The University of Cambridge (also called Cambridge University) is in Cambridge, England. It is the second-oldest university in all English-speaking countries. It is one of the world's leading places of learning.
The University started as a group of scholars in the city of Cambridge. This may have started in 1209 when scholars left Oxford after a fight with local people. The universities of Oxford and Cambridge are often called Oxbridge. This is not a different university. It is a way of saying Oxford and Cambridge together. Cambridge University and Oxford University are both crucial to the history of England.
Cambridge is usually ranked in the world's top five universities. UK rankings and tests on the quality of its research also rate it very highly. Cambridge has more than 18,000 students and many sports clubs and societies.
Many important people studied at the University of Cambridge, including scientists, poets, artists, politicians and members of the British Royal Family. 121 former students and staff from Cambridge later won a Nobel Prize.
History
The official creation of the University was in 1231 when King Henry III of England gave people the right to teach students and lower taxes. A letter from Pope Gregory IX in 1233 also gave the right to everyone who got a degree from Cambridge to teach in any place in the Christian world.
In 1290, Pope Nicholas IV called Cambridge a studium generale (name for a university in Medieval times). From that point, many researchers and teachers from other European universities started to come to Cambridge to work or give lessons.
Building the colleges
Colleges started as places for students and teachers to live. They were called hostels at first. The students paid money to build and run these hostels. All colleges were formed after the beginning of the University. Over the years, colleges bought all of these hostels back. However, some old names still resist today, such as Garret Hostel Lane which was named after Garret Hostel.
Peterhouse was the first official college to be created in 1284. Many followed over the centuries and today there are 31. The last one, Robinson, was built in the 1970s. Many of these have a chapel because the members should have prayed for the soul of the founders (the people who created the college).
The role of the University in the Protestant Reformation
The University was one of the most important places where the Protestant Reformation began. The Protestant Reformation was a movement in Europe where people started disagreeing with certain teachings of the Catholic Church In fact, people started talking about Lutheranism - a type of Protestantism - very early in Cambridge. Thomas Cranmer, who became a central figure in reform, studied at Cambridge.
A century later, some people in Cambridge started to think that the Church of England was still too much like the Catholic church. They started the Puritan movement. This produced more than 20,000 people who left for New England around 1620 in search of a place with better religious beliefs. Oliver Cromwell, a very important member of this movement, was a student at Sidney Sussex College during this time.
Mathematics and Physics
Cambridge has been strong in applied mathematics since Isaac Newton was a student here in the 17th century. Every student had to study maths to obtain a degree. The degree was awarded as a Bachelor of Arts which mixed both arts and science subjects. Several important early physicists studied at Cambridge. They include James Clerk Maxwell, Lord Kelvin and Lord Rayleigh. Pure mathematics was slower to catch up, but Cambridge is still famous for it thanks to people like G.H. Hardy.
Six maths graduates from Cambridge won Fields Medals and one got an Abel Prize. These are the world's highest awards for mathematicians. Four other researchers at Cambridge also won Fields Medals.