Birmingham

Birmingham
Birmingham
	City and Metropolitan borough
	; Flag ; Coat of arms
	Etymology: Old English Beormingahām (home or settlement of the Beormingas)
	Nickname(s): Brum; Brummagem; Second city; City of a thousand trades; Workshop of the world; Venice of the north;
	Motto(s): Forward
	Birmingham shown within the West Midlands county
	Birmingham Location within England Birmingham Location within the United Kingdom Birmingham Location within Europe
	Coordinates: 52°28′59″N 1°53′37″W / 52.48306°N 1.89361°WCoordinates: 52°28′59″N 1°53′37″W / 52.48306°N 1.89361°W
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	West Midlands
Ceremonial county	West Midlands
Historic county	Warwickshire
Settlement	c. 600
Seigneurial borough	1166
Municipal borough	1838
City status	14 January 1889
Metropolitan borough	1 April 1974
Administrative HQ	The Council House,; Victoria Square
Government
• Type	Metropolitan borough
• Body	Birmingham City Council
• Leadership	Leader and cabinet
• Executive
• Leader	Vacant (Deputy Leader Ian Ward, acting)
• Lord Mayor	Anne Underwood
• Chief Executive (Interim)	Stella Manzie CBE
Area
• City	103.4 sq mi (267.8 km2)
• Urban	231.2 sq mi (598.9 km2)
Area rank	151st
Elevation	460 ft (140 m)
Population (2005 est.)
• City	1,124,600
• Rank	1st
• Density	10,880/sq mi (4,199/km2)
• Urban	2,440,986 (3rd)
• Metro	4,332,629 (List of metropolitan areas in Europe)
Demonym(s)	Brummie
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Postcode	B
Area code(s)	0121
ISO 3166 code	GB-BIR
GSS code	E08000025
NUTS 3 code	UKG31
ONS code	00CN
OS grid reference	SP066868
Motorways	M6; M6 Toll; M5; M42; A38(M)
Ethnicity; (2011 Census)	57.9% White (53.1% White British); 26.6% Asian; 8.9% Black; 4.4% Mixed Race; 2.0% Other;
International airports	Birmingham (BHX)
Major railway stations	Birmingham New Street (A); Birmingham Moor Street (B); Birmingham Snow Hill (C1)
GDP	US$ 121.1 billion (2nd)
– Per capita	US$ 31,572
Councillors	120
MPs	List Richard Burden (L); Liam Byrne (L); Jack Dromey (L); Roger Godsiff (L); Khalid Mahmood (L); Shabana Mahmood (L); Steve McCabe (L); Andrew Mitchell (C); Jess Phillips (L); Preet Gill (L);
European Parliament	West Midlands
Website	www.birmingham.gov.uk

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. More than one million people live in Birmingham. It is also within the UK's second biggest metropolitan area, which contains nearly 4 million people. It contains a wide variety of creeds, races and religious communities. The city is often refered to by locals as 'Town' or 'Brum'. Those born and brought up in Birmingham are called Brummies. Many people call it the "second city" of the United Kingdom.

HistoryEdit

A Victorian building in Birmingham, faced with terracotta tiles

Birmingham began as a small town in 1166. Queen Victoria gave city status to Birmingham in 1889.

Many industries were developed in Birmingham during the 18th and 19th centuries. These included making weapons and food.

Birmingham manufacturing industry played a big role in the war effort in World War I and World War II. The WWII spitfire aeroplane was made in Birmingham. In 2000, a statue of stylised spitfires was erected next to the old factory site. The factory now makes Jaguar cars. Birmingham had a large car making industry. It has declined since the 1980s. It remains the home town for Jaguar and Land Rover cars.

In 1974, twenty-one people were killed in the Birmingham pub bombings.

Famous people from BirminghamEdit

Gabriel Agbonlahor, footballer
Geoff Bunn, artist
Geezer Butler, musician and Black Sabbath member
Jasper Carrott, comedian
Tony Iommi, musician and Black Sabbath member
Jeff Lynne, musician and record producer, co-founder of Electric Light Orchestra
Bill Oddie, television personality
Ozzy Osbourne, singer, and Black Sabbath member
James and Oliver Phelps, actors, famous for playing Fred and George Weasley in the Harry Potter film series
J.R.R. Tolkien, author
Julie Walters, actor
Steve Winwood, musician

Famous pop and rock groups from BirminghamEdit

Black Sabbath, heavy metal rock group
Dexys Midnight Runners, pop group
Duran Duran, pop group
Judas Priest, rock group
Moody Blues, pop group
The Move, pop group
UB40, pop group
Wizzard, pop group

ReferencesEdit

↑ "2011 Census: Key Statistics for Local Authorities in England and Wales". ONS. Retrieved 25 December 2012
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 "Global city GDP 2014". Brookings Institution. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2014.

Other websitesEdit

This short article about the United Kingdom can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.

[2011censusdemo-1] "2011 Census: Key Statistics for Local Authorities in England and Wales". ONS. Retrieved 25 December 2012

[brookingsgdp-2] 2.0 ^2.1 "Global city GDP 2014". Brookings Institution. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2014.

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