14 fairly interesting facts about Manchester

Yesterday marked the day I finally bid farewell to Manchester, a city I’ve called home since 2008. Over the past few weeks, I’ve tried to see as much of the city as possible while completing my bucket list (more on that later) and over this time, I’ve not only come to realise just how much I love Manchester, but just how interesting it is.

I am a massive fact-hound and history-lover at the best of times, but exploring more of MCR’s museums really gave me a sense of the huge role the city has played in global history.

And so, while I’ve already talked about why you should love MCR, here are 14 fairly interesting facts to show you just how important the city is. Enjoy!

1. Manchester’s Chetham’s Library is the oldest public library in the English-speaking world
2. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels often met in Chetham’s library

3. John Dalton wrote his atomic theory in Manchester
4. The atom was then first split by Ernest Rutherford in the city in 1919
5. Manchester has the biggest student population of any city in Europe
6. Henry Royce and Charles Rolls (of Rolls-Royce) first met in Manchester in 1904
7. Manchester was named the most liveable city in the UK in 2013
8. Manchester is the most linguistically diverse city in Western Europe

9. The world’s first passenger train station was founded in Manchester in 1830
10. Manchester was the first industrialised city in the world
11. Beetham Tower is the tallest residential building in the UK
12. Guy Fawkes’ gunpowder plot was supposedly planned in Salford’s Ordsall Hall
13. The first precursor to the modern computer was built in Manchester
14. Manchester’s Bridgewater Canal was the first canal built entirely independent of rivers

Have a fact of your own? Let us know and comment below!

For free things to do in Manchester, click here.