Edinburgh 2013
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.
It was the fourth university to be established in Scotland and the sixth in the United Kingdom, and is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Edinburgh receives approximately 47,000 applications every year, making it the third most popular university in the UK by volume of applicants. Entrance is intensely competitive, with offer chances of 27% in the 2010-2011 admissions cycle. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university.
The University of Edinburgh is ranked 6th and 7th in Europe according to the 2011 QS and Times Higher Education Ranking and 17th in the world by the 2013 QS rankings. It is ranked 11th in the world in arts and humanities by the 2012-13 Times Higher Education Ranking. It is a member of both the Russell Group, and the League of European Research Universities, a consortium of 21 research universities in Europe. In addition, the university has both historical links and current partnerships with academic institutions in the United States and Canada, including members of the Ivy League and U15. It has the third largest endowment of any university in the United Kingdom, after the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
The university played an important role in leading Edinburgh to its reputation as a chief intellectual centre during the Age of Enlightenment, and helped give the city the nickname of the Athens of the North. Graduates of the university include some of the major figures of modern history, including the naturalist Charles Darwin, physicist James Clerk Maxwell, philosopher David Hume, mathematician Thomas Bayes, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former Deputy President of the British Supreme Court Lord Hope, surgeon and pioneer of sterilisation Joseph Lister, signatories of the American declaration of independence John Witherspoon and Benjamin Rush, inventor Alexander Graham Bell, first president of Tanzania Julius Nyerere, and a host of famous authors such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, J.M. Barrie and Sir Walter Scott. The university is also associated with 15 Nobel Prize winners, 1 Abel Prize winner, several Turing Award winners, 2 currently sitting British Supreme Court Justices and several Olympic gold medallists. It also continues to have links to the British Royal Family, with the Duke of Edinburgh being chancellor from 1953 to 2010, and Anne, Princess Royal from 2011.
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![Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle here since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. From the 15th century the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century its principal role was as a military base with a large garrison. Its importance as a historic monument was recognised from the 19th century, and various restoration programmes have been carried out since. As one of the most important fortresses in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts, from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century, up to the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and has been besieged, both successfully and unsuccessfully, on several occasions.<br />
Few of the present buildings pre-date the Lang Siege of the 16th century, when the medieval defences were largely destroyed by artillery bombardment. The most notable exceptions are St Margaret's Chapel, which dates from the early 12th century and is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh,[2] the Royal Palace, and the early-16th-century Great Hall. The castle also houses the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish National War Memorial, and the National War Museum of Scotland.<br />
Edinburgh Castle is in the care of Historic Scotland, and is Scotland's most-visited paid tourist attraction, with over 1.3 million visitors in 2011. The British Army is responsible for some parts of the castle, although its presence is largely ceremonial and administrative, including a number of regimental museums. As the backdrop to the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo it has become a recognisable symbol of Edinburgh and of Scotland.](https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel-Photography/Edinburgh-2013/i-2MNmDJg/0/2635937d/Ti/_DSC1875Dat%27s%20Photography2013-Ti.jpg)
![Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle here since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. From the 15th century the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century its principal role was as a military base with a large garrison. Its importance as a historic monument was recognised from the 19th century, and various restoration programmes have been carried out since. As one of the most important fortresses in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts, from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century, up to the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and has been besieged, both successfully and unsuccessfully, on several occasions.<br />
Few of the present buildings pre-date the Lang Siege of the 16th century, when the medieval defences were largely destroyed by artillery bombardment. The most notable exceptions are St Margaret's Chapel, which dates from the early 12th century and is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh,[2] the Royal Palace, and the early-16th-century Great Hall. The castle also houses the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish National War Memorial, and the National War Museum of Scotland.<br />
Edinburgh Castle is in the care of Historic Scotland, and is Scotland's most-visited paid tourist attraction, with over 1.3 million visitors in 2011. The British Army is responsible for some parts of the castle, although its presence is largely ceremonial and administrative, including a number of regimental museums. As the backdrop to the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo it has become a recognisable symbol of Edinburgh and of Scotland.](https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel-Photography/Edinburgh-2013/i-drKKMrf/0/c38eb2a9/Ti/_DSC1897Dat%27s%20Photography2013-Ti.jpg)
