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John Cheke

John Cheke

Sir John Cheke (16 June 1514 - 13 September 1557) was an English classical scholar and statesman, notable as the first Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge. The son of Peter Cheke, esquire-bedell of Cambridge University, he was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, where he became a fellow in 1529. While there he adopted the principles of the Reformation. His learning gained him an exhibition from the king, and in 1540, on Henry VIII's foundation of the regius professorships, he was elected to the chair of Greek. Amongst his pupils at St John's were William Cecil, later Lord Burghley, who married Cheke's sister Mary, and Roger Ascham, who in The Scholemaster gives Cheke the highest praise for scholarship and character. Together with Sir Thomas Smith, he introduced a new method of Greek pronunciation very similar to that commonly used in England in the 19th century. It was strenuously opposed in the University, where the continental method prevailed, and Bishop Gardiner, as chancellor, issued a decree against it (June 1542); but Cheke ultimately triumphed. On July 10 1544 he was confirmed as tutor to the future King Edward VI of England, to teach him ‘of toungues, of the scripture, of philosophie and all liberal sciences’ (BL, Cotton MS Nero C.x, fol. 11r). (This source and others have mistakenly placed this appointment in 1554 which is impossible because Edward was already dead by then). After his pupil's accession to the throne he continued in this role. Cheke was active in public life; he sat, as member for Bletchingley, for the parliaments of 1547 and 1552-1553; he was made provost of King's College, Cambridge (1 April 1548), was one of the commissioners for visiting that university as well as the University of Oxford and Eton College, and was appointed with seven divines to draw up a body of laws for the governance of the church. On 11 October 1551 he was knighted; in June 1553 he was made one of the secretaries of state, and joined the privy council. His zeal for Protestantism led him to follow the Duke of Northumberland, and he filled the office of secretary of state for Lady Jane Grey during her nine days' reign. In consequence, Mary threw him into the Tower of London (27 July 1553), and confiscated his property. He was, however, released on 3 September 1554, and granted permission to travel abroad. He went first to Basel, then visited Italy, giving lectures in Greek at Padua, where he entertained Sir Philip Hoby. He finally settled at Strasbourg, teaching Greek for his living. In the spring of 1556 he visited Brussels to see his wife; on his way back, between Brussels and Antwerp, he and Sir Peter Carew were seized (15 May) by order of Philip II of Spain, taken to England, and imprisoned in the Tower. Cheke was visited by two priests and by Dr John Feckenham, dean of St Paul's, whom he had formerly tried to convert to Protestantism, and, terrified by the prospect of being burned at the stake, he agreed to be received into the Church of Rome by Cardinal Pole. Overcome with shame, he did not long survive, but died in London, carrying, as Thomas Fuller says (Church History), "God's pardon and all good men's pity along with him." About 1547 Cheke married Mary, daughter of Richard Hill, sergeant of the wine-cellar to Henry VIII, and by her he had three sons. The descendants of one of these, Henry, known only for his translation of an Italian morality play Freewyl (Tragedio del Libero Arbitrio) by Nigri de Bassano, settled at Pyrgo in Essex. Thomas Wilson, in the epistle prefixed to his translation of the Olynthiacs of Demosthenes (1570), has a long and most interesting eulogy of Cheke; and Thomas Nash, in To the Gentlemen Students, prefixed to Robert Greene's Menaphon (1589), calls him "the Exchequer of eloquence, Sir John Cheke, a man of men, supernaturally traded in all tongues." Many of Cheke's works are still in manuscript, some have been altogether lost. One of the most interesting from a historical point of view is the Hurt of Sedition how greneous it is to a Communeweith (1549), written on the occasion of Ket's rebellion, republished in 1569, 1576 and 1641, on the last occasion with a life of the author by Gerard Langbaine. Others are D. Joannis Chrysostomi homiliae duae (1543), D. Joannis Chrysostomi de providentia Dei (1545), The Gospel according to St Matthew translated (c. 1550; ed. James Goodwin, 1843), De obitu Martini Buceri (1551), (Pope Leo VI's) de Apparatu bellico (Basel, 1554; but dedicated to Henry VIII, 1544), Carmen Heroicum, aut epithium in Antonium Dencium (1551), De pronuntiatione Graecae ... linguae (Basel, 1555). He also translated several Greek works, and lectured admirably upon Demosthenes. His Life was written by John Strype (1821); additions by J. Gough Nichols in Archaeologia (1860), xxxviii. 98, I27.

Notes

From the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica: "On. the 10th of July 1554, he was chosen as tutor to Prince Edward" but compare Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004), Sir John Cheke Cheke, John Cheke, John Cheke, John Cheke, John

16 June

June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining.

Events

- 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses
- 1586 - Mary Queen of Scots recognizes Philip II of Spain as her heir
- 1745 - British troops take Cape Breton Island, which is now part of Nova Scotia, Canada
- 1745 - Sir William Pepperell captures the French Fortress Louisbourg in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia during the War of the Austrian Succession.
- 1746 - War of Austrian Succession: Austria and Sardinia defeat a Franco-Spanish army at the Battle of Piacenza
- 1755 - French and Indian War: French surrender Fort Beauséjour to the British, leading to the expulsion of the Acadians
- 1774 - Formation of Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
- 1779 - Spain declares war on Britain and the siege of Gibraltar begins
- 1815 - Battle of Ligny and Battle of Quatre Bras, two days before Waterloo.
- 1836 - Formation of the London Working Men's Association begins the Chartist Movement
- 1846 - The Papal conclave of 1846 concludes. Pope Pius IX is elected pope, beginning the longest reign in the history of the post-apostolic papacy.
- 1858 - Abraham Lincoln's House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois
- 1858 - Battle of Morar, during the Indian Mutiny.
- 1871 - University Tests Act allows students to enter the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham without religious tests, except for courses in theology.
- 1884 - The first roller coaster in the United States begins operation at Coney Island, New York
- 1891 - John Abbott becomes Canada's third prime minister.
- 1902 - Australia: Female British subjects (with the glaring exception of Asians, Aborigines and Africans) won the vote with the Uniform Franchise Act.
- 1903 - Ford Motor Company incorporates.
- 1903 - Roald Amundsen commences first east-west navigation of the Northwest Passage by leaving Oslo, Norway.
- 1904 - Eugen Schauman assassinates Nikolai Bobrikov, Governor-General of Finland.
- 1904 - Leopold Bloom walks around Dublin. (see Ulysses) Known as Bloomsday.
- 1911 - A 772 gram stony meteorite struck earth near Kilbourn, Columbia County, Wisconsin damaging a barn.
- 1915 - Foundation of the British Women's Institute
- 1922 - General election in Irish Free State: large majority to pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
- 1924 - Whampoa Military Academy is founded
- 1925 - The most famous Young Pioneer camp of the USSR, Artek established.
- 1940 - World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Premier of Vichy France
- 1940 - A Communist government is installed in Lithuania
- 1948 - The storming of the cockpit of the Miss Macao passenger seaplane, operated by the Cathay Pacific airline, marks the first skyjacking of a commercial plane.
- 1955 - Pope Pius XII excommunicates Juan Perón
- 1956 - Ted Hughes marries Sylvia Plath
- 1960 - Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho opens in New York
- 1961 - Rudolf Nureyev defects at Le Bourget airport in Paris
- 1962 - Two U.S. Army officers are killed in Saigon,Vietnam.
- 1963 - Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space
- 1972 - Burglars are caught breaking into the United States Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate building
- 1972 - Red Army Faction member Ulrike Meinhof is captured by police in Langenhagen.
- 1972 - Opening of the New York Jazz Museum
- 1972 - Largest single-site hydro-electric power project starts at Churchill Falls Newfoundland
- 1976 - Apartheid: A non-violent march by 15000 students in Soweto, South Africa turns into days of rioting when police open fire on the crowd and kill 566 children.
- 1977 - Leonid Brezhnev becomes president of the USSR
- 1981 - Ken Taylor honoured for helping six Americans escape from Iran during hostage crisis
- 1983 - Yuri Andropov becomes president of the USSR
- 1994 - A Chinese operated Northwest Airlines Tupolev TU-154 crashes 10 minutes after takeoff killing 160
- 1995 - The Astronomy Picture of the Day was born
- 1996 - First round of voting in the Russian presidential election
- 1997 - Dairat Labguer massacre in Algeria; some 50 people killed.
- 1999 - Thabo Mbeki elected President of South Africa.
- 2001 - George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin meet in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia
- 2002 - Politically Incorrect is cancelled (from sponsors dropping the show) after host Bill Maher makes controversial comments on air regarding the integrity of President George W. Bush.
- 2003 - The Hatfields and McCoys sign a formal truce.

Births

- 1139 - Emperor Konoe of Japan (d. 1155)
- 1313 - Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian writer (d. 1375)
- 1514 - John Cheke, English classical scholar (d. 1557)
- 1583 - Axel Oxenstierna, Swedish statesman (d. 1654)
- 1591 - Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, Italian physician, mathematician, and music theorist (d. 1655)
- 1606 - Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall, Irish soldier (d. 1675)
- 1612 - Murad IV, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1640)
- 1613 - John Cleveland, English poet (d. 1658)
- 1633 - Jean de Thévenot, French traveler and scientist (d. 1667)
- 1644 - Henrietta Anne Stuart, Princess of Scotland, England and Ireland and Duchess of Orléans (d. 1670)
- 1713 - Meshech Weare, Governor of New Hamphsire (d. 1786)
- 1738 - Mary Katharine Goddard, American printer and publisher (d. 1816)
- 1792 - John Linnell, English artist (d. 1882)
- 1792 - Sir Thomas Mitchell, Australian explorer (d. 1855)
- 1801 - Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist (d. 1868)
- 1806 - Edward Davy, English physician, chemist, and inventor (d. 1885)
- 1813 - Otto Jahn, German archaeologist (d. 1869)
- 1820 - Athanase Coquerel, French protestant preacher (d. 1875)
- 1826 - Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist and botanist (d. 1897)
- 1829 - Geronimo, Apache leader (d. 1909)
- 1836 - Wesley Merritt, American soldier (d. 1910)
- 1837 - Ernst Laas, German philosopher (d. 1885)
- 1838 - Cushman Davis, American politician (d. 1900)
- 1840 - Ernst Otto Schlick, German engineer (d. 1913)
- 1858 - King Gustav V of Sweden (d. 1950)
- 1874 - Arthur Meighen, ninth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1960)
- 1880 - Otto Eisenschiml, Austrian-American chemist and historian (d. 1963)
- 1890 - Stan Laurel, British-born actor and comedian (d. 1965)
- 1896 - Murray Leinster, American author (d. 1976)
- 1897 - Georg Wittig, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1902 - Barbara McClintock, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1992)
- 1902 - George Gaylord Simpson, American paleontologist (d. 1984)
- 1903 - Helen Traubel, American soprano (d. 1972)
- 1907 - Jack Albertson, American actor (d. 1981)
- 1909 - Archie Fairley Carr, biologist (d. 1987)
- 1910 - Juan Velasco, President of Peru (d. 1977)
- 1912 - Enoch Powell, British politician (d. 1998)
- 1914 - Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete (d. 1956)
- 1916 - Hank Luisetti, baseball player (d. 2002)
- 1917 - Katharine Graham, American publisher (d. 2001)
- 1917 - Irving Penn, American photographer
- 1920 - José López Portillo, President of Mexico (d. 2004)
- 1920 - John Howard Griffin, American writer (d. 1980)
- 1927 - Tom Graveney, English cricketer
- 1927 - Herbert Lichtenfeld, German author and playwright (d. 2001)
- 1929 - Ramon Bieri, American actor (d. 2001)
- 1930 - Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian cinematographer
- 1934 - Dame Eileen Atkins, English actress
- 1934 - William Forsyth Sharpe, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1935 - Jim Dine, American artist
- 1937 - Erich Segal, American author
- 1938 - James Bolam, English actor
- 1938 - Joyce Carol Oates, American novelist
- 1940 - Neil Goldschmidt, Governor of Oregon
- 1941 - Lamont Dozier, American record company executive
- 1942 - Giacomo Agostini, Italian motorcyclist
- 1947 - -minu, Swiss columnist and writer
- 1949 - Paulo César Lima, Brazilian football player
- 1951 - Roberto Durán, Panamanian boxer
- 1952 - George Papandreou, junior, Greek politician
- 1952 - Gino Vannelli, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1955 - Laurie Metcalf, American actress
- 1966 - Jan Zelezný, Czech athlete
- 1967 - John Franklin, American actor
- 1969 - Mark Crossley, Welsh footballer
- 1970 - Phil Mickelson, American golfer
- 1970 - James Shaffer, American guitarist (KoЯn)
- 1971 - Derek R. Audette, Canadian artist and poet
- 1971 - Tupac Amaru Shakur, Born Lesan Parish Crooks (Mother changes name at early age), American West Coast Gangsta Rapper
- 1972 - Hank von Helvete, Norwegian musician
- 1977 - Kerry Wood, baseball player
- 1980 - Joey Yung, Hong Kong singer
- 1980 - Nehir Erdoğan, Turkish actress
- 1988 - Keshia Chanté, Canadian singer

Deaths

- AD 1216 - Pope Innocent III
- 1397 - Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, French soldier (b. 1358)
- 1464 - Roger van der Weyden, Flemish painter (b. 1399)
- 1468 - Jean Le Fevre, Burgundian chronicler (b. ca. 1395)
- 1622 - Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline, Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1555)
- 1623 - Christian, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, German protestant military leader (b. 1599)
- 1666 - Richard Fanshawe, English poet, translator, and diplomat (b. 1608)
- 1671 - Stenka Razin, Cossack rebel leader (executed)
- 1707 - Marie d'Orleans-Longueville, Duchess de Nemours, sovereign princess of Neuchâtel and writer (b. 1625)
- 1722 - John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general (b. 1650)
- 1749 - Johann Baptista Ruffini, Italian trader (b. 1672)
- 1752 - Giulio Alberoni, Spanish cardinal (b. 1664)
- 1752 - Joseph Butler, English philosopher (b. 1692)
- 1777 - Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset, French poet and dramatist (b. 1709)
- 1778 - Konrad Ekhof, German actor (b. 1720)
- 1779 - Sir Francis Bernard, Governor of New Jersey and Massachusetts (b. 1712)
- 1804 - Johann Hiller, German composer (b. 1728)
- 1849 - Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette, German theologian (b. 1780)
- 1855 - John Gorrie, American physician (b. 1803)
- 1858 - John Snow, English obstetrician (b. 1813)
- 1866 - Joseph Méry French poet (b. 1798)
- 1869 - Charles Sturt, English explorer (b. 1795)
- 1872 - Norman MacLeod, Scottish clergyman (b. 1812)
- 1878 - Crawford Long, American physician (b. 1815)
- 1881 - Sir Josiah Mason, English manufacturer (b. 1795)
- 1885 - Wilhelm Camphausen, German painter (b. 1818)
- 1894 - William Calder Marshall, Scottish sculptor (b. 1813)
- 1925 - Chittaranjan Das, Indian patriot and freedom fighter (b. 1870)
- 1925 - Emmett Hardy, American musician (b. 1903)
- 1930 - Elmer Ambrose Sperry, American inventor (b. 1860)
- 1940 - DuBose Heyward, American writer (b. 1885)
- 1944 - Marc Bloch, French historian (executed) (b. 1886)
- 1953 - Margaret Bondfield, English politician and feminist (b. 1873)
- 1958 - Imre Nagy, Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1895)
- 1959 - George Reeves, American actor (b. 1914)
- 1969 - Harold Alexander, British military commander (b. 1891)
- 1970 - Heino Eller, Estonian composer (b. 1887)
- 1970 - Brian Piccolo, American football player (b. 1943)
- 1971 - Lord Reith, British broadcast executive (b. 1889)
- 1977 - Wernher von Braun, German-born rocket scientist (b. 1912)
- 1979 - Nicholas Ray, American film director (b. 1911)
- 1981 - Jule Gregory Charney, meteorologist (b. 1917)
- 1986 - Maurice Duruflé, French composer and organist (b. 1902)
- 1988 - Kim Milford, American actor (b. 1951)
- 1993 - Lindsay Hassett, Australian cricketer (b. 1913)
- 1996 - Mel Allen, baseball announcer (b. 1913)
- 1996 - Curt Swan, American comic book artist (b. 1920)
- 2000 - Empress Nagako of Japan (b. 1903)
- 2003 - Georg Henrik von Wright, Finnish-Swedish philosopher (b. 1916)
- 2004 - Thanom Kittikachorn, Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1912)
- 2005 - Enrique Laguerre, Puerto Rican writer (b. 1906)

Holidays and observances

- South Africa - Youth Day
- Roman Catholic Church - Feast of Saint John Regis, patron of medical social workers
- Bloomsday, in honour of James Joyce's Ulysses

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/16 BBC: On This Day] ---- June 15 - June 17 - May 16 - July 16 -- listing of all days ko:6월 16일 ms:16 Jun ja:6月16日 simple:June 16 th:16 มิถุนายน

13 September

September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). There are 109 days remaining in the year.

Events

- 509 BC - The temple of Jupiter on Rome's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September.
- 122 - The building of Hadrian's Wall begins.
- 533 - Belisarius and the Roman Empire defeat Gelimer and the Vandals at the Battle of Ad Decimium near Carthage, North Africa.
- 604 - Pope Sabinianus is consecrated.
- 1440 - Gilles de Rais is taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by the Bishop of Nantes.
- 1609 - Henry Hudson reaches the river that will later be named after him - the Hudson River.
- 1743 - England, Austria and Savoy-Sardinia sign the Treaty of Worms (1743).
- 1759 - Battle of the Plains of Abraham: British defeat French near Quebec City in the Seven Years' War, known in the United States as the French and Indian War
- 1788 - The United States Constitutional Convention sets the date for the country's first presidential election, and New York City becomes the temporary capital of the U.S.
- 1791 - King Louis XVI of France accepts the new constitution
- 1813 - The British fail to capture Baltimore, Maryland. Turning point in the War of 1812.
- 1847 - Mexican-American War: Six teenage military cadets known as Niños Héroes die defending Chapultepec Castle in the Battle of Chapultepec. American General Winfield Scott captures Mexico City in the Mexican-American War.
- 1862 - Union soldiers find Robert E. Lee's battle plans in a field outside Frederick, Maryland.
- 1898 - Hannibal Williston Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film
- 1899 - Henry Bliss is the first person in the United States to be killed in an automobile accident.
- 1900 - Filipino resistance fighters defeat a larger American column in the Battle of Pulang Lupa, during the Philippine American War.
- 1906 - First airplane flight in Europe
- 1914 - During World War I, South African troops open hostilities in German SW Afica (Namibia) with an assault on the Ramansdrift police station.
- 1922 - The temperature (in the shade) at Al 'Aziziyah, Libya reaches a world record 136.4 °F (58 °C).
- 1923 - Military coup in Spain - Miguel Primo de Rivera takes over, setting up a dictatorship.
- 1939 - Canada enters World War II.
- 1940 - German bombs damage Buckingham Palace.
- 1940 - Italy invades Egypt.
- 1943 - Chiang Kai-shek elected president of the Republic of China.
- 1948 - Margaret Chase Smith is elected senator, and becomes the first woman to serve in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
- 1953 - Nikita Khrushchev appointed secretary-general of the Soviet Union.
- 1956 - The dyke around the Dutch polder East Flevoland is closed.
- 1965 - Baseball: Willie Mays becomes the fifth member of the 500 home run club with a home run at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
- 1968 - Albania leaves the Warsaw Pact.
- 1970 - First running of the New York City Marathon.
- 1971 - State police and National Guardsmen storm New York's Attica Prison to end a prison revolt. 42 people die in the assault.
- 1971 - Frank Robinson becomes the 11th member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.
- 1978 - Italy's Men's Soccer Team Captain Fabio Cannavaro is born in Napoli, Italy.
- 1978 - Jose Theodore, Goalie for the Montreal Canadiens NHL Franchise is born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- 1979 - South Africa grants independence to the "homeland" of Venda (not recognized outside South Africa).
- 1985 - The Super Mario Bros. video game is released by Nintendo.
- 1987 - Goiânia accident: A radioactive object is stolen from an abandoned hospital in Goiânia, Brazil, contaminating many people in the following weeks and leading some to die from radiation poisoning.
- 1988 - Hurricane Gilbert is the strongest recorded hurricane in the Western Hemisphere (based on barometric pressure).
- 1989 - Largest anti-Apartheid march in South Africa, led by Desmond Tutu.
- 1991 - A concrete beam weighing 55 tons fell in the Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Canada.
- 1993 - Public unveiling of the Oslo Accords, an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement initiated by Norway.
- 1993 - Norwegian parliamentary election, 1993.
- 1994 - Ulysses probe passes the Sun's south pole.
- 1996 - After surviving for six days, U.S. rapper/actor Tupac Shakur dies after being shot four times in a drive by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- 1999 - Bomb explodes in Moscow, Russia. At least 119 people are killed.
- 2001 - Civilian airplane traffic in the U.S., which had been grounded following the September 11, 2001 attacks, is allowed to resume.
- 2004 - The anime InuYasha finishes its run in Japan with episode 167.
- 2005 - The Israeli's abandon the Gaza Strip.
- 2005 - Major Japanese Pop group Do As Infinity announces their disbanding.

Births

- 1087 - John II Comnenus, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1143)
- 1502 - John Leland, English antiquarian (d. 1552)
- 1520 - William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, English statesman (d. 1598)
- 1604 - William Brereton, English soldier and politician (d. 1661)
- 1739 - Grigori Potemkin, Russian statesman (d. 1791)
- 1775 - Laura Secord, Canadian heroine of the War of 1812 (d. 1868)
- 1802 - Arnold Ruge, German philosopher and political writer (d. 1880)
- 1813 - John Sedgwick, American Civil War general (d. 1864)
- 1819 - Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (d. 1896)
- 1830 - Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian writer (d. 1916)
- 1842 - John H. Bankhead, U.S. Senator (d. 1920)
- 1851 - Walter Reed, American physician and biologist (d. 1902)
- 1857 - Milton S. Hershey, American chocolate entrepreneur (d. 1945)
- 1857 - Michał Drzymała, Polish peasant rebel (d. 1937)
- 1860 - John J. Pershing, American general (d. 1948)
- 1863 - Arthur Henderson, British politician and union leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1935)
- 1873 - Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician (d. 1950)
- 1874 - Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian-born composer (d. 1951)
- 1876 - Sherwood Anderson, American writer (d. 1941)
- 1877 - Wilhelm Filchner, German explorer (d. 1957)
- 1885 - Wilhelm Blaschke, Austrian geometer
- 1886 - Sir Robert Robinson, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
- 1887 - Lavoslav Ruzicka, Croatian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
- 1893 - Larry Shields, American musician (d. 1953)
- 1894 - J.B. Priestley, English playwright and novelist (d. 1984)
- 1894 - Julian Tuwim, Polish poet (d. 1953)
- 1895 - Morris Kirksey, American athlete and rugby player (d. 1981)
- 1903 - Claudette Colbert, French-born actress (d. 1996)
- 1911 - Bill Monroe, American singer (d. 1996)
- 1916 - Roald Dahl, Welsh writer (d. 1990)
- 1918 - Dick Haymes, Argentine vocalist (d. 1980)
- 1917 - Robert Ward, American composer (d. 1994)
- 1922 - Charles Brown, American singer and pianist (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Edouard Boubat, French photographer
- 1924 - Maurice Jarre, French composer
- 1925 - Mel Torme, American singer (d. 1999)
- 1929 - Nicolai Ghiaurov, Bulgarian opera singer (d. 2004)
- 1932 - Barbara Bain, American actress
- 1936 - Stefano Delle Chiaie, Italian neo-Nazi
- 1937 - Don Bluth, American animator
- 1938 - Judith Martin, American etiquette writer
- 1939 - Richard Kiel, American actor
- 1940 - Óscar Arias, Costa Rican politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1941 - Tadao Ando, Japanese archictect
- 1941 - David Clayton-Thomas, singer (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
- 1944 - Jacqueline Bisset, actress
- 1944 - Peter Cetera, American singer and bass guitarist (Chicago)
- 1945 - Noël Godin, Belgian humorist
- 1948 - Nell Carter, American actress and singer (d. 2003)
- 1950 - Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Polish politician
- 1952 - Randy Jones, American musician (The Village People)
- 1952 - Raymond O'Connor, American actor
- 1952 - Don Was, American singer and composer
- 1961 - Dave Mustaine, American musician (Megadeth)
- 1965 - Zak Starkey, British musician
- 1966 - Maria Furtwängler, German physician and television actress
- 1967 - Michael Johnson, American athlete
- 1968 - Emma Sjöberg, Swedish model and actress
- 1969 - Shane Warne, Australian cricketer
- 1971 - Goran Ivanisevic, Croatian tennis player
- 1971 - Stella McCartney, British fashion designer
- 1973 - Christine Arron, French runner
- 1976 - Craig McMillan, New Zealand cricketer
- 1977 - Fiona Apple, American singer
- 1978 - Jose Theodore, Canadian NHL player.
- 1978 - Fabio Cannavaro, Italian Soccer Player, current Men's Team captain.
- 1979 - Ivan Miljković, Serbian volleyball player, considered as the best attacker in the world, Olympic gold medalist in 2000 (with the team of Jugoslavia)
- 1980 - Viren Rasquinha, Indian hockey player
- 1980 - Ben Savage, American actor (Boy Meets World)
- 1982 - Nenê, Brazilian basketball player
- 1983 - James Bourne, Busted, Son Of Dork

Deaths

- 81 - Roman Emperor Titus (b. 39)
- 1321 - Dante Alighieri, Italian poet (b. 1265)
- 1438 - King Duarte of Portugal (b. 1391)
- 1506 - Andrea Mantegna, Italian painter
- 1557 - John Cheke, English classical scholar and statesman (b. 1514)
- 1592 - Michel de Montaigne, French writer (b. 1533)
- 1598 - King Philip II of Spain (b. 1526)
- 1632 - Archduke Leopold V of Austria, regent of the Tyrol (b. 1586)
- 1759 - James Wolfe, British general (b. 1727)
- 1766 - Benjamin Heath, English classical scholar (b. 1704)
- 1806 - Charles James Fox, English politician (b. 1749)
- 1808 - Saverio Bettinelli, Italian writer (b. 1718)
- 1847 - Nicolas Oudinot, French marshal (b. 1767)
- 1872 - Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach, German philosopher (b. 1804)
- 1881 - Ambrose Burnside, American Civil War general and politician (b. 1824)
- 1885 - Friedrich Kiel, Austrian composer (b. 1821)
- 1894 - Emmanuel Chabrier, French composer (b. 1841)
- 1912 - Maresuke Nogi, Japanese general (b. 1849)
- 1915 - Andrew L. Harris, American Civil War hero and Governor of Ohio (b. 1835)
- 1928 - Italo Svevo, Italian author (b. 1861)
- 1949 - August Krogh, Danish zoophysiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1874)
- 1973 - Betty Field, American actress (b. 1913)
- 1977 - Leopold Stokowski, English conductor (b. 1882)
- 1987 - Mervyn LeRoy, American film director (b. 1900)
- 1996 - Tupac Shakur, American rapper and actor (b. 1971)
- 1998 - George Wallace, American politician (b. 1919)
- 1999 - Benjamin Bloom, American educational theorist (b. 1913)
- 2001 - Dorothy McGuire, American actress (b. 1916)
- 2003 - Frank O'Bannon, Governor of Indiana (b. 1930)
- 2005 - Julio César Turbay Ayala, Colombian politician (b. 1916)
- 2005 - Toni Fritsch, Austrian soccer and American football player (b. 1945)

Holidays and observances

- Roman festivals - epulum Iovis: banquet of Jupiter, on the ides during the Ludi Romani
- RC Saints - St John Chrysostom Also see September 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Fiction

- During the 1970s science fiction TV series Space: 1999, September 13, 1999, was the day when the Moon broke away its orbit around the Earth and began its voyage across the Universe, taking the inhabitants of Moon Base Alpha with it.
- In the television series Sliders, the Mallory character invented sliding (travel between alternative realities) on September 13.
- "Second Impact", a critical event in the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, was said to have occurred on September 13, 2000.

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/13 BBC: On This Day] ---- September 12 · September 14 · August 13 · October 13 · more historical anniversaries ko:9월 13일 ja:9月13日 simple:September 13 th:13 กันยายน

1557

Events

- Spain is effectively bankrupt.
- June - Mary I of England joins her husband Philip II of Spain in his war against France.
- August 10 - Battle of St. Quentin - French forces under Marshal Anne de Montmorency are decisively defeated by the Spanish under Duke Emanuel Philibert of Savoy. Montmorency himself is captured, but Philip II refuses to press his advantage, and withdraws to the Netherlands.
- Ozdemir Pasha conquers the Red Sea port of Massawa for the Ottoman Empire
- Emperor Ogimachi ascends to the throne of Japan
- Hampton School, Hampton, London, England founded by Robert Hammond.

Births

- February 15 - Vittoria Accoramboni, Italian noblewoman (died 1585)
- February 24 - Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1619)
- May 31 - Tsar Feodor I of Russia (died 1598)
- August 16 - Agostino Carracci, Italian painter and graphical artist (died 1602)
- August 19 - Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg (died 1608)
- September 16 - Jacques Mauduit, French composer (died 1627)
- Julius Caesar, English judge and politician (died 1636)
- Giovanni Croce, Italian composer (died 1609)
- Giovanni Gabrieli, Italian composer and organist (died 1612)
- Balthasar Gérard, assassin of William I of Orange (died 1584)
- Toda Katsushige, Japanese warlord (died 1600)
- Olaus Martini, Archbishop of Uppsala
- Thomas Morley, English composer (died 1602)
- Oda Nobutada, Japanese general (died 1582) See also :Category: 1557 births.

Deaths

- January 2 - Pontormo, Italian painter (b. 1494)
- April 9 - Mikael Agricola, Finnish scholar
- April 21 - Petrus Apianus, German astronomer (born 1495)
- June 11 - King John III of Portugal (born 1502)
- July 16 - Anne of Cleves, queen of Henry VIII of England (born 1515)
- August 1 - Olaus Magnus, Swedish ecclesiastic and writer (born 1490)
- September 1 - Jacques Cartier, French explorer (born 1491)
- September 13 - John Cheke, English classical scholar and statesman (born 1514)
- September 27 - Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (born 1497)
- October 25 - William Cavendish, English courtier (born 1505)
- November 19 - Bona Sforza, queen of Sigismund I of Poland (born 1494)
- December 13 - Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia, Italian mathematician (born 1499)
- Sebastian Cabot, explorer (born 1476)
- Thomas Crecquillon, Flemish composer (born 1490)
- Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, Spanish historian (born 1478)
- Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts, French translator
- Jean Salmon Macrin, French poet (born 1490)
- Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes, Spanish historian (born 1478)
- Albert the Warlike, Prince of Bayreuth (born 1522) See also :Category: 1557 deaths. Category:1557 ko:1557년 simple:1557

Classical scholar

For other meanings, see Classics (disambiguation) ---- Classics, particularly within the Western University tradition, when used as a singular noun, means the study of the language, literature, history, art, and other aspects of Greek and Roman culture during the time frame known as classical antiquity. As a plural noun "classics" can refer to texts written in the ancient Mediterranean world. The study of classics is a primary subject for the humanities, and the people reading classics are sometimes called humanists but are more often referred to as classicists. Symmetrically, in China's cultural sphere of influence, the character 經 (jing in pinyin) refers to a set of texts written during Chinese antiquity and the study of the language, literature, history and philosophy of ancient China, mostly through this corpus of Chinese classical texts, can be described as studying classics. Chinese men of letters sharing Confucian values can also be paralleled with Western humanists.

Western Classics

The word is derived from the Latin adjective classicus which literally means "belonging to the highest class of citizens", and has further connotations of superiority, authority and even perfection. The first recorded use of the word was by Aulus Gellius, a Roman author of the second century who in his miscellany Noctes Atticae (19, 8, 15) refers to classicus scriptor, non proletarius. He was ranking writers according to the classification of the Roman taxation classes. This method was started when the Greeks were constantly ranking their cultural work. The word they used was canon; ancient Greek for a carpenter's rule. Moreover, early Christian Church Fathers used this term to classify authoritative texts of the New Testament. This rule further helped in the preservation of works since writing platforms of vellum and papyrus and methods of reproduction was not cheap. The title of canon placed on a work meant that it would be more easily preserved for future generations. In modern times, a Western canon was collated that defined the best of Western culture. At the Alexandrian Library, the ancient scholars coined another term for canonized authors, hoi enkrithentes; "the admitted" or "the included". Classical studies incorporate a certain type of methodology. The Rule of the classical world and of Christian culture and society was Philo's rule: :"Philo's rule dominated Greek culture, from Homer to Neo-Platonism and the Christian Fathers of late antiquity. The rule is: "μεταχαραττε το θειον νομισμα" ("metacharatte to theion nomisma"). It is the law of strict continuity. We preserve and do not throw away words or ideas. Words and ideas may grow in meaning but must stay within the limits of the original meaning and concept that the word has." Classical education was considered the best training for implanting the life of moral excellence arete, hence a good citizen. It furnished students with intellectual and aesthetic appreciation for "the best which has been thought and said in the world". Copleston, an Oxford classicist said that classical education "communicates to the mind...a high sense of honour, a disdain of death in a good cause, (and) a passionate devotion to the welfare of one's country". Cicero commented, "All literature, all philosophical treatises, all the voices of antiquity are full of examples for imitation, which would all lie unseen in darkness without the light of literature". At Oxford University Classics is known as Literae Humaniores, comprising the study of Ancient Greek and Latin language and literature, Greek and Roman art and archaeology, history and philosophy. It is sometimes known as Greats after the nickname for the final examinations.

Quotes

- "Nor can I do better, in conclusion, than impress upon you the study of Greek literature, which not only elevates above the vulgar herd but leads not infrequently to positions of considerable emolument."
—Thomas Gaisford, Christmas sermon, Christ Church, Oxford.

Bibliography

- "Classicism in Literature", René Wellek, Dictionary of the History of Ideas, Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas, ed. by Philip P. Wiener, Charles Scribner's Sons, NY, l968, l973.
- The Oldest Dead White European Males, And Other Reflections on the Classics, Bernard Knox, W. W. Norton & Co., NY, London, l993.

Western Classical Reference Library

- Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities, ed. by Harry Thurston Peck, Cooper Square Publishers, Inc., 1st pub. 1896, 2nd ed. 1897, reprinted l962. (1701 pages)
- The New Century Classical Handbook, ed. by Catherine B. Avery, Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., Ny, l962. (1162 pages)
- The Oxford Classical Dictionary, N. G. L. Hammond and H. H. Scullard, 2nd ed., Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1970. (1176 pages)
- The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, ed. by M.C. Howatson, Oxford University Press, NY, l989. (615 pages)
- Loeb Classical Library

Misc. Bibliography

- Beard, Mary; Henderson, John. Classics: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995 (paperback, ISBN 0192853139); 2000 (new edition, paperback, ISBN 0192853856).
- Briggs, Ward W.; Calder, III, William M. Classical scholarship: A biographical encyclopedia (Garland reference library of the humanities). London: Taylor & Francis, 1990 (ISBN 0824084489).
- Macrone, Michael. Brush Up Your Classics. NY: Gramercy Books, l991. (Guide to famous words, phrases and stories of Greek classics.)
- Dictionary of British classicists, 1500–1960 by Richard B. Todd (General editor). Bristol: Thoemmes Continuum, 2004 (ISBN 1855069970).

Classical links

- [http://www.ancientlibrary.com/ The Ancient Library]
- [http://www.apaclassics.org/ American Philological Association]
- [http://www.annee-philologique.com/aph/ L'Année philologique]
- [http://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/augusta.html Bibliotheca Augustana]
- [http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/faculty/associationsw.html Classical associations worldwide] at the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge.
- [http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/faculty/departments.html Classical departments worldwide] at the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge.
- [http://www.ut.ee/klassik/links/pages/ Classical Resources on Internet] at the Chair of Classical Philology, University of Tartu.
- [http://www.roman-emperors.org/ De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors]
- [http://www.tlg.uci.edu/index/resources.html Electronic Resources for Classicists] by the University of California, Irvine.
- [http://www.roman-empire.net/ Illustrated History of the Roman Empire]
- [http://www.nfhdata.de/premium/datenbasis-information/pages/International_News_Service_for_Historians/index.shtml International News Service for Historians] (is not dedicated to the Classics only, but very useful, especially for book reviews).
- [http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/ The Online Medieval and Classical Library]
- [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ The Perseus Digital Library]
- [http://pomoerium.com/index.htm Pomoerium Classics]
- [http://www.tlg.uci.edu/ Thesaurus Linguae Graecae]
- [http://www.ancientlibrary.com/wcd/ Wiki Classical Dictionary] Category:Classical studies Category:Culture Category:Ancient Greece Category:Ancient Rome ja:古典

Regius Professor

Regius Professorships are "Royal" Professorships at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, University of Glasgow and Edinburgh. The chairs were created by a monarch and each appointment is approved by the Crown. The Regius Professorships can be found in
- the List of Professorships at the University of Cambridge
- Regius Professor of Modern History (Cambridge)
- the List of Professorships at the University of Oxford
- Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford)
- the List of Professorships at the University of Edinburgh

Cambridge University

The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the world's most elite universities. Early records indicate that the university grew out of an association of scholars in the city of Cambridge, England, probably formed in 1209 by scholars escaping from the University of Oxford after a fight with local townsmen. The universities of Oxford and Cambridge, jointly referred to as Oxbridge, have since had a long history of competing with each other, and are typically regarded as the most elite and prestigious universities in the United Kingdom, and two of the most prestigious in the world (see Oxbridge rivalry). Historically, they have produced a significant proportion of the world's prominent scientists, writers and politicians. Affiliates of Cambridge University have won a total of 81 Nobel Prizes , more than any other university in the world . Of these, 70 had attended Cambridge as undergraduates or graduate students, rather than as research associates, fellows, or professors. (The University of Chicago has the second highest number of affiliated Nobel Prize winners — 78 or arguably 79 — but only 30 had been students there.) The university has often topped league tables ranking British universities (for instance, it was ranked first on the Sunday Times league table in 2005, a position it has occupied for 8 years running), and recent international league tables produced by The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University rated Cambridge third and second in the world respectively. The THES also ranked Cambridge first in science, second in biomedicine, third in the arts & humanities, sixth in technology, and eighth in social sciences. (Note that all university rankings are subject to controversy over their criteria; and that the THES and Jiao Tong tables are the only international rankings available). Cambridge also has arguably the greatest endowment of any European university. Approximate estimates in 2005 ranged from £2.7 billion to £3.1 billion (estimates of Oxford's endowment ranged from around £2.4bn to £2.9bn in 2005), including the colleges and affiliated university organizations. However, the university's income is largely reliant on funding by the UK government. In comparison to US universities, Cambridge's level of endowment is roughly equivalent to that of Columbia University. Cambridge is a member of the Russell Group, a network of large, research-led British universities, the Coimbra Group, an association of leading European universities, and the LERU, the League of European Research Universities.

General information

LERU and the University Church (Great St. Mary's) from King's Parade]] The thirty-one colleges of the university are technically institutions independent of the university itself and enjoy considerable autonomy. For example, colleges decide which students they are to admit, and appoint their own fellows (senior members). They are responsible for the domestic arrangements and welfare of students and for small group teaching, referred to at the university as supervisions. In Cambridge, "the university" often means the University as opposed to the Colleges. The current Chancellor of the university is HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The current Vice-Chancellor is Professor Alison Richard. The office of Chancellor, who holds office for life, is mainly symbolic, while the Vice-Chancellor (as is usual at British universities) is the real executive chief. The University is governed entirely by its own members, with no outside representation in its governing bodies. Ultimate authority lies with the Regent House, of which all current Cambridge academic staff are members, but most business is carried out by the Council. The Senate consists of all holders of the M.A. degree or higher degrees. It elects the Chancellor, but otherwise has not had a major role since 1926.

History

Roger of Wendover wrote that Cambridge University could trace its origins to a crime committed in 1209. Although not always a reliable source, the detail given in his contemporaneous writings lends them credence. Two Oxford scholars were convicted of the murder or manslaughter of a woman and were hanged by the town authorities with the assent of the King. In protest at the hanging, the University of Oxford went into voluntary suspension, and scholars migrated to a number of other locations, including the pre-existing school at Cambridge (Cambridge had been recorded as a "school" rather than University when John Grim held the office of Master there in 1201). These post-graduate researchers from Oxford started Cambridge's life as a University in 1209. Cambridge's status as a University is further confirmed by a decree in 1233 from Pope Gregory IX which awarded the ius non trahi extra (a form of legal protection) to the chancellor and universitas of scholars at Cambridge. After Cambridge was recognised by papel bull as a studium generale by Pope Nicholas IV in 1290, it became common for researchers from other European medieval universities to come and visit Cambridge to study or to give lecture courses. (Oxford did not receive the papal award of ius non trahi extra until 1254 and was never given papal recognition as a studium generale despite repeated requests). Colleges were originally an incidental feature of the system: no college is as old as the university itself. They were endowed fellowships of scholars. There were also institutions without endowments, which were called Hostels at Cambridge but Halls at Oxford (which causes confusion since the terms College and Hall were used interchangeably in Cambridge). The first college to be founded was Peterhouse, established in 1284 by Hugh Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Many of the colleges were founded during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but colleges continued to be established throughout the centuries that followed, right up to modern times. The most recent college to be established is Robinson, which was built in the late 1970s. In 2004, there were newspaper reports that Cambridge was planning on expanding its student numbers by adding three new colleges, but this has been denied by the university. A full list of colleges is given below. In medieval times, colleges were founded so that their students would pray for the souls of the founders. For that reason, they were often associated with chapels or abbeys. However, in 1536, in conjunction with the dissolution of the monasteries, King Henry VIII ordered the university to disband its Faculty of Canon Law and to stop teaching "scholastic philosophy." This led to a change in the focus of the colleges' curricula — away from canon law and towards the classics, the Bible, and mathematics. mathematics Chapel (centre), seen from The Backs]] A Cambridge exam for the Bachelor of Arts degree, the main first degree at Cambridge in both arts and science subjects, is known as a Tripos. Although the university now offers courses in a large number of subjects, it had a particularly strong emphasis on mathematics from the time of Isaac Newton until the mid-19th century, and study of this subject was compulsory for graduation. Students awarded first-class honours after completing the maths course were named wranglers. The mathematics Tripos was competitive and helped produce some of the most famous names in British science, including James Clerk Maxwell, Lord Kelvin, and Lord Rayleigh. However, some famous students, such as G. H. Hardy, disliked the system, feeling that people were too interested in accumulating marks in exams and not interested in the subject itself. Despite diversifying its research and teaching interests, Cambridge today maintains its strength in mathematics. The Isaac Newton Institute, part of the university, is widely regarded as the UK's national research institute for maths and theoretical physics. Originally, all students were male. The first colleges for women were Girton College in 1869 and Newnham College in 1872. The first women students were examined in 1882 but attempts to make women full members of the university did not succeed until 1947, 20 years later than at Oxford. It is sometimes stated that Cambridge did not give degrees to women until this date; although true this is misleading. From the nineteenth century women were allowed to study courses, sit examinations, and have the result recorded; this was treated by other institutions as a degree. In the twentieth century women could be given a "titular degree". The difference was that without a full degree women were excluded from the governing of the university. Hence it was a denial of the vote rather than of a qualification. Because it was necessary to belong to a residential college, and all the old colleges were for men only, the number of women students was severely limited by the smaller number of women's colleges until the 1960s, when the men's colleges began to go mixed. One women's college (Girton) went mixed, but the others took the view that until the gender ratio problem was completely solved they should not limit the number of women's places by admitting men. Of the current 31 colleges, 28 are mixed, while three admit women only (Lucy Cavendish, New Hall and Newnham). Two colleges admit graduate students only (Clare Hall and Darwin) and three colleges admit only graduate or mature undergraduate students (Wolfson, Lucy Cavendish and St Edmund's ).

Research and Teaching

The University has research departments and teaching faculties in most academic disciplines. Traditionally, Cambridge tends to have a slight bias towards more scientific subjects, but it also has a number of very strong humanities and social science faculties. Cambridge has a distinctive supervision system (with a teacher-student ratio varying between one-to-one and one-to-three) for the teaching of undergraduates (typically by academic staff, and often by graduate students in the larger subjects), very similar to the tutorial system at Oxford. All research and lectures are conducted by University Departments; the Colleges are in charge of giving, or at least arranging, the supervisions, as well as accommodation and most extra-curricula activities. Over the past decade there has been a building boom within Cambridge University, with a substantial number of new specialist research laboratories being built at several University sites around the city. See also: [http://www.cam.ac.uk/cambuniv/finding/addresses/dept_a.html Departments in the University of Cambridge]

Admission

Undergraduate admission to Cambridge colleges used to depend on knowledge of Latin and Ancient Greek, subjects taught principally in Britain at fee-paying schools, called public schools. This tended to mean that students came predominantly from members of the British social elite. In modern times, the admission process has changed. Since the 1960s, aspiring students are now expected to have the best, or nearly the best, possible qualifications at A-level relevant to the undergraduate course they are applying for and to impress college fellows at interview. In addition, in recent years admissions tutors in certain technical subjects, for example mathematics, have required applicants to sit the more difficult STEP papers in addition to achieving top grades in their A-levels. However, there is still considerable public debate in Britain over whether admissions processes at Oxford and Cambridge are entirely meritocratic and fair, and whether enough students from state schools are encouraged to apply to Cambridge, and whether they succeed in gaining entry. Almost half of the successful applicants come from public schools, but the average qualifications for these successful applicants are higher than for successful applicants from state schools. The lack of state school applicants to Cambridge and Oxford has been considered to have a negative impact on Oxbridge's reputation for many years, and the University has put substantial amounts of effort and money into encouraging children from state schools to apply for Cambridge and thus help redress the balance. Other critics counter that excessive government pressure to increase state school admissions may be an inappropriate and damaging form of social engineering (political science). Graduate admission is decided by the faculty or department relating to the applicant's subject — following this, admission to a college (probably but not necessarily the applicant's preferred choice) is guaranteed.

Sports and recreation

There is a long tradition at Cambridge of student participation in sports and recreational pursuits. Rowing is a particularly popular sport and there are competitions between colleges (notably the bumps races) and against Oxford (the Boat Race). There are also Varsity matches against Oxford in many other sports, including rugby, cricket, chess and tiddlywinks. Representing the university in certain sports entitles the athlete to apply for a Cambridge Blue at the discretion of a Blues Committee consisting of the captains of the thirteen most prestigious sports. There is also the self-described "unashamedly elite" Hawks Club, whose membership is usually restricted to Cambridge blues or half-blues. The Cambridge Union is a focus for politics and debating. There are also many drama societies, notably the Amateur Dramatic Club (ADC) and the comedy club Footlights. Student newspapers include the long-established Varsity and its younger rival, The Cambridge Student; broadcast journalism is represented by the student-run radio station, CUR1350.

Myths and legends

CUR1350)]] There are a number of popular myths associated with Cambridge University and its history, some of which should be taken less seriously than others. One famous myth relates to Queens' College's so-called Mathematical Bridge (pictured right), which was supposedly constructed by Sir Isaac Newton to hold itself together without any bolts or screws. It was also supposedly taken apart by inquisitive students who were then unable to reassemble it without the use of bolts. The story is false, as the bridge was erected 22 years after Newton's death. It is thought that this myth arises from the fact that earlier versions