Birmingham
Birmingham (/ˈbɜːrmɪŋəm/ (
listen)[3] BUR-ming-əm) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is the second-largest metropolitan area and city in the United Kingdom. About 1.1 million people live in Birmingham. Around 4.3 million people live in its metropolitan area.[4][5][6] Many people call it the "second city" of the United Kingdom..[7][8][9]
Birmingham | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clockwise, from top: the city centre from the south, Birmingham Town Hall, St Martin's church and the Selfridges Building in the Bull Ring, the University of Birmingham, St Philip's Cathedral, and the Library of Birmingham | ||||||||
 Coat of arms | ||||||||
| Etymology: Old English Beormingahām (home or settlement of the Beormingas) | ||||||||
Nickname(s):
| ||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||
| 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) [1] |
| |||||||
| International airports | Birmingham (BHX) | |||||||
| Major railway stations | Birmingham New Street (A) Birmingham Moor Street (B) Birmingham Snow Hill (C1) | |||||||
| GDP | US$ 121.1 billion[2] (2nd) | |||||||
| – Per capita | US$ 31,572[2] | |||||||
| Councillors | 120 | |||||||
| MPs | ||||||||
| Website | www.birmingham.gov.uk | |||||||
HistoryEdit
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.
- ↑ "Birmingham". Wordreference.com.
- ↑ "POPULATION OF BIRMINGHAM 2017 (UK)". Country Digest. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ↑ "Population and Census". Birmingham City Council. 7 July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015.
- ↑ "2011 Census: Population and household estimates fact file, unrounded estimates, local authorities in England and Wales (Excel sheet 708Kb)" (xls). Office for National Statistics. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ↑ "England's second city: Birmingham". Britain Magazine. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
- ↑ "Nation's 'second city', Birmingham, is UK's fastest growing regional tourist destination, according to figures". This is Money. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
- ↑ "An ode to Birmingham: how can the UK's second city fix its image problem?". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
Other websitesEdit
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