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Oxford, city, EnglandOxford, city (1991 pop. 113,847) and district, county seat of Oxfordshire, S central England. In addition to its importance as the site of Oxford Univ. Oxford University, at Oxford, England, one of the oldest English-language universities in the world. The university was a leading center of learning throughout the Middle Ages; such scholars as Roger Bacon, Duns Scotus, John Wyclif, and Bishop Grosseteste were..... Click the link for more information. , the city has significant industries, including the manufacture of automobiles and steel products. Tourism is especially popular. A trading town and frontier fort, it was raided by Danes in the 10th and 11th cent. By the 12th cent., Oxford was the site of a castle, an abbey, and the university. It had foundations of several orders, including the Dominicans and the Gray Friars. During the 13th cent., frequent conflicts arose between the town and the university in which the university, with the support of the church and the king, was usually victorious. During the civil wars, Oxford was the royalist headquarters; it was besieged but not damaged by the parliamentarians. Among its famous historic buildings (apart from the colleges) are the Radcliffe Camera (1737), the Observatory (1772), and Sheldonian Theatre (designed by Christopher Wren Wren, Sir Christopher, 1632–1723, English architect. A mathematical prodigy, he studied at Oxford. He was professor of astronomy at Gresham College, London, from 1657 to 1661, when he became Savilian professor of astronomy at Oxford. ..... Click the link for more information. ); the churches of St. Mary the Virgin (13th cent.) and St. Michael (11th cent.); and several old inns. The chapel (12th cent.) of Christ Church College is also the cathedral church of the city. The Ashmolean Museum (see under Ashmole, Elias Ashmole, Elias , 1617–92, English archaeologist and antiquary. He made exhaustive antiquarian studies, especially The Institution, Laws and Ceremonies of the Order of the Garter (1672) and The Antiquities of Berkshire (3 vol., 1719). ..... Click the link for more information. ) and the Bodleian Library Bodleian Library , at Oxford Univ. The original library, destroyed in the reign of Edward VI, was replaced in 1602, chiefly through the efforts of Sir Thomas Bodley, who gave it valuable collections of books and manuscripts and in his will left a fund for maintenance. ..... Click the link for more information. are notable. Besides the university, Ruskin College (1899) and the public Magdalen College School (c.1480) are in Oxford. Oxford, cities, United StatesOxford.1 Town (1990 pop. 12,588), Worcester co., S Mass.; settled 1687 by French Protestants, inc. 1693. It is chiefly residential, with some light manufacturing. Clara Barton Barton, Clara, 1821–1912, American humanitarian, organizer of the American Red Cross, b. North Oxford (now Oxford), Mass. She taught school (1839–54) and clerked in the U.S. Patent Office before the outbreak of the Civil War. 2 City (1990 pop. 9,984), seat of Lafayette co., N central Miss.; inc. 1837. In a farm area, the city is a trading center and has some light manufacturing, but it is principally a university town, the seat of the Univ. of Mississippi ("Ole Miss"). In 1962, Oxford was the scene of rioting and conflict when the first black student was enrolled in the university. The city was the home of the novelist William Faulkner Faulkner, William, 1897–1962, American novelist, b. New Albany, Miss., one of the great American writers of the 20th cent. Born into an old Southern family named Falkner, he changed the spelling of his last name to Faulkner when he published his first book, a 3 Village (1990 pop. 18,937), Butler co., SW Ohio, near the Ind. line, in a farm area; laid out 1810, inc. 1830. It is a residential college town, the seat of Miami Univ. Nearby is a pioneer farm (1835; now a museum). Oxfordancient OxoniaCity and administrative district (pop., 2001: 134,248), county seat of Oxfordshire, England. Situated on the River Thames, the town is best known for the University of Oxford. First occupied in Saxon times as a fording point, it became a burg, built to defend the northern frontier of Wessex from Danish attack; it was first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of AD 912. Little remains of the town's Norman period of occupation. Oxford is generally known as the “City of Spires” because of its skyline of Gothic towers and steeples. Most of these 15th–17th-century buildings belong to the university. The city was the Royalist headquarters in the English Civil Wars. Its modern economy is varied and includes, in addition to educational services, printing and publishing industries and automobile manufacturing. Oxford 1. a city in S England, administrative centre of Oxfordshire, at the confluence of the Rivers Thames and Cherwell: Royalist headquarters during the Civil War; seat of Oxford University, consisting of 40 separate colleges, the oldest being University College (1249), and Oxford Brookes University (1993); motor-vehicle industry. Pop.: 143 016 (2001) 2. a breed of sheep with middle-length wool and a dark brown face and legs 3. a lightweight fabric of plain or twill weave used esp for men's shirts Oxford one of two leading British universities (c. 1167); consists of 34 colleges. [Br. Education: Payton, 502] See : Education Oxford a city in England, on the Thames River. Administrative center of Oxfordshire. Population, 108,600 (1971). Important transportation junction and commercial center. In Cowley, a suburb of Oxford, there are large automobile works (the British Leyland Motor Corporation), where 75 percent of Oxford’s industrial workers are employed. Other important industries include electrical engineering and printing. Oxford arose as a settlement, apparently, in the eighth century. It was first mentioned in written sources in 912. The settlement was an important fortress. Founded in the late 12th century, Oxford University is the oldest university in Great Britain and one of the oldest universities in Europe. In 1541, Oxford became the seat of the English bishopric. During the civil war of 1642–46, the city was the headquarters of Charles I and his supporters. Oxford has numerous gardens and has retained its medieval regular layout, thanks to the rectangular courtyards of the colleges. Also preserved are the late Romanesque cathedral (mostly 12th century), Romanesque and Gothic churches, the classical Sheldonian Theater (1664–69, architect C. Wren), and the classical Radcliffe Camera (1737–49, architect G. Gibbs). Among the colleges, late Gothic buildings of the “decorative” and “perpendicular” style predominate. Additions to the buildings are in the classical (architects C. Wren and others) and Gothic revival (architects W. Butterfield, A. Waterhouse, and others) styles. The industrial zone, which has been developing since the 1920’s, is strictly set apart from the university, and modern buildings are organically combined with old structures. The Ashmolean Museum, containing the university’s archaeological and art collections, is located in Oxford. Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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