Manchester (England)

Manchester (England), city in northwestern England, administrative center of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, on the Irwell, Medlock, Irk, and Tib rivers. Manchester is a major industrial center and has long been known as the leading cotton textile manufacturing city in Britain. It is also an important English port, connected by the Manchester Ship Canal (completed 1894) to Eastham on the Mersey River and accessible to oceangoing vessels. The city's diversified manufactures include paper products, pharmaceuticals, electrical and aircraft equipment, computers, electronic equipment, and food products. Manchester lies near a coal-mining region.

Educational institutions in the city include the large Victoria University of Manchester (1903), Royal Northern College of Music (1923), and Manchester Metropolitan University (1992, formerly a polytechnic college). A noted cultural center, Manchester is the home of the extensive John Rylands University Library collection; the renowned Hallé Orchestra (1857); and the Manchester City Art Galleries (1823), which include museums of archaeology and natural history, and science and technology. Manchester is also the seat of a bishopric of the Anglican church, and its cathedral dates from the 15th century.

The Roman outpost of Mancunium was established here in the 1st century. The medieval town was probably founded in the 10th century. Manchester was chartered in 1301, at which time it was developing an active wool industry. It was a thriving commercial town by the 17th century, when the manufacture of cotton textiles was begun. With the introduction (1783) of steam power in cotton milling, Manchester commenced its dramatic growth. It was connected by railroad with the seaport of Liverpool in 1830.

Manchester was the scene of the Peterloo Massacre (August 1819), in which a group of people petitioning for repeal of the Corn Laws and for parliamentary reform were killed by city authorities in Saint Peter's Field. Throughout the 19th century, the citizens of Manchester were notably active in the liberal-reform movement in politics and in the development of facilities for public education. The city also became a publishing center; the esteemed daily newspaper, the Guardian, was founded here in 1821 as the Manchester Guardian.

Declining textile production since the mid-19th century has been partially offset by the introduction of new industries. The city suffered damage from German bombing during World War II (1939-1945) but has since undergone extensive urban rebuilding. Population 392,900 (2001) .