Oxford History

Oxford is made up of 39 individual colleges which are still largely autonomous. University College, where I'm staying, was founded in 1249 and is the oldest college in Oxford. The college owes its origins to William of Durham who died in 1249. Originally, the college was open only to students studying theology. In 1979, the college admitted its first female students. Two twentieth-century Prime Ministers have been associated with University college; and other political leaders include President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister of Australia Bob Hawke. Other alums: Stephen Hawking, C.S. Lewis, Percy Shelley (who was expelled!) and Prince Felix Yusupov, the assassin of Rasputin.