Editing University of Bristol (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of the University of Bristol}}

=== Foundation ===
The earliest antecedent of the university was the engineering department of the [[Merchant Venturers' Technical College]] (founded as a school as early as 1595) which became the engineering faculty of Bristol University.<ref>{{cite web|author=United Kingdom |url=http://www.merchantventurers.com/charitable-activities/education.html |title=Education – The Society of Merchant Venturers, Bristol UK |publisher=Merchantventurers.com |access-date=5 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829092557/http://merchantventurers.com/charitable-activities/education.html |archive-date=29 August 2009 }}</ref> The university was also preceded by [[Bristol Medical School]] (1833) and [[University College, Bristol]], founded in 1876,<ref name="BristolUniversityHistory" /> where its first lecture was attended by only 99 students.<ref>{{cite news | title = University of Bristol |work=The Guardian  | date = 1 May 2007 | access-date =6 December 2007 | url = http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/universityguide/profile/story/0,,478329,00.html | location=London}}</ref> 

The university was able to apply for a [[royal charter]] due to the financial support of the [[W. D. & H. O. Wills|Wills]] and [[Lewis Fry|Fry]] families, who made their fortunes in tobacco plantations and chocolate respectively (while there was no funding from [[Edward Colston]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The University and slavery |url=https://www.bristol.ac.uk/university/anti-racism-at-bristol/university-slavery/ |access-date=21 July 2024 |website=University of Bristol}}</ref> A 2018 study commissioned by the university estimated 85% of the philanthropic funds used for the institution's foundation "depended on the labour of enslaved people".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bris.ac.uk/university/history/past-matters/|title=Past Matters: the University of Bristol and transatlantic slavery|work=University of Bristol|access-date=30 October 2019|archive-date=30 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030104906/http://www.bris.ac.uk/university/history/past-matters/|url-status=dead}}</ref> 

The royal charter was gained in May 1909, with 288 undergraduates and 400 other students entering the university in October 1909. [[Henry Overton Wills III]] became its first chancellor.<ref name="BristolUniversityHistory" /> The University College was the first such institution in the country to [[Mixed-sex education|admit women on the same basis as men]].<ref name="BristolUniversityHistory" /> However, women were forbidden to take examinations in medicine until 1906.<ref name="archives-hub">{{cite web|title=Papers of the University of Bristol |publisher=Archives Hub |access-date=6 December 2007 |url=http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/news/03121903.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229151955/http://archiveshub.ac.uk/features/03121903.html|archive-date=29 February 2012 }}</ref>

{{quote box|align=right|width=23em<!--Don't use a max-width because it will squeeze the box too narrow on mobile-->|
There shall be from henceforth for ever in Our said City of Bristol a University...
|source= [[King Edward VII]], Charter of Incorporation of the University of Bristol, 4 December 1909<ref name="charter">{{cite web | title = Charter of Incorporation | publisher = University of Bristol | access-date =3 December 2007 | url = http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cms/go/statutes/regs/charter.html|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070930183415/http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cms/go/statutes/regs/charter.html |archive-date = 30 September 2007}}</ref>}}

Since the founding of the university itself in 1909, it has grown considerably and is now one of the largest employers in the local area, although it is smaller by student numbers than the nearby [[University of the West of England]].<ref name="HESA">{{cite web|url=http://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0607.xls |title=Table 0a – All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2006/07 |access-date=5 April 2008 |format=[[Microsoft Excel]] spreadsheet |publisher=[[Higher Education Statistics Agency]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709132444/http://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0607.xls |archive-date= 9 July 2013 }}</ref>

=== Early years ===
[[File:university of bristol tower after cleaning arp.jpg|thumb|right|[[Wills Memorial Building]] (Schools of Law and Earth Sciences) on [[Park Street, Bristol]]. The tower was cleaned in 2006–2007.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2006/875.html|publisher= Bristol University | title=Wills Tower set for new glory|access-date=12 November 2015}}</ref>]]
After the founding of the university college in 1876, government support began in 1889. Funding from mergers with the Bristol Medical School in 1893 and the Merchant Venturers' Technical College in 1909,<ref>{{cite web|title=Bristol |access-date=6 December 2007 |url=http://www.history-ontheweb.co.uk/uni/bristol.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213091650/http://www.history-ontheweb.co.uk/uni/bristol.htm |archive-date=13 December 2007 }}</ref> allowed the opening of a new medical school and an engineering school – two subjects that remain among the university's greatest strengths. 

In 1908, gifts from the Fry and Wills families, particularly £100,000 from [[Henry Overton Wills III]] (£6m in today's money), were provided to endow a university for Bristol and the West of England, provided that a [[royal charter]] could be obtained within two years. In December 1909, the king granted such a charter and erected the University of Bristol.<ref name="charter" /> Henry Wills became its first [[Chancellor (education)|chancellor]] and [[Conwy Lloyd Morgan]] the first vice-chancellor.<ref name="past-officers">{{cite web | title = Bristol University – Former Officers | publisher = University of Bristol | access-date =22 June 2007 | url = http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cms/go/statutes/records/formerofficers.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927233714/http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cms/go/statutes/records/formerofficers.html |archive-date = 27 September 2007}}</ref> Wills died in 1911 and in tribute his sons [[George Alfred Wills|George]] and [[Henry Herbert Wills|Harry]] built the [[Wills Memorial Building]], starting in 1913 and finally finishing in 1925.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wills Memorial Building |url=http://www.bristol-link.co.uk/history/wills-memorial-building.htm |publisher=Bristol Link |access-date=27 August 2018 |archive-date=15 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115181308/http://www.bristol-link.co.uk/history/wills-memorial-building.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Today, it houses parts of the academic provision for [[earth sciences]] and law, and graduation ceremonies are held in its Great Hall. The Wills Memorial Building is a Grade II* listed building.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=University Tower and Wills Memorial Building and attached front walls and lamps |access-date=6 December 2007 |num=1218203 }}</ref>

In 1920, George Wills bought the [[Victoria Rooms (Bristol)|Victoria Rooms]] and endowed them to the university as a [[students' union]].<ref name="BristolUniversityHistory" />
The building now houses the Department of Music and is a Grade II* listed building.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Victoria Rooms and attached railings and gates |access-date=6 December 2007 |num=1202480 }}</ref>

[[File:King's College London Students Evacuated To Bristol, England, 1940 D433.jpg|thumbnail|left|Evacuated [[King's College London]] students at the University of Bristol in 1940]]
At the point of foundation, the university was required to provide for the local community. This mission was behind the creation of the Department of Extra-Mural Adult Education in 1924 to provide courses to the local community. This mission continues today; a new admissions policy specifically caters to the "BS" [[UK postcodes|postcode]] area of [[Bristol]].<ref name="admit-policy">{{cite web|title=Undergraduate admissions principles and procedures (Home/EU students)|publisher=Bristol University|access-date=8 August 2013|url=http://www.bristol.ac.uk/university/governance/policies/admissions/home-overseas.html}}</ref>

Among the famous names associated with Bristol in this early period is [[Paul Dirac]], who graduated in 1921 with a degree in engineering, before obtaining a second degree in mathematics in 1923 from Cambridge. For his subsequent pioneering work on quantum mechanics, he was awarded the 1933 [[Nobel Prize in Physics]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Notable alumni – Faculty of Engineering | publisher = University of Bristol | access-date = 6 December 2007 | url = http://www.alumni.bristol.ac.uk/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?&pid=280&srcid=190 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Later in the 1920s, the H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory was opened by [[Ernest Rutherford]].<ref>{{cite web | title = History of the Department | publisher = Department of Physics, University of Bristol | access-date =6 December 2007 | url = http://www.phy.bristol.ac.uk/history.html}}</ref> It has since housed several Nobel Prize winners: [[Cecil Frank Powell]] (1950);<ref>{{cite web | title = The Nobel Prize in Physics 1950 | publisher = The Nobel Foundation | access-date =6 December 2007 | url = http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1950/}}</ref> [[Hans Albrecht Bethe]] (1967);<ref>{{cite web | title = Hans Bethe – Biography | publisher = The Nobel Foundation | access-date =6 December 2007 | url = http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1967/bethe-bio.html}}</ref> and [[Nevill Francis Mott]] (1977).<ref>{{cite web | title = Sir Nevill F. Mott | publisher = The Nobel Foundation | access-date =6 December 2007 | url = http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1977/mott-bio.html}}</ref> The laboratory stands on the same site today, close to the [[Bristol Grammar School]] and the city museum.

[[Winston Churchill]] became the university's third chancellor in 1929, serving the university in that capacity until 1965.<ref name="BristolUniversityHistory" /> He succeeded [[Richard Haldane]] who had held the office from 1912 following the death of Henry Wills.<ref name="archives-hub" /><ref name="past-officers" />

During World War II, the Wills Memorial was bombed, destroying the Great Hall and the organ it housed,<ref name="BristolUniversityHistory" /> along with 7,000 books removed from [[King's College London]] for safe keeping. It has since been restored, complete with oak panelled walls and a new organ.

=== Post-war development ===

In 1946, the university established the first drama department in the country.<ref name="BristolUniversityHistory" /> In the same year, Bristol began offering special entrance [[exam]]s and [[Grant (money)|grants]] to aid the resettlement of servicemen returning home. Student numbers continued to increase, and the Faculty of Engineering eventually needed the new premises that were to become Queen's Building in 1955. This substantial building housed all of the university's engineers until 1996, when the [[electrical engineering]] and [[Department of Computer Science, University of Bristol|computer science]] departments moved over the road into the new Merchant Venturers' Building to make space for these rapidly expanding fields. Today, Queen's Building caters for most of the teaching needs of the faculty and provides academic space for the "heavy" engineering subjects ([[civil engineering|civil]], [[mechanical engineering|mechanical]], and [[Aerospace engineering|aerospace]]).

With unprecedented growth in the 1960s, particularly in undergraduate numbers, the Students' Union eventually acquired larger premises in a new building in the [[Clifton, Bristol|Clifton]] area of the city, in 1965. This building was more spacious than the Victoria Rooms, which were now given over to the Department of Music. The [[University of Bristol Union]] provides many practice and performance rooms, some specialist rooms, as well as three bars: Bar 100, the Mandela (also known as AR2) and the Avon Gorge. Whilst spacious, the Union building is thought by many to be ugly<ref>{{cite web | title = The Students' Union | publisher = University of Bristol Union | access-date =6 December 2007 | url = http://www.bristol.ac.uk/union/altprospectus/unilife/union |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071126124416/http://www.bristol.ac.uk/union/altprospectus/unilife/union |archive-date = 26 November 2007}}</ref> and out of character compared to the architecture of the rest of the Clifton area, having been mentioned in a [[BBC]] poll to find the worst architectural eyesores in Britain.<ref>{{cite news | title = What is the worst eyesore in the UK? |work=BBC News | date = 21 November 2003 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/3266673.stm}}</ref> The university has proposed relocating the Union to a more central location as part of its development 'masterplan'.<ref>{{cite web | title = University of Bristol Strategic Masterplan | publisher = University of Bristol | page = 64 | access-date =6 December 2007 | url = http://www.bristol.ac.uk/Depts/Bursar/masterplan06/1masterplan.pdf |date=July 2006 }}</ref> More recently,{{|date=April 2025}} plans for redevelopment of the current building have been proposed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ubu.org.uk/build |title=Building Project – A Better Building for the Students' Union |publisher=University of Bristol Students' Union |access-date=28 January 2011|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211063108/http://ubu.org.uk/build |archive-date=2011-02-11}}</ref>

The 1960s were a time of considerable student activism in the United Kingdom, and Bristol was no exception. In 1968, many students marched in support of the [[Anderson Report (British Education)|Anderson Report]], which called for higher student grants. This discontent culminated in an 11-day sit-in at the Senate House (the administrative headquarters of the university).<ref name="BristolUniversityHistory" /> A series of chancellors and vice-chancellors led the university through these decades, with [[Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort]] taking over from Churchill as chancellor in 1965 before being succeeded by [[Dorothy Hodgkin]] in 1970 who spent the next 18 years in the office.<ref name="past-officers" />

As the age of mass higher education dawned, Bristol continued to build its student numbers. The various undergraduate residences were repeatedly expanded and, more recently, some postgraduate residences have been constructed. These more recent ventures have been funded (and are run) by external companies in agreement with the university.

[[File:Victoria Rooms (750px).jpg|thumb|The Victoria Rooms, housing the School of Music]]
One of the few [[Centre for Deaf Studies, Bristol|centres for deaf studies]] in the United Kingdom was established in Bristol in 1981, followed in 1988 by the Norah Fry Centre for research into learning difficulties. Also in 1988, and again in 2004,<ref>{{cite news| title = Students' union breaks from NUS| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/3463995.stm|work=BBC News| date = 5 February 2004| access-date =20 December 2007}}</ref> the Students' Union AGM voted to disaffiliate from the [[National Union of Students (United Kingdom)|National Union of Students]] (NUS). On both occasions, however, the subsequent referendum of all students reversed that decision and Bristol remains affiliated to the NUS.

In 1988, Sir [[Jeremy Morse]], then chairman of [[Lloyds Bank]], became chancellor.

=== 21st century ===

As the number of postgraduate students has grown (particularly the numbers pursuing taught master's degrees), there eventually became a need for separate representation on university bodies and the Postgraduate Union (PGU) was established in 2000.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.pgu.org.uk/yourpgu/| title = General introduction of the PGU| access-date =20 December 2007| publisher = University of Bristol Postgraduate Union|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071227191758/http://www.pgu.org.uk/yourpgu/ |archive-date = 27 December 2007}}</ref> Universities are increasingly expected to exploit the intellectual property generated by their research activities and, in 2000, Bristol established the Research and Enterprise Division (RED) to further this cause (particularly for technology-based businesses). In 2001, the university signed a 25-year research funding deal with IP2IPO, an intellectual property commercialisation company.<ref>{{cite news | title = Bristol signs commercial research funding deal |work=The Guardian  | first = Donald |last=MacLeod | date = 5 December 2005 | access-date =3 December 2007 | url = http://education.guardian.co.uk/businessofresearch/story/0,,1658169,00.html | location=London}}</ref> In 2007, research activities were expanded further with the opening of the Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science (ACCIS) and The Bristol Institute for Public Affairs (BIPA).

In 2002, the university was involved in an argument over press intrusion after details of then-prime minister [[Tony Blair]]'s son's application to university were published in national newspapers. In the same year, the university opened the new Centre for Sports, Exercise and Health in the heart of the university precinct.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sport/about/| title = Bristol University – Centre for Sport, Exercise & Health – About us| access-date = 20 December 2007| date = 2 October 2007| publisher = University of Bristol| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071030093119/http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sport/about/| archive-date = 30 October 2007| df = dmy-all}}</ref> At a cost, local residents can also use the facilities.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sport/community| title = Bristol University – Centre for Sport, Exercise & Health – community programmes| access-date =20 December 2007| date = 28 September 2007| publisher = University of Bristol|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071126122458/http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sport/community |archive-date = 26 November 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Bristol University from Cabot Tower.jpg|thumb|left|Most of the buildings here are used by the university. The [[Wills Memorial Building]] is left of centre. Viewed from the [[Cabot Tower (Bristol)|Cabot Tower]] on Brandon Hill]]

[[Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond|Brenda Hale]], the first female [[Law Lord]], became chancellor of the university in 2003.<ref name="archives-hub" /><ref name="past-officers" /> [[Paul Nurse]] succeeded Lady Hale as chancellor on 1 January 2017.

Expansion of teaching and research activities continues. In 2004, the Faculty of Engineering completed work on the Bristol Laboratory for Advanced Dynamics Engineering (BLADE). This £18.5m project<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.bristol.ac.uk/university/gallery/places/blade.html| title = Places – BLADE| access-date =20 December 2007| date = 20 December 2007| publisher = University of Bristol|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181805/http://www.bristol.ac.uk/university/gallery/places/blade.html |archive-date = 30 September 2007}}</ref> is intended to further the study of dynamics and is the most advanced such facility in Europe.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Saouma |first1=Victor |last2=Sivaselvan |first2=Mettupalayam |title=Hybrid Simulation: Theory, Implementation and Applications |date=2014 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9781482288612 |page=217 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HUtZDwAAQBAJ&q=Bristol+Laboratory+for+Advanced+Dynamics+Engineering+%28BLADE%29+advanced+Europe&pg=PA217}}</ref> It was built as an extension to the Queen's Building and was officially opened by [[Queen Elizabeth II]] in March 2005.

In January 2005, the School of Chemistry was awarded £4.5m by the [[Higher Education Funding Council for England]] to create Bristol ChemLabS: a Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL),<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.chm.bristol.ac.uk/whatsnew/cetl.htm| title = CETL – A£14M Boost for Teaching and Learning in Bristol Chemistry – 27/01/05| access-date = 20 December 2007| date = 14 December 2007| publisher = University of Bristol}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> with an additional £350k announced for the capital part of the project in February 2006. Bristol ChemLabS stands for Bristol Chemical Laboratory Sciences; it is the only chemistry CETL in the UK.

September 2009 saw the opening of the university's [[Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information]]. This £11 million building is known as the quietest building in the world{{clarify|date=March 2020}} and has other technologically sophisticated features such as self-cleaning glass. Advanced research into quantum computing, nanotechnology, materials and other disciplines are being undertaken in the building.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2009/6531.html| title = 'Quietest' building in the world opens today | access-date =15 September 2011| publisher = University of Bristol}}</ref>

There is also a plan to significantly redevelop the centre of the University Precinct in the coming years.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.bristol.ac.uk/Depts/Bursar/masterplan.html| title = University of Bristol Masterplan| access-date =20 December 2007| last = Bowden| first = Chris| date = 10 September 2007| publisher = University of Bristol}}</ref> The first step began in September 2011, with the start of construction of a state-of-the-art Life Sciences building.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2011/7931.html| title = New £50 million University building to transform a key area of Bristol | access-date =21 October 2011| publisher = University of Bristol}}</ref>

In 2018 while building work was underway in the [[Fry Building]],<ref>{{cite web|title=University of Bristol: Fry Building|url=http://www.wilkinsoneyre.com/projects/university-of-bristol-fry-building|publisher=WilkinsonEyre|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Work to create £33 million mathematics building gets underway|url=http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2016/march/fry-building.html|publisher=University of Bristol|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> the building caught fire.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bristol University fire: Live updates as Fry building undergoing major refurb goes up in flames with smoke seen across city|url=http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/park-street-fire-live-updates-1021777|access-date=6 January 2018|work=Bristol Post|date=6 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Bristol University fire: Crews tackle campus blaze|work=BBC News|date=6 January 2018|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-42591375|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref>

In 2024 the university revised their emblem, removing the dolphin emblem because of its connection to the slave trader Edward Colston and adding an image of moving pages and a bookmark.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cork |first1=Tristran |title=Bristol University drops Edward Colston dolphin from its logo |url=https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-university-drops-edward-colston-9125213 |work=[[Bristol Live]] |date=26 February 2024}}</ref>

In 2025, BristolSEDS, a student society within the University, successfully hot-fired a 6 kilo-newton bi-propellant rocket engine, claiming the record for the highest thrust of an engine of this type designed by students in the UK. <ref>{{cite news |last1=Idikakalu | first1=Ike | title=University of Bristol students break rocket thrust record in historic test | url=https://thetab.com/2025/01/20/university-of-bristol-students-break-rocket-thrust-record-in-historic-test |work=The Bristol Tab | date=20 January 2025}} </ref>