X-Nico

100 unusual facts about Birmingham


1772 in Great Britain

21 September - Birmingham Canal Navigations main line open for traffic, linking Birmingham to the River Severn via the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.

1889–90 Small Heath F.C. season

The 1889–90 season was the ninth season of competitive association football played by Small Heath F.C., an English football club based in the Small Heath district of Birmingham.

59th Bombardment Squadron

Its last assignment wa with the 319th Bombardment Group, based at Birmingham Airport, Birmingham, Alabama.

Agyenim Boateng

He worked as an Assistant Professor in Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama and also at Daniel Payne College in Birmingham, Alabama where he served as Assistant Professor of Political and Social Science.

Alive at Last

Alive at Last is a live album by Train recorded at Workplay Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama over three consecutive nights from June 9 to June 11, 2004.

Allene Roberts

Allene Roberts (born September 1, 1928) was born in Fairfield Highlands, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama.

Alum Rock

Alum Rock, Birmingham, an area in the United Kingdom, two miles east of Birmingham's city centre

Angela V. Shelton

Angela V. Shelton was born on 4 March 1970 and attended the Roeper School in Birmingham, Michigan.

Argent Centre

The Argent Centre is a Grade II* listed building on the corner of Frederick Street and Legge Road in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham, England.

Arthur Blyth

His formative years were spent in Birmingham, England and he was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, and arrived with his parents in South Australia in 1839 on the "Ariadne" at the age of 16.

Arthur Pentelow

He later went on to work in repertory theatre at the Bristol Old Vic, Guildford and Northampton, before joining the company at Birmingham, where his fellow actors included Derek Jacobi, Rosemary Leach and Albert Finney.

B.L. Harbert International

B.L. Harbert International, LLC, based in Birmingham, Alabama, began construction operations in 2000 under the leadership of Billy L. Harbert.

Birmingham City University City Centre Campus

It is going to be constructed next to the existing facilities at Millennium Point and will be part of the ambitious Eastside project - Birmingham's biggest physical regeneration scheme.

Birmingham School of Acting

In September 2006, it moved from Paradise Place to a purpose-built state-of-the-art facility at Millennium Point in the city's Eastside area.

Birmingham Triennial Music Festival

Originally hosted in St Philip's Church (later to become the Cathedral) or the Theatre Royale on New Street the available venues became too small for the festival.

Birmingham, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania

Birmingham is the site of the Birmingham Window, a geologic structure created by a Paleozoic thrust fault.

Birmingham, Pennsylvania

Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, formerly known as Birmingham Township and before 1790 part of the Chester County township.

Birney Imes

Some of his work is exhibited in the permanent collection of the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, Mississippi, the Birmingham Museum of Art in Birmingham, Alabama and the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.

Bobby Humphrey

As of 2012, Humphrey is vice president of business development for Bryant Bank in Birmingham, Alabama.

Bobby Riggs

In the 1946 tour against Budge, Riggs won 24 matches and lost 22, plus 1 match tied at Birmingham, Alabama establishing himself as the best player in the world (source : American Lawn Tennis July 15, 1946, page 34).

Bordesley railway station

The station still carries the painted lettering "BR(W) Bordesley Cattle Station", and "Bordesley Cattle Station GWR" from the time when, as part of the Great Western Railway and later British Rail's (Western) region, it was used to bring cattle from the countryside to the Bull Ring markets.

Bradley Garmston

He was educated at The Cathedral school Lichfield and King Edward's School, Birmingham.

Brewers Investment Corporation

Its registered offices were at Nos.3-4, County Chambers, Corporation Street, Birmingham.

Bromford Group

Bromford Housing Association Limited, named after Bromford Bridge railway station in the Bromford area of Birmingham, was formed by a group of housing sector professionals in 1963.

Cecilia Costello

Born near the Bull Ring in Birmingham, she was the youngest of 10 children of parents who left Ireland to escape famine.

Chepstow railway station

The single-storey buildings on the Gloucester/Birmingham side of the line are stone and timber-built structures, in an Italianate style.

Chipping Sodbury

Yate station, on the Bristol to Birmingham main line, closed in January 1965 but reopened in May 1989.

City region

The New Local Government Network proposed the creation of city regions as part of on-going reform efforts, while a report released by the IPPR's Centre for Cities proposed the creation of four large city-regions based on Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Greater Manchester.

Constance Bache

Bache was born in Edgbaston, the daughter of Samuel Bache (1804-1876), a Unitarian minister at the Church of the Messiah, Birmingham; an uncle on her mother's side was James Martineau.

Corfe Castle railway station

This locomotive was in use until 1955, and then displayed in the now defunct Birmingham Museum of Science and Industry until 2000.

Corrupt practices

One of the most high-profile cases of corrupt practices in recent years was that of the local government elections in the Bordesley Green and Aston wards of Birmingham in June 2004.

Cross Country services

Penzance and for main summer holiday days other resorts of CornwallBirminghamSheffieldLeedsNewcastle upon TyneEdinburghAberdeen.

D. W. Sargent

Daniel Wycliffe Sargent (b. July 22, 1850, Birmingham, England. Died October 12, 1902, in Nigeria) was an early explorer of Africa, Agent General of the British Government who signed treaties with many African chiefs which allowed the British to establish the Southern Nigeria Protectorate.

Danny Driver

He made his Wigmore Hall recital later that year, and has since appeared at Southbank Centre, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, the Royal Albert Hall, and Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

Deborah Chase Hopkins

She graduated from Birmingham Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Michigan, and attended Michigan State University for two years before returning home due to financial difficultiesand receiving a BS in Accounting from Walsh College in 1977;.

Dottie Peoples

On July 28, 2008, Peoples performed a free concert at the East Birmingham Church of God in Christ.

Downtown music

Likewise, despite its origin in New York musical politics, "Downtown" music is not solely specific to Manhattan; many major cities such as Chicago, San Francisco, even Birmingham, Alabama have alternative, Downtown music scenes.

Edmund Street

This building is on the corner of Newhall Street and its current postal address is 17 & 19 Newhall Street.

Edward Thomason

He died in his house in Jury Street, Warwick in 1849, and a memorial was erected to him in St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham.

Emmie Owen

She left the company to appear in a Christmas pantomime in Birmingham, returning to tour with the company in 1892 as Cynthia in The Vicar of Bray and as Polly in the companion piece, Captain Billy.

First Midland Red

Based in Worcester, Midland Red West's main areas of operation were Worcestershire, Herefordshire, parts of Shropshire and parts of the West Midlands conurbation, including Birmingham.

G. E. Kidder Smith

George Everard Kidder Smith (1913, Birmingham, Alabama - 1997) was an American architectural writer and photographer.

Greenwood Academy

Greenwood Academy, Birmingham, a secondary school in Birmingham, West Midlands, England

Haitian gourde

In 1863, bronze coins, produced by the Heaton mint of Birmingham, were issued.

Handsworth Riots – Twenty Summers On

In September 1985, yhe days were warm and sunny, thousands of dancing revellers, many in brightly coloured costumes were pouring into the streets of Handsworth, an area of Birmingham, Great Britain well known for its rich and vibrant cultural mix.

Harbinger Capital

Harbinger was founded by its Senior Managing Director Philip Falcone and Harbert Management Corporation, a Birmingham, Alabama-based investment company that provided much of the original funding.

Hospital Corporation of America

In April 1998, Birmingham, Alabama-based HealthSouth Corporation announced it was acquiring the majority of HCA's surgical division.

Jack Cotton

In 1937, he built King Edward House on the site of his old school, which was rebuilt in Edgbaston close to the University of Birmingham.

Jack Cotton (1 January 1903, Birmingham - 21 March 1964, Nassau) was a British property developer.

Jane Briggs Hart

She was a founding member of the National Organization for Women, and served as board member and national convention delegate for the Birmingham, Michigan League of Women Voters.

Johann Löwenthal

Just days after being defeated by Morphy, Löwenthal had his greatest success by winning the British Chess Association Congress knockout tournament in Birmingham, England on 27 August 1858.

John Bedford

He was born in Birmingham to John and Sarah Bedford, and followed his father into the iron trade to become a japanner in 1748.

Jurys Inn Birmingham

Built using concrete cladding and steel joists, this building was part of the plan to redevelop Birmingham in the 1960s.

K. Lee Scott

Lee Scott (born 1950 in Valley, Alabama) is an internationally known teacher, musician, conductor and composer of sacred music, choral music and hymns, residing in Birmingham, Alabama.

Kim Turner

Kimberly "Kim" Turner-McKenzie (born March 21, 1961 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American athlete who competed mainly in the 100 meter Hurdles.

Kinetic Communications

Kinetic Communications, based in Birmingham, Alabama, is a website and multimedia development company.

Kotli

Many Kotli city residents have ties to British nationals in the city of Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford, Luton, Bedford, Watford and Birmingham.

Larry Taunton

Larry Alex Taunton (born, May 24, 1967) is an American author, columnist, radio talk show host, and cultural commentator based out of Birmingham, Alabama who serves as the Executive Director of Fixed Point Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to the public defense of the Christian faith.

Lee Price

Price attended the Shades Valley High School in Birmingham, Alabama, and earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

LMS Princess Coronation Class 6235 City of Birmingham

After closure of that museum she was moved into the Thinktank, Birmingham science museum in 1997.

Lynx gang

The gang was founded in the Small Heath area of the city, but later spread to the Birmingham boroughs Lozells, Handsworth Birmingham, Sparkbrook, and Aston.

Mai Martinez

Martinez began her broadcasting career as a video editor at WBRC-TV in Birmingham, Alabama, where she worked from 1997 until 2003.

Mike Mordecai

Michael Howard Mordecai (born December 13, 1967 in Birmingham, Alabama) is a right-handed hitting/throwing infielder in Major League Baseball who most recently played for the Florida Marlins.

Mikel Herzog

At the contest, held in Birmingham on 9 May, "¿Qué voy a hacer sin ti?" finished in 16th place of 25 entries.

Moorish Delta 7

Moorish Delta 7 (also known as MD7) are a hip hop/UK garage outfit from the Newtown area of Birmingham, England.

Natasha Hunt

Hunt is a qualified teacher and previously trained at King Edward's School Birmingham,in PE, before teaching at Sir Graham Balfour School in Stafford, also as a PE teacher.

Pato Banton

The album Universal Love featured a song covered by Banton called "United We Stand", which was written by fellow Birmingham musician Ray Watts, of the group Beshara.

Patricia Leonard

Leonard returned to singing in concerts and oratorios, at venues such as Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican Arts Centre, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and St. David's Hall in Cardiff, Wales.

Paul Moon James

James was a private banker for twenty-three years before being hired to manage the Birmingham Banking Company.

Phil Mulkey

Now residing in Birmingham, Alabama, Mulkey has spent many years coaching at The Altamont School, with numerous state titles to his team's credits.

Phillip Alford

Alford appeared in three productions with Birmingham's Town and Gown Civic Theatre, whose director called up Alford's mother to see if her son was interested in auditioning for the part of Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Public Library and Baths, Balsall Heath

Since their formation various community events and fundraisers have been held, including the Centenary celebration on 30 October 2007 which was attended by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and swimmers past and present.

Reggie King

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, he was a 6'6" and 225 lb forward and played college basketball at the University of Alabama. He had a career in the NBA from 1979 to 1985. King's nickname in college was "the Mule.

Richard Tomkins

Richard Tomkins attended King Edward's School in Birmingham.

RK2 plasmid

RK 2 was first isolated in connection with an outbreak of antibotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella aerogenes in Birmingham in 1969, as one of a family of plasmids implicated in transfer of Ampicillin resistance between bacterial strains.

Ronnie Bruno

He is a co-founder and chairman of the Bruno Event Team, a Birmingham, Alabama-based sports marketing and event management company.

Roy Starrs

He was born in Birmingham, England on November 18, 1946 and became a Canadian citizen as an adult.

Royal Pump Rooms

One of the most interesting, although not at the time most famous or notable, parts of the development were the pumps which were manufactured by the engineering giants Boulton and Watt of Smethwick, Birmingham.

Rudge Sisters

The Rudge Sisters were British actresses and dancers from Birmingham.

Samuel Bache

In 1862 the New Meeting, Moor Street, was sold to Roman Catholics, the congregation removing to a handsome structure in Broad Street, called the Church of the Messiah, Birmingham (foundation laid 11 August 1860).

Samuel D. Ratcliffe

He grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and graduated from Birmingham Southern College, moving to New York in 1968 to pursue a career as an actor.

Saracen's Head

The Saracen's Head is the name formerly given to a group of late medieval buildings in Kings Norton, Birmingham.

Sheila Meiring Fugard

Born in Birmingham, England in 1932, Sheila Meiring moved with her parents to South Africa, in 1940, when she was eight years old.

Shifnal

The railway line from London and Birmingham to Holyhead was constructed through Shifnal at high-level in the late 1840s.

St Agatha's Church, Sparkbrook

It was funded by the sale of the site of Christ Church, New Street which was demolished the same year to make way for shops and offices - Christchurch Buildings.

Stuck Rubber Baby

Although Cruse drew heavily upon his own experiences as a gay man growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, the story is fictional.

Sue Ellen Brown

Sue Ellen Brown (born 1954) is an artist living in Birmingham, Alabama.

T. J. Lang

Lang attended Lakeland High School in White Lake, Michigan before transferring to Brother Rice High School in Birmingham, Michigan.

Tara Gray

She is also a former beauty queen originally from Birmingham, Alabama who has competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants.

The Runner Stumbles

On 21 October 2009, the play The Runner Stumbles made its UK Premiere at The Crescent Theatre in Birmingham.

Thompson Memorial Library

The window comes from the studios of Messrs. John Hardman & Company of Birmingham, England, and of the Church Glass and Decorating Company of New York, their U.S. representatives.

Tim Franks

He was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham and at Wadham College, Oxford University where he graduated with a 2:1 (B.A.Hons) in Oriental Studies (Chinese).

Totally Jodie Marsh

Totally Jodie Marsh: Who'll Take Her Up the Aisle? was a British reality television show, which saw glamour model Jodie Marsh audition a potential husband in London, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bournemouth.

Ty G. Allushuski

Allushuski mainly covered prep sports in Shelby County in suburban Birmingham, Alabama.

ValloCycle Bike-Share Program

Recently utilized in the City of Birmingham, "sharrows" lanes are a unique infrastructure enhancement particularly adept at improving the safety and accessibility of bicyclists on roads too narrow for other roadway additions.

Vann McElroy

Vann William McElroy (born 13 January 1960 in Birmingham, Alabama), is a former professional American football player who was selected by the Los Angeles Raiders in the third round of the 1982 NFL Draft.

Victoria Square, Birmingham

Part of the square was once occupied by Christ Church (built 1805–13), but the church was demolished in 1899.

It is a short walk from St. Philip's Cathedral on Colmore Row and is on the main pedestrian route between the Bull Ring and Brindleyplace areas.

W49AY

W49AY, known on-air as WAY-TV, is a low-powered religious station based and licensed in Birmingham, Alabama, owned and operated by the Glen Iris Baptist Church, who also owns WGIB radio.

William Walter Peele

William Walter Peele was elected a bishop of the M.E. Church, S. at the 1938 General Conference meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, one of eight bishops elected at that final General Conference of this denomination.


1978–79 Birmingham City F.C. season

Jim Smith, in his first full season as Birmingham's manager, brought Argentina's World Cup-winning full-back Alberto Tarantini to the club.

1992–93 ECHL season

The Winston-Salem Thunderbirds move to Wheeling, WV, becoming the first franchise to make a major relocation, the Roanoke Valley Rebels announced that they were changing their name to the Roanoke Valley Rampage, and the Cincinnati Cyclones announced that they were moving to the International Hockey League and were being replaced with a franchise in Birmingham, AL.

1998–99 S.S. Lazio season

Lazio's best moment of the 1998-99 season came when they beat Mallorca 2-1 at Villa Park in Birmingham in the 1999 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, following goals by Vieri and Pavel Nedvěd.

Birmingham Zulus

The trouble in the Britannia Stadium started when a group of about 200 Birmingham fans tore down fencing separating them from Stoke fans.

Bülent Şenver

He has been through various trainings in the fields of independent auditing, managerial skills and banking in London, Birmingham, Chicago, Houston, Washington D.C., Paris, Brussels and Geneva.

Callum Innes

A substantial selection of his best-known series, the "Exposed" paintings, was exhibited in 1998 at the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, England, and at the Kunsthalle Bern the following year.

Clare Purcell

Between 1911 and 1918 Rev. Purcell served the following appointments: Madison Circuit, the Owenton Church (later renamed McCoy Memorial) in Birmingham, and First Methodist Church of Sylacauga.

Coleg Harlech

The other long-term, mature students colleges in the UK are Ruskin College at Oxford; Northern College at Barnsley; Hillcroft College in Surbiton; Fircroft College at Birmingham; and Newbattle Abbey College in Midlothian, Scotland.

Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society

Data collection required the establishment of a Data Center, initially in Birmingham, Alabama.

Don Charlwood

Here the course was split, with Charlwood and half of them posted to No. 3 Advanced Flying Unit, Bobbington, between the Severn Valley and Birmingham.

Gaynor Arnold

Her debut novel Girl in a Blue Dress was published by Birmingham's Tindal Street Press in 2008, being longlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize for Fiction.

Gerald Roush

While in high school in Birmingham, Alabama, Roush picked up a 1958 issue of Sports Car Illustrated that featured driver Phil Hill, winner of the 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans and a Ferrari 4.9 Superfast, giving birth to an interest that would last a lifetime.

Gus Mayer

Gus Mayer is a Birmingham, Alabama based, family-owned, upscale specialty department store that caters to upper-end clientele and is known for its high-end fashions.

Hobgoblin Music

There is an online catalogue, and the eight UK branches in Crawley, London, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Wadebridge, Birmingham and Milton Keynes also stock hundreds of second hand & one off items.

Isaiah Edward Robinson, Jr.

He lived in Middletown, New York with his adopted sons before he returned to Birmingham, Alabama, where he died on April 14, 2011, following a stroke.

Jacques Secrétin

He won a gold medal in the mixed double event of the World Table Tennis Championships in 1977 at Birmingham.

John Francis Yaxley

John Francis Yaxley (born 13 November 1936) Birmingham, England, spent his career as a civil servant in the UK Colonial Office.

Joseph Pickford

St Mary's Church, Gun Quarter, Birmingham, West Midlands (1773-4, now demolished).

K. M. Cherian

He worked as a Special Fellow in Paediatric Cardiac Surgery in Birmingham, Alabama under John W. Kirklin and in the University of Oregon under Albert Starr.

Kampfgeschwader 54

Between 29 July and 14 August 1942 it lost 6 bombers on missions against Bedford, Birmingham, Norwich, Southend, Hastings and Luton.

Lapal

The area has local bus connections with Halesowen town centre, Stourbridge, Brierley Hill, Cradley Heath, Merry Hill, Birmingham and Oldbury.

Little Kimble railway station

The G8 Summit was held in Birmingham that year and the wives of the G8 countries' leaders, including Cherie Blair and Hillary Clinton, were taken to Chequers via the Royal Train and Little Kimble, whiuch is the nearest station to Chequers.

Loveman's

Loveman's of Alabama, a Birmingham, Alabama-based chain of department stores with locations across Alabama

Malcolm Boyden

Boyden has become a pantomime regular making his debut in 1997 when he played alongside Frank Bruno and Karl Howman in Goldilocks and the Three Bears at Birmingham’s Hippodrome Theatre.

Mars Automatic Pistol

It was manufactured first by Webley & Scott and later by small gunmakers in Birmingham and London.

Moses Haughton

Moses Haughton the elder, (sometimes spelled "Horton") painter, designer and engraver who spent most of his life in Birmingham

New Vision Television

On August 1, 2006, New Vision announced an agreement to acquire CBS affiliates WIAT in Birmingham, Alabama and KIMT in Mason City, Iowa from Media General for $35 million.

Phil Bayton

Joining the Thornhill Cycling Club in Birmingham he won a handicap race at Hirwaun in South Wales as a 16 year old junior and a year later was part of the GB Olympic squad under Norman Sheil.

Prince engine

The engines’ components are produced by PSA at their Douvrin, France, facility, with Mini engine construction at Hams Hall in Birmingham, England.

Robert Collyer

In 1883, when he visited Birmingham in England, he engaged Marie Bethell Beauclerc to report and edit his sermons and prayers which were published during the same year.

Robert James Clayton

When the BBC resumed television service from Alexandra Palace after the war GEC won the important contract to implement the first link to another transmitter at Birmingham.

Salem Ramaswami Mudaliar

Ramaswami halted at Edinburgh on way to Aberdeen to listen to the speech of the liberal leader William Ewart Gladstone while he regarded the speech given by John Bright at Birmingham as the best he had ever listened to in life.

Salts Healthcare Ltd

Salts Healthcare is one of the UK's oldest family-run manufacturing companies, based in Aston, Birmingham.

SLSF 1522

1994: 1522 was one of the locomotives to participate in the 1994 NRHS annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia and did a double-header with Norfolk and Western 611 from Birmingham, Alabama to Atlanta on its way to the convention.

T. L. Bayne

On December 31, 1892, Bayne and his brother, Hugh Aiken Bayne, organized the Southern Club to play a football game against a club from Birmingham, Alabama at Audubon Park in New Orleans.

The Pitman Vegetarian Hotel

The Pitman Vegetarian Hotel was a vegetarian hotel that opened in 1898 in the County Buildings (now Grade II* listed), Corporation Street, Birmingham, England, as an expansion of a vegetarian restaurant on the same site.

Tiger Smith

Originally an employee with the Cadbury confectionery firm in Birmingham, he was first engaged by Warwickshire as a professional in 1904 but played only irregularly for over half a decade owing to the presence of Lilley behind the stumps.

Tyseley railway station

It is situated at the junction of the lines from Birmingham towards Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon, and is adjacent to a large railway depot and Tyseley Locomotive Works.

West Midlands bus routes 369 and 370

After deregulation in 1986, all three services were rerouted to serve Stephenson Square, Cavendish Road and Bloxwich Lane, leaving the northern part of Stephenson Road unserved by buses with the exception of a short-lived Midland Red North service, the X1 between Cannock and Birmingham.

William F. Durand

A native of Connecticut, he was a member of the first graduating class of Birmingham High School in Derby, Connecticut (now Derby High School) in 1877.

WJOX

WJOX-FM, a radio station (94.5 FM) in Birmingham, Alabama, United States

WTVR-TV

On January 6, 2009, Raycom and Local TV LLC announced that they would be swapping stations in Richmond and Birmingham.