the country, regularly getting top ratings for research.[2]
On 5 March 2003 it was announced that the University was to merge with UMIST on 1 October 2004, to form the largest conventional university in the UK, the University of Manchester, following which the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST would cease to exist. The new University was inaugurated on 1 October 2004.
Many famous or well-known people worked and studied at the Victoria University of Manchester: see People associated with the University of Manchester.
[edit] Motto and arms
The motto of the University was "Arduus ad solem", meaning "striving towards the sun". It is a metaphor for aspiring to enlightenment. It is a quote from Virgil's Aeneid book VI, and the archives do not record the reasons for its choice[3] The original verse refers to a serpent and the sun, both of which featured in the university coat of arms. The serpent is traditionally associated with wisdom. The arms were granted in October 1871 to Owens College while the Victoria University had arms of its own which fell into abeyance from 1904 upon the merger of the College with the University. The motto derives from Virgil's Aeneid, bk. VI.
The emblem of the University in use for a number of years (last used September 2004) was based on the archway into the quadrangle from Oxford Road where there used to be a set of coats of arms relating to the history of the component colleges on the gates.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 12 March 1851 is the opening date of Owens College; the Victoria University received a royal charter 20 April 1880; a royal charter of 15 July 1903 created the Victoria University of Manchester (and abolished the pre-existing University); University and College were merged by Act of Parliament 24 June 1904. Charlton, H. B. (1951) Portrait of a University. Manchester: U. P.; p. 138.
- ^ http://www.manchester.ac.uk/research/about/rae/
- ^ Thompson, Joseph (1886) The Owens College--its foundation and growth. Manchester: J. E. Cornish.
