The University of Cambridge, one of the most famous and renowned universities in the world has a long and illustrious history, and is organised on a collegiate system. Many well known figures in Indian history are graduates of Cambridge including former prime minister Mr Nehru and nobel laureates such as Amartya Sen and S. Chandrasekhar. What follows is a short round-up of some of its well-known colleges and their famous former students.
Clare College, is the second oldest college, originally founded in 1326 as University Hall. In 1338 Lady Elizabeth of Clare refounded the college calling it Clare Hall, it was renamed Clare College in 1856. It is one of the most beautiful colleges and is hugely popular. Famous alumni include Hugh Latimer (Protestant reformer), Siegfried Sassoon, Lord Cornwallis, and nobel laureates Peter Mitchell (chemistry), Norman Ramsey (physics) and American James Watson co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. The Fellows’ Garden is open to visitors.
Christs is another very attractive college with such illustrious former students as Charles Darwin, C.P. Snow, Milton, Lord Mountbatten, and Lord Todd nobel prize winner (chemistry). It has its own theatre, lively bar and a lively set of undergraduates. The college colours are brown and white.
Churchill was founded as recently as 1960 and is one of the least attractive colleges in terms of its architectural and aesthetic qualities. However, in terms of scholarship, especially in the sciences, it is very well regarded and among nobel laureates associated with Churchill are Philip Anderson (physics), and Gerard Debrau (economics).
Downing College is a spacious place with vast playing fields and this medium-sized college has a strong reputation for its sporting powers especially rowing. Reputed to be a friendly and informal college.Famous former students include cricketer Michael Atherton, actor John Cleese and film director Michael Winner.
Corpus Christi is another beautiful college with a wonderful old court and gets visited by hordes of tourists. This small, friendly, and old college numbers Christopher Isherwood and Marlowe among its former students. The college colours are cerise and white.
Emmanuel College is a very attractive college with absolutely beautiful gardens. It has a good reputation among its students for outstanding food and for a lively bar. Famous alumni of Emmanuel include F.R. Leavis, the astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle, John Harvard and nobel prize winners Lord Porter and Ronald Norrish (chemistry).
Fitzwilliam is a popular college with a lively undergraduate community. Albert Szant-Gyorgyi and Ernst Chain nobel prize winners in medicine and Cesar Milstein who won the 1984 nobel prize in medicine were at Fitzwilliam. Other well-known former students include Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime Minister of Singapore.
Sidney Sussex College was founded in 1596 by Lady Frances Sidney and is conveniently located next door to two of Cambridge’s best known pubs, the Maypole and the Cambridge Arms. Among famous former students here are Charles Wilson, nobel laureate (physics), CecilPowell another nobel prize winner, the chemistry nobel laureate John Walker, Oliver Cromwell and Lord David Owen. The college colours are dark blue and magenta.
St. Johns is the second biggest college in Cambridge. It is richly endowed and is a large landowner. St John’s was founded in 1511 by Lady Margaret Beaufort. It has numerous famous former students including Wordsworth, William Wilberforce, Lord Palmerston, and nobel laureates Paul Dirac (physics), Edward Appleton (physics), Sir John Cockroft (physics), Frederick Sanger (chemistry), Maurice Wilkins (medicine), Abdus Salam (physics) and Allan Cormack (medicine).
Pembroke College was founded by Mary de St Paul in memory of her husband and is another attractive college with beautiful gardens and a lovely chapel designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Famous old boys of Pembroke include nobel prize winners Rodney Porter (medicine) and William Fowler (physics), the poets Gray, Spencer ,and Ted Hughes and Pitt the younger. The college colours are dark blue and light blue.
Peterhouse is the oldest college in Cambridge and very traditional, being one of the last colleges to go mixed. The college colours are blue and white and among former students were film star James Mason and nobel prize winners, Archer Martin (chemistry) and Max Perutz (chemistry).
Kings is one of the most illustrious colleges in Cambridge and its delightful chapel is a renowned building. Historically it was the college for Etonions and among its famous former students are Lord Keynes, E.M. Forster, Salman Rushdie, Rupert Brooke, Robert Walpole, and nobel prize winners Philip Noel-Baker (peace), and Patrick White (literature).
Gonville and Caius is a medieval college with a fortress like appearance but is has beautiful courtyards and gardens. It is a very popular and renowned college and its alumni include William Harvey, Harold Abraham, Sir David Frost, and nobel prize winners Sir James Chadwick (physics), Lord Howard Florey (medicine), Francis Crick (medicine), Sir John Hicks (economics), Antony Hewish (physics), Sir Nevill Mott (physics) and Sir Richard Stone (economics).
Jesus College was built on the site of St. Radegund’s convent and its library, the Pepys library, is in especially beautiful building. The colours of Jesus are navy and lilac and among its old boys are Peter Mitchell nobel laureate (chemistry), Charles Kingsley, Francis Pym Bamber Gascoigne,Archbishop Cramner, Samuel Coleridge. Alistair Cook,the broadcaster and Prince Edward.
Trinity College is the largest, wealthiest and arguably the most famous of all Cambridge Colleges. It was founded by King Henry VIII and is a beautiful college. Its intellectual standards are incredibly high with numerous nobel prize winners including Lord Rayleigh, Sir James Thomson, William Bragg, Lawrence Bragg, Charles Barkla, Niels Bohr, Owen Richardson, Sir George Thomson, Brian Josephson and Martin Ryle (physics), Sir James Meade and Amartya Sen (economics), Lord Rutherford, Francis Aston, Richard Synge, John Kendrew, Aaron Klug, John Popple and Walter Gilbert (chemistry). Other famous old boys include Lord Byron, the Prince of Wales, Francis Bacon, Bertrand Russell, Lord Tennyson and Andrew Marvell. The colours of Trinity College are dark blue with red and yellow.
There you have it: a short round-up of some of the famous colleges of the University of Cambridge in England!If you visit Cambridge do try to avoid the peak season when the city is crowded,parking is nigh on impossible and the colleges will have hordes of visitors !
