text:
Euchre

Euchre or eucre is a trick-taking card game commonly played in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, and the Midwestern United States. It is played with a deck of 24, 25, 28, or 32 standard playing cards. There are normally four players, two on each team, although there are variations for two to nine players.

Euchre emerged in the United States in the early 19th century. There are several theories regarding its origin, but the most likely is that it is derived from an old Alsatian game called Jucker or Juckerspiel. Euchre was responsible for introducing the joker into the modern deck of cards, first appearing in Euchre packs in the 1850s.

Euchre has a large number of variants and has been described as "an excellent social game."

Origins and popularity
Eucre is briefly mentioned as early as 1810, being played in a gaming house alongside all fours, loo, cribbage, and whist. In 1829, uker was being played with bowers on a steamboat in the American Midwest. However, the earliest rules do not appear until 1844.

The mode of play and terminology of Euchre have resulted in several theories which suggest that it has an origin in Spanish Trionfo, French Ecarté or Triomphe, or Alsatian Jucker. An early American theory was that Euchre was brought into the United States by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, and from that region it was disseminated throughout the nation. The 1864 edition of The American Hoyle disputes its alleged German heritage, tracing the game's origin to Pennsylvania itself in the 1820s. It goes on to surmise that a "rich German farmer's daughter" had visited Philadelphia and carried home a confused memory of Écarté, which then developed into Euchre.

Yet another theory is that Euchre may have been introduced to America by immigrants from the counties of Cornwall or Devon in southwest England, where it remains a hugely popular game. Euchre was introduced into Devon in turn by French prisoners of The Napoleonic Wars, imprisoned in Dartmoor Prison between 1805 and 1816. American prisoners were also housed there after the War of 1812.

Card game historian David Parlett believes that Euchre is derived from an eighteenth-century Alsatian card game named Jucker or Juckerspiel, pronounced "yooker". Clues to a possible German origin are the names of the trump Jacks; bower is phonetically identical with the German word Bauer which normally means farmer, but also refers to the Jack in playing cards. Another word probably derived from German is "march", which is the literal translation of Marsch, itself an abbreviation of Durchmarsch and the German for a slam in many card games. Other words or phrases that reflect a German origin are: "maker" from Macher, short for Spielmacher i.e. "game maker", the person who determines the type of game to be played; "euchred" from gejuckert; "having a dog from every county" from aus jedem Dorf ein Köter i.e. "a mongrel from every village", a common expression in German card games; "cards away" from Karten weg or Kart' ab, an expression in games from the Palatinate/Saarland region for the same announcement, "bridge" possibly from Pritsche, a plank bed (hence place of safety).

The earliest known treatise is a lost book called Game of Euchre and Its Laws published in 1839 by an unknown author. However, the earliest surviving rules appeared in 1844, in which there is no Joker; instead 32 cards are used and the Right Bower, the trump Jack, is the "commanding card" with the Left Bower, the Jack of the same color, as the second-highest card. According to Parlett, the Joker was added to a 32-card pack in the 1850s specifically for the game of Euchre and is first mentioned in a set of rules in 1868 where it turns out to be a blank specimen card not intended for actual play. This gave rise to a variant called "Euchre with the Joker" in which the blank card ranked above all the rest. It must have been in use even earlier, however, since the term "Best Bower" appears in a satirical 1861 piece about the American Civil War. Later, the Joker was embellished with a motif and specifically intended for use as the top trump. It was later transferred to the game of Poker and initially called the Mistigris.

In the late 19th century, Euchre was regarded as the national card game of the United States. It has since declined in popularity, although it retains a strong following in regions such as the Midwestern United States. Euchre has also been described as Canada's national card game. However, with the rise of 20th century games such as Contract Bridge and Spades, Euchre has declined in popularity, though it is still played as a social game in the US Midwest, the Canadian province of Ontario, Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain, especially Cornwall.

Earliest rules (1844)
The earliest surviving rules were published in America by Thomas Mathews in his 1844 work, The Whist Player's Hand-book, in which a four-hand version of Euchre is described right at the end. The following is a summary:

Players and cards
Euchre is played by two to five persons, but most often by two or four. A 32-card French-suited Piquet pack is used and cards rank in the trump suit as follows: Right Bower (trump knave), Left Bower (knave of same color), A > K > Q > 10 > 9 > 8 > 7. The side suits rank in their natural order. Deal and play are clockwise.

Deal
The pack is shuffled and four cards distributed; the players with two higher cards become partners and play the other two. The dealer deals five cards each in packets of two and three and turns the next for trump.

Making trump
Eldest hand (to the left of the dealer) opens the auction and may either 'order it up' (= accept the turnup as trump) or 'turn it down' (= pass), in which case the next player in turn has the same options and so on. The team that order it up are the 'makers'. If all pass, the dealer does not exchange, and another round of bidding begins with eldest who may make trump of any other suit. If all pass again and dealer does not want to make trump, the cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals. If anyone orders up, the dealer picks up the upcard and discards a card in return. The dealer's partner may bid "assist" in which case the dealer takes up trump and they become the makers. A player confident of taking 5 tricks single-handed may say "cards away" to the partner and play alone against the opponents.

Play
Eldest leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit if able; otherwise may play any card. The highest trump takes the trick or the highest card of the led suit if no trumps were played. The trick winner leads to the next trick.

Winning
The makers must take at least 3 tricks to win and score 1 point; otherwise they are euchred, i.e. have lost and their opponents score 2 points. Winning all 5 tricks is a march which earns 2 points. Announcing "cards away" and winning all 5 tricks alone scores 4 points. Points are tallied using the unused Deuce and Trey cards, or counters. Game is 5 points.

Terminology
The following terms were used by Mathews. Many continue to be used today:

 * Bridge. The leading team are "at the bridge" when 1 point from winning and the trailing team are 4 points away (and could win by going alone).
 * Cards Away. Now called going alone. To play alone against the two defenders.
 * Dutching. When the dealer has turned down the upcard, to entrump the suit of the same colour.
 * Euchre. When the makers fail to take at least 3 tricks they are euchred.
 * March. Taking all tricks, which scores 2 points.
 * Order up. As a non-dealer, to accept the turnup as trump.
 * Turn down. As dealer, after everyone else has passed, to reject the turnup.

British rules
In Britain, euchre is played in southwestern England, especially Cornwall, Devon and Guernsey, as well as in coastal East Anglia. A key feature is that a joker, called the Benny, is the highest trump. The following is a summary of modern British rules by John McLeod, supplemented by other sources where indicated.

Players and cards
Euchre is a four-player game using a pack of 25 cards with a joker and four suits comprising AKQJT9. Card ranking is as per the 1844 rules with the exception that the top trump is the Benny or Best Bower represented by the joker or 2. Deal and play are clockwise.

Deal
The first dealer can be chosen by any random method. The dealer shuffles and deals each player a packet of 2 or 3 cards in any order and then a second packet making the hands up to 5 cards. The next card is turned as a potential trump. Often, it is customary to offer a cut of the deck to the player on the dealer's right before passing out the cards.

Making trump
The process of making trump is as follows:
 * Eldest opens by passing or saying "I order it up" (or just "up" )
 * If eldest passes, dealer's partner may pass or say "I turn it down"
 * If the first two pass, third hand may pass or order it up
 * If the first three pass, the dealer may say "I take it up" and pick up the upcard, or pass by saying "over" and turning it face down.
 * The option is now given to select any other suit to be trump, and this again is chosen or passed on by each player in turn.
 * If no player elects to make trump the second time round, the hand is either discarded and the game continues with the next dealer, or the fourth player is forced to choose a trump suit, depending on rule set.

As soon as someone makes trump (instead of passing) that player's team become the makers and their opponents are the defenders. Should either opponent order it up or the dealer take it up, the suit of the upcard becomes trump; the dealer picks it up and discards a card face down. Note that the dealer's partner cannot make trumps and play with the dealer, but can only pass or play alone by turning it down (this does not apply to the second choice in which the player may choose any suit). If the upcard is the Benny, dealer must announce trumps before picking up their own hand cards and dealer's team are the makers (a "blind shout").

Going alone
Before the first trick any player may announce they are going "alone", whereupon the partner of the lone player puts their cards face down on the table and drops out of that hand. A maker and a defender may both go alone in which case it is one against one.

Play and scoring
Play and scoring are as in the 1844 rules, except that:
 * If a maker is going alone, an active defender to the left of the loner leads; otherwise the remaining opponent leads
 * If a defender plays alone and wins ≥ 3 tricks, the defenders score 4 points.
 * Score is kept using a spare 5 and 6 card instead of a deuce and trey.
 * Game is 11 points.

British terminology

 * Bump. Knock the cards instead of cutting.
 * Dockyard play. When dealer's opponents have good cards but do not order up in the hope of euchring the makers.
 * Have an eye. Have at least 1 point.
 * Playing policemen. See dockyard play.
 * Shout. Bid. A player going alone makes a "lone shout".
 * Sleeping hand. The cards left face down.
 * Trump caller. Player who makes trump.
 * Whitewashed. Beaten without scoring e.g. 11-0.

Rule variations
The following rule variations are recorded:
 * Game may be any other agreed number of points e.g. 10 or 21.
 * Dealer's partner may play with a partner by ordering up and is not forced to go alone.
 * Instead of cutting, the cutter may tap or bump the cards.
 * At the start of a session, cards are dealt around and the player who receives the first jack, deals first.
 * Euchring a lone trump caller earns 4 points.
 * The deal is a packet of 3 cards each first, then a packet of two.
 * Dealer is always the first to "shout" i.e. open the bidding. In this scenario, the dealer must pick up the joker on a "blind shout" and discards a card as normal.

North American rules
Euchre is played slightly differently in North America and there are numerous variations. The following account is a summary of the typical rules for the four-hand game.

Players and cards
Four players play in two teams, the partners sitting opposite one another. A 24-card pack is used with cards ranking as before with a right bower and left bower as the top two cards of the trump suit. A pack of 32 cards (AKQJ10987) or 28 cards (no 7s) may also be used, but 24 cards is the standard.

Deal
Deal and play are clockwise. The face-down pack is spread on the table and players draw a card each; the players with the two lowest cards playing together against the others and the player with the lowest card dealing first. For this purpose only, suits are irrelevant, aces rank low and jacks rank immediately below the queens. The dealer then shuffles the pack and offers it to the right for cutting. Five cards are dealt in two rounds. In the first, the dealer may deal either 2 or 3 cards each, in turn and in clockwise order beginning with eldest hand. This is followed by a second round to bring each player's hand to 5 cards. Whichever system is used initially, it must not subsequently be changed. The remaining four cards, called the kitty, are placed face down in the center of the table and its top card flipped.

Making trump
Eldest hand opens the bidding by passing (saying "pass" ) or accepting the suit of the upcard as trump by saying "I order it up" (or "pick it up" ). If eldest passes, second hand, the dealer's partner, may pass or accept by saying "I assist" (or "I'll help you". If second hand passes, third hand may pass or accept; if the first three pass, the dealer may accept the turnup by discarding a card (called "taking it up") or turn it down by placing the upcard, face up, half under the kitty (called "turning it down").

If the dealer acquires the top card (either by being ordered to pick it up or choosing to pick it up), it becomes part of the dealer's hand, but is left in place until played, and the dealer discards a card to the bottom of the kitty, face down. If no one orders up the top card and the dealer chooses not to take it up, each player is then given the opportunity, in turn, to pass again or call a different suit as trump. If no trump is selected, the hand is discarded and the deal passes to the left.

When trumps are chosen, the trump jack becomes the top card or right bower and the jack of the same color is the second-highest trump, known as the left bower. Example. Spades are trump. In this case, the trump cards rank as follows (highest first):
 * (right bower), (left bower),, , , ,

The effectively becomes a spade during the playing of this hand. This expands the suit of spades to the seven cards above and reduces the suit of clubs by one card (its jack being seconded to the trump suit). Once the hand is over, the ceases to be a spade and becomes a club again unless spades are again named as trump during a subsequent hand.

Going alone
A player who fixes the trump suit may announce "alone" and play without the aid of a partner. The partner's hand cards are laid face down and the partner takes no part in the game.

Play
Play is as before: eldest leads and players must follow suit if able, otherwise may play any card.

Scoring and winning
The first team to score the target number of points (5, 7 or 10) wins the game. In Columbus, the target is 10.

Scorekeeping markers

Scores can be kept by using two otherwise unused cards as markers, with each team often using cards of the same color.

Scoring begins using one card face up, covered by the other card face down. Upon winning points, the top card is moved to reveal the appropriate number of suit symbols on the bottom card. After all points are revealed on the lower card, the top card is flipped over, adding pips on both cards to indicate the score.

In Columbus, score is kept with a and a.

A variation of scorekeeping in Western New York and Ontario involves each side using the and  of one suit. Scoring starts with counting the symbols on the cards, for points 1 to 4; at 5, the cards are turned over and crossed. Crossing the cards indicates 5 points. Points 6 to 9 are counted similarly by counting the number of suit symbols showing and adding them to the 5 when the cards are crossed.

In Canada and Michigan, it is common for each team to use two s of the same color to keep score, with one team red and the other black. The s are usually referred to as "counting cards" in this situation.

Table talk
Euchre does not require silence as in some other games; some table talk is acceptable. However, communicating with one's partner to influence the game is considered cheating. Unacceptable table talk may include code words, secret gestures, bidding out of turn or suggesting what the partner should play. Depending on the local rules, such infringements may incur a penalty.

Revoking
A player who does not follow suit when able has revoked. Sometimes this is called "reneging" but, strictly speaking, a renege refers to a situation in other card games when you may legally not follow suit when you can. If discovered, the opposing team is awarded two points or two points are deducted from the offending team.

North American terminology
Euchre terminology varies greatly from region to region and is highly colloquial. Some examples include:
 * Ace, No-Face. Hand with an ace and four low cards (9s and 10s).
 * Cut. Trump a led ace with the second card of the trick. (Indiana, Ohio).
 * Dutchman's Point. Point won when holding both bowers and the trump ace.
 * Euchre Bustle. Euchre tournament (used in northern Midwest of United States).
 * Farmer's Hand. Weak hand consisting only of s and s). (Ohio). Sometimes called Poor Man's Hand, Bottom Hand or Grandma's Hand.
 * In the Barn. A term used in the Midwest United States for having 9 points, being one away from winning. (Indiana, Ohio).
 * Lay-Down. Hand that will win all five tricks if played in the correct order: for example, a Dutchman (both Bowers and the of trumps) plus the  and  of that suit, any other two trump cards, or one more trump card and an off-trump  (when that player has the lead). Sometimes called a Lone Wolf or Loner, because the player will typically opt to go alone.
 * Lay-Down Loner. Loner of unbeatable cards when the player has the first lead. (Indiana).
 * Loner. Hand suitable for going alone. (Indiana).
 * Loner Range. A score of between 6 and 9 points, because 4 or fewer points are needed to win. It can also be used to describe being 4 points away from the opposing team. For example, when it is 4–8, the trailing team is in loner range of the team in front.
 * Next. Call to entrump the suit of the same color as the original turnup. (Indiana, Ohio).
 * Set. Euchred. When the opposing team wins more tricks than the team who called the suit. (Indiana).

 * Skunk. If a team gets "skunked," they lose 10-0, having scored nothing (Indiana)
 * Slough. Play a low value card. (Ohio).
 * Sweep or March. Winning all tricks. (Indiana, Ohio).
 * Throwing in. When the lead maker throws in the remaining hand cards once 3 tricks have been assured, but five tricks are unlikely, e.g. because 1 trick has already been won by the defenders, or is highly likely to be won by them, e.g. a right bower was ordered up but has not yet been played. The cards are thrown face up.
 * Trump the Partner Refers to a situation where the last player plays the card that wins a trick that their partner would have otherwise won. It usually refers to a situation where the partner has an that follows suit and the player plays a trump card but plays a higher trump or non-trump than the partner's qualifies.
 * Underman. When a player has an unprotected left Bauer and is forced to play it behind the right Bauer. As a way to provide comedic relief to a rather frustrating event, the victim will typically utter something along the lines of “oh dear, I’ve been Undermanned”. The term is attributed to the notable, Alex Underman.
 * Walk. When a low card is led and takes the trick. (Indiana).

Rule variations
The following North American rule variations are recorded:
 * Ace No Face. In Ace No Face the player must have one and all s and s in their hand. The player then calls "ace no face" and exchanges three of their cards for the bottom three (must be called before the first card of the beginning trick has been led). Alternatively the player may call for a re-deal.
 * Farmer's Hand. A player with a hand of s and s) may call "farmer's hand" (or equivalent – see above), show the cards and exchange three of them for the three cards in the kitty (also called "going under" or "under the table").
 * Dealing in packets. Cards are dealt in packets of twos and threes, but there is no requirement to follow a system.
 * Defender going alone. If the trump maker goes alone, a defender may say "defend alone" before play begins.
 * Extra cards. The addition of extra cards like 8 and 7 can usually add more uncertainty as for which trump cards are still in the opponent's hands during the course of the game. This uncertainty may be increased with the addition of the 2s.
 * First dealer. The pack is shuffled and dealt out; the first player to receive a jack deals first and, if desired, the second player with a jack is the partner.
 * Kitty placement. Placed to the left of the dealer (not in the center), as a reminder of who is dealing next.
 * Making trump rule. A player may not make trump with only a jack but must have another trump. Sometimes this only applies to the dealer. Infringement is often treated as a revoke.
 * Point on partner. When a partner steals their own partner's deal successfully, in addition to retaining the deal, the team is also awarded one point. This Euchre Varriant was popularized by Bill Rome, winner of several Michigan and North Eastern Euchre championships including 2016 and 2018 'Michigan Traveling Euchre Tourney', as well as winner of the 2016 and 2017 'Euchre Great Lakes Euchre Extravaganza', and 2018 third place finisher in the 'Tri-State Euchre Championship'.

 * Robson rules. When a team wins all five tricks (normally or by going alone), they may choose to reduce the opposing team's score (by two or four, respectively) instead of adding to their own score. Additionally, if the dealer turns up a jack on the kitty, they may elect to go alone without seeing the rest of their hand. If all tricks are won via this "blind loner" hand, five points are awarded instead of the usual four; but a failure to win all tricks earns the defenders one point. This rule was named after four-time Northern Michigan regional tournament runner-up champion James Robson.
 * Stick the Dealer. If trump is not called it must be called by the dealer. Used to speed up the game, as it eliminates throw-in hands.
 * Upcard. The dealer picks the upcard up instead of leaving it on the table until played.

Variants
Euchre is a game with a large number of versions. They include versions for two to nine players, as well as changes in cards used, bidding, play, and scoring.

Bid Euchre
Bid Euchre, also known as Auction Euchre, Pepper, or Hasenpfeffer, is a group of North American variants. They introduce bidding in which the trump suit is decided by which player can bid to take the most tricks. There are variations in the number of cards dealt, the absence of any undealt cards, the bidding and scoring process, and the addition of a no trump declaration. It is typically a partnership game for four players.

Set-Back Euchre
Set-Back Euchre is recorded as early as 1843 in Arkansas, but its rules first appear in William Brisbane Dick's 1864 edition of The American Hoyle. The main difference is in the method of scoring. Although it can apply to games with 2, 3 or 4 players, in Dick's example, four players agree a pool of $1 and each antes 25¢. Players begin with a score of 5 points each and play for themselves aiming to be first to zero. The trump maker plays alone against three defenders. A player who fails to take a trick adds 1 point; anyone who is euchred adds 2 points and pays a stake of 25¢ to the pool. A player doubtful of taking any tricks may throw up the hand to save being set back. The first player to zero points wins the game and the pool. Dick describes variations including the option for any player to say "I declare" which is a bid to make a march and win the game and pool if successful. Failure, however, incurs a doubling of the point score and paying a stake. The march declarer leads to the first trick. Another variation was that, in the event of a euchre, the defenders deduct 2 points in addition to the maker adding 2.

Three-handed Euchre
A variant for three players, three-handed Euchre is played like 24-card Euchre, with the following changes:
 * Players play alone, rather than in teams.
 * Each player plays to ten points and keeps their own score (using s and s as markers)
 * Seven cards are dealt to each player, leaving three in the kitty (the top card is turned up).
 * The person who makes trump is the "maker". Both other players are "defenders", but compete with each other for tricks.
 * If the maker takes four tricks, they receive one point. If the maker takes six tricks, they receive two points. Taking all seven tricks gives the maker four points.
 * If the maker does not take four tricks, they are euchred (set). The defender who took the most tricks will then receive two points. If both defenders took an equal number of tricks, they each receive one point.

Ace no face: a player dealt a hand that contains any number of aces but no face cards, may lay this hand on the table and call "ace no face". This is considered a misdeal, and all the cards are gathered and re-dealt.

Regional variations
In Australia and New Zealand, playing to 11 points (as in England) rather than 10 points (as in North America) is common. In parts of New Zealand, Britain and Australia, after the dealer turns up the top card on the kitty if the first player to the left passes and the dealer's partner would like to order up the dealer, the dealer's partner must play alone, whereas common practice in USA allows the dealer's partner to "assist" and thus play in partnership with the dealer as the maker.

In Canada the standard rules are followed except that the dealer's partner, on ordering a card up, must go it alone.

Historical rulesets

 * History at parlettgames.uk
 * The Law and Practice of the Game of Euchre - Philadelphia, 1862

Current rulesets

 * Euchre at pagat.com.
 * Rules at bicyclecards.com
 * Rules at Ohio Euchre.Com
 * CCA Euchre Rules at ccasports.com
 * Rules of the Chicago Sport & Social Club.

title: Euchre


text:
Talk:University of Southampton

Babel Template
I have added this little template for your user profiles. Template:User SOTON. Jenzo 13:10 GMT, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Latin name
"Universitas de Sotoniensis" cannot possibly be correct Latin! --5.80.188.19 (talk) 19:03, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

 * Obviously Universitas Sotoniensis seems more correct. But the trouble doesn't end there. If the Latin name of Southampton, at least as far as Latin wikipedia concerned, is Hantonia and not Sotonium or Sotonia or some variation thereof, surely the correct form would Hantoniensis and Hant./Hanton.. What actual justification is there for Sotoniensis? especially if Soton is really So'ton / just Southampton abbreviated. Soton. is used in post-nominals, which is fine, I suppose, if that is what the University wants to do.

 * In fact, the only Latin names for Southampton I have come across are the rather unsatisfactory Trisantonis Portus or Clausentum here. Demeticus (talk) 13:17, 5 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Knowing no Latin, Universitas Hantoniensis sounds pretty cool to me. Though I suppose this would more directly translate to The University of Hampshire? As the name of Hampshire comes from Southampton, perhaps this would be appropriate. LordSeht (talk) 14:28, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
 * This article sheds some light on the issue, but the publication of the school has nothing to do with the University. I think Universitas Hantoniensis is probably the most appropriate, all things considered. LordSeht (talk) 15:19, 12 June 2023 (UTC)

Cleanup of Research Institutes list
This seems a long way to present all of the research institutes and it probably isn't up to date. Can anyone suggest a better way to present this? Aloneinthewild (talk) 18:02, 6 May 2019 (UTC)

Coat of arms
This might just be me, but the rear left leg on the stag in the coat of arms looks a bit... mangled. Would anyone object if the leg were altered to look more like the original source image of the stag in this aspect. LordSeht (talk) 20:09, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

 * I restored the original shape of the stag from the attributed work to fix the leg. I also added back the stag's pupil. Additionally, I restored the original aspect ratio of the book from the attributed work. I also added Tudor roses either side of the book to match the shield in the University of Southampton's logo. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shield_of_the_University_of_Southampton.svg LordSeht (talk) 14:33, 16 July 2023 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:University of Southampton


text:
University of Otago

The University of Otago (Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka ) is a public research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in Oceania.

The university was created by a committee led by Thomas Burns, and officially established by an ordinance of the Otago Provincial Council in 1869. Between 1874 and 1961 the University of Otago was a part of the federal University of New Zealand, and issued degrees in its name.

Otago is known for its vibrant student life, particularly its flatting, which is often in old houses. Otago students have a long-standing tradition of naming their flats. The nickname for Otago students, "Scarfie," comes from the habit of wearing a scarf during the cold southern winters. The nickname "Scarfie" has morphed into the nickname "Breather" in recent years. The university's graduation song, Gaudeamus igitur, iuvenes dum sumus ("Let us rejoice, while we are young"), acknowledges students will continue to live up to the challenge, if not always in the way intended. The university's student magazine, Critic, is New Zealand's longest running student magazine.

19th century
The Otago Association's plan for the European settlement of southern New Zealand, conceived under the principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield in the 1840s, envisaged a university.

Dunedin leaders Thomas Burns and James Macandrew urged the Otago Provincial Council during the 1860s to set aside a land endowment for an institute of higher education. An ordinance of the council established the university in 1869, giving it 100000 acre of land and the power to grant degrees in Arts, Medicine, Law and Music. Burns was named Chancellor but he did not live to see the university open on 5 July 1871.

The university conferred just one degree, to Alexander Watt Williamson, before becoming an affiliated college of the federal University of New Zealand in 1874. With the dissolution of the University of New Zealand in 1961 and the passage of the University of Otago Amendment Act 1961, the university resumed its power to confer degrees.

Originally operating from William Mason's Post Office building on Princes Street, it relocated to Maxwell Bury's Clocktower and Geology buildings in 1878 and 1879. This evolved into the Clocktower complex, a striking group of Gothic revival buildings at the heart of the campus. These buildings were inspired by the then-new main building at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

Otago was the first university in Australasia to permit women to take a law degree. Ethel Benjamin graduated LLB in 1897. Later that year she became the first woman in the British Empire to appear as counsel in court.

20th century
The University of Otago helped train medical personnel as part of the Otago University Medical Corps. They supplied or trained most of the New Zealand Army's doctors and dentists during the First World War.

Professor Robert Jack made the first radio broadcast in New Zealand from the physics department on 17 November 1921.

Queen Elizabeth II visited the university library with the Duke of Edinburgh on 18 March 1970. This was the first time the royals completed informal "walkabouts" to meet the public, and it was the first visit of Prince Charles (then 21 years old) and Princess Anne (19 years) to this country.

21st century
In May 2010 the university joined the Matariki Network of Universities (MNU) together with Dartmouth College (US), Durham University (UK), Queen's University (Canada), University of Tübingen (Germany), University of Western Australia (Australia) and Uppsala University (Sweden).

Beginning in 2015 university Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Tony Ballantyne implemented cuts in academic and support staff which generated enduring controversy. In this context The New Zealand Herald characterised the university's 'climate' as one of top-down 'suppression and fear' for its employees. The Otago Daily Times reported on 'demoralised teachers and researchers' who were 'locked in pain and anger at what their institution had become' and later opined that 'the university desperately needs a reset'. In 2020 the University of Otago announced that Hayne would be leaving the university and that Ballantyne would be given a new role, namely, leading the Division of External Engagement to attend to alumni relations and liaising with secondary schools, among other matters.

In December 2020, eight graduation ceremonies scheduled for that month were disrupted following threats to carry out a firearms and explosives attack on students attending graduation ceremonies scheduled for 7 and 8 December. On 18 December, a 22-year-old woman appeared in the Auckland District Court on charges of threatening harm to people or property. Court documents have described the threat as being of a "magnitude surpassing the 15 March Christchurch mosque massacres." On 14 July 2021, the woman, who has interim name suppression, admitted to threatening to carry out a firearms and explosives attack against Otago students. Her lawyer applied for a discharge without conviction. On 12 May 2022, the woman was sentenced to five months community detention and nine months intensive supervision. According to the University Chancellor, the bomb threat and subsequent cancellation of eight graduation ceremonies caused the University NZ$1.3 million.

In mid-April 2023, Otago University reported that it was facing a NZ$60 million deficit due to declining student enrollments and a shortfall in government funding. In response, Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Helen Nicholson stated that the university was considering laying off several hundred staff members including academics. This marked the first time since its founding in 1878 that the university has faced a major debt crisis. According to the Otago Daily Times, the university had only started borrowing in mid-December 2022, incurring a year-end debt of NZ$30 million. While the university was able to come out of debt in January 2023 following a regular injection of government funding, the university subsequently incurred more debt in 2023 due to its capital programme of refurbishing existing buildings and building new buildings. In response, students staged a protest against the proposed cuts. Otago University Students Association president Quintin Jane also called on Education Minister Jan Tinetti to increase funding for universities. In late May 2023, the Otago Daily Times reported that the university had declined to inform staff of its NZ$60 million budget shortfall in November 2022. In late June 2023, the Government announced a NZ$128 million funding injection for degree-level and postgraduate programmes for New Zealand universities and other tertiary institutions. In response, acting Vice-Chancellor Nicholson stated that the university would still proceed with job cuts since the funding would only come into effect from 2024 onwards.

In March 2024, Grant Robertson was designated as the next Vice-Chancellor, commencing July 2024. This announcement was accompanied by a 'major' 'almost wholesale' replacement of the university leadership. While University Chancellor Stephen Higgs and the university council supported Robertson's appointment, there was mixed reception from donors. While some were supportive, several objected to appointing a former politician due to his non-academic background and record as Finance Minister. Several alumni also withheld donations and funding to Otago University following Robertson's appointment. In mid May 2024, the Otago Daily Times reported that donations to the University's Foundation Trust had declined from NZ$12.25 million in 2022 to NZ$7.09m in 2023. University development and alumni relations office director Shelagh Murray attributed the decline in donor funding to the ongoing impact of Covid-19, the economic recession and the cost-of-living crisis on individuals and businesses.

Coat of arms
In mid-March 2023, the university unveiled a new proposed logo replacing the traditional coat of arms with a symbol and a new Māori name for the institution as part of its Vision 2040 strategy. The process was spearheaded by Tony Ballantyne and the university's Division of External Engagement. The proposed symbol is intended to symbolise the Otakou channel in Otago harbour while the coat of arms will be retained for ceremonial settings such as graduation events. The proposal also involves changing the current Māori name from Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo to Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka ("A Place of Many Firsts"). Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Helen Nicholson stated that the proposed logo and name change was intended to create a visual identity that reflected modern Aotearoa New Zealand. The university also launched a consultation process for staff, students and alumni that will conclude on 16 April 2023. On 17 March 2023, an Otago Daily Times survey found that 77% (1,908) of 2,479 respondents opposed the proposed logo change. The process was also criticised for costing about $700,000 whilst large numbers of academic staff were made redundant on the grounds of budgetary shortfalls.

On 11 July 2023, the University council voted to proceed with the logo and alternate Māori name change following a consultation process with staff, students, and alumni. Three quarters of respondents voted to replace the coat of arms with the O-shaped symbol while two thirds voted to change the Māori name from Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo to Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka ("A Place of Many Firsts"). The new logo will be rolled out from March 2024 over a 12-month period at a cost of NZ$1.3 million.

Campuses
The University of Otago's main campus is in Dunedin, which hosts the Central Administration as well as its Health Sciences, Humanities, Business School, and Sciences divisions. The architectural grandeur and accompanying gardens of the main campus in Dunedin led to its being ranked as one of the world's most beautiful university campuses by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph and American online news website The Huffington Post. In addition, the university has four satellite campuses in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Invercargill.

 * 1) The Christchurch campus is based at the Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Science. It also provides medical and physiotherapy clinical training programs, research, distance education, and postgraduate programs.
 * 2) The Wellington campus is based at the Wellington School of Medicine and Health Science. It also provides medical and physiotherapy clinical training programs, research, distance education, and postgraduate programs.
 * 3) The Auckland campus is based at the Auckland Centre on Queen. The Auckland Centre provides various teaching and distance learning courses and serves as a liaison with the wider Auckland community and alumni.
 * 4) The Southland Campus (Ahuahu Te Mātauranga) is a branch of the University of Otago College of Education. The campus provides a range of early childhood, primary, primary bilingual, and secondary teacher education programs.
 * 5) The University of Otago's Department of Marine Science also operates the Portobello Marine Laboratory in the Otago peninsula.

Merger with Dunedin College of Education
The University of Otago and the Dunedin College of Education (a specialist teacher training institution) merged on 1 January 2007. The University of Otago College of Education is now based on the college site, and includes the college's campuses in Invercargill and Alexandra. Staff of the university's Faculty of Education relocated to the college site. A merger had been considered before, however the present talks progressed further, and more amicably, than previously.

Libraries
The University of Otago has nine libraries: six based in Dunedin on the main university campus, the education library in Southland, plus two medical libraries in Wellington and Christchurch. All libraries have wireless access.

Central Library
The Central Library is part of the Information Services Building and has over 2000 study spaces, 130 computer terminals, and laptop connections at 500 desks. It has Te Aka a Tāwhaki, a collection of Māori resources, and the Special Collections consisting of about 9,000 books printed before 1801. In total, the Central Library has over 800,000 print and electronic materials relating to the arts and humanities, commerce, education, physical education, social sciences, and technology. It was designed by the American architecture firm Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer and opened in 2001, replacing what was previously a 1960s-era modernist building.

Robert Stout Law Library
The Robert Stout Law Library is the university's law library and is based in the Richardson Building.

Health Sciences Library
The Health Sciences Library is in the Sayers Building, opposite the main entrance to Dunedin Hospital. The Health Sciences Library book collection only includes the last 10 years of content, but does have over 150,000 volumes, the vast majority of which are in storage. There is seating for over 400.

Science Library
The Science Library is at the north end of the campus in the Science III building, with seating for approximately 500.

Hocken Collections
The Hocken Collections is a research library, archive, and art gallery of national significance which is administered by the University of Otago. The library's specialist areas include items relating to the history of New Zealand and the Pacific, with specific emphasis on the Otago and Southland regions. The Hocken Collections was established in 1910 when Dunedin philanthropist Thomas Hocken donated his entire private collection to the University of Otago. It currently houses over 8,000 linear metres of archives and manuscripts. It is currently situated at the site of the former Otago Co-operative Dairy Company factory on Anzac Avenue, east of the main campus.

Robertson Library
The Robertson Library is the university's education library and is jointly run by the University of Otago's College of Education and Otago Polytechnic, which is also located near the university's Dunedin campus.

Other libraries
The Wellington Medical and Health Sciences Library and the Canterbury Medical Library provide services to University of Otago students and staff, and the staff of the local District Health Boards. The university's Southland Campus also has a library.

Organisation and administration
The university is divided into four academic divisions: For external and marketing purposes, the Division of Commerce is known as the Otago Business School, as that is the term commonly used for its equivalent in North America. Historically, there were a number of schools and faculties, which have now been grouped with stand alone departments to form these divisions.
 * Division of Humanities
 * Division of Health Sciences
 * Division of Sciences
 * Otago Business School

In addition to the usual university disciplines, the University of Otago Medical School (founded 1875) is one of only two medical schools in New Zealand (with component schools in Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington); and Otago is the only university in the country to offer training in Dentistry. Other professional schools and faculties not found in all New Zealand universities include Pharmacy, Physical Education, Physiotherapy, Medical Laboratory Science, and Surveying. It was also home to the School of Mines, until this was transferred to the University of Auckland in 1987. Theology is also offered, traditionally in conjunction with the School of Ministry, Knox College, and Holy Cross College, Mosgiel.

There are also a number of service divisions including:
 * External Engagement Division
 * Financial Services Division
 * Human Resources Division
 * Information Technology Services Division
 * Property Services Division
 * Research & Enterprise Division
 * Student Services Division

Distinctions
Many Fellowships add to the diversity of the people associated with "Otago". They include:
 * Robert Burns Fellowship (literature)
 * Caroline Plummer Fellowship in Community Dance
 * Charles Hercus Fellowship
 * Claude McCarthy Fellowship
 * Foxley Fellowship
 * Frances Hodgkins Fellowship (art)
 * Henry Lang Fellowship
 * Hocken Fellowship
 * Mozart Fellowship (music)
 * THB Symons Fellowship
 * William Evans Visiting Fellowship

In 1998, the physics department gained some fame for making the first Bose–Einstein condensate in the Southern Hemisphere.

The 2006 Government investigation into research quality (to serve as a basis for future funding) ranked Otago the top University in New Zealand overall, taking into account the quality of its staff and research produced. It was also ranked first in the categories of Clinical Medicine, Biomedical Science, Law, English Literature and Language, History and Earth Science. The Department of Philosophy received the highest score for any nominated academic unit. Otago had been ranked fourth in the 2004 assessment.

In 2006, a report released by the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology found that Otago was the most research intensive university in New Zealand, with 40% of staff time devoted to research and development.

Journal "Science" has recommended worldwide study of Otago's Biochemistry database "Transterm", which has genomic data on 40,000 species.

Rankings
The University of Otago is consistently ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world. The university has also been rated 5-Stars Plus by QS Stars in the QS World University Rankings. This is the maximum rating achievable under the QS Stars System, which takes into account the quality of Otago's facilities, teaching, graduate employability, internationalisation, and inclusiveness. Besides having 5 subjects in the top 50 in the world, the University of Otago has 10 subjects ranked between 51st and 100th in QS World University Rankings. As well as having 15 subjects in the top 100 in the world, Otago has another 7 subjects in the top 101 to 150 band, and 6 subjects in the top 151 to 200 band. In 2015, the University of Otago became the first New Zealand university to have a course in a QS Top 10 list, being ranked 8th in Dentistry.

Residential colleges
The University of Otago owns, or is in affiliation with, fourteen residential colleges, which provide food, accommodation, social and welfare services. Most of these cater primarily for first year students, though some have a sizable number of second and higher year undergraduates, as well as occasionally a significant postgraduate population. While some teaching is normally undertaken at a college, this generally represents a small percentage of a resident's formal tuition.

Most colleges actively seek to foster a sense of community and academic achievement amongst their members through, variously, intercollegiate competitions, communal dining, apartment groups, traditionalism, independent students' clubs, college events and internal sporting and cultural societies.

The colleges are geographically spread over the Dunedin urban area:

 * Aquinas College
 * Arana College
 * Caroline Freeman College
 * Carrington College
 * Cumberland College
 * Hayward College
 * Knox College
 * Salmond College
 * Selwyn College
 * St Margaret's College
 * Studholme College
 * Te Rangi Hiroa College
 * Toroa College
 * University College

In mid October 2019, the University of Otago announced that it would be building a new 450-room residential college called Te Rangi Hiroa, which will replace the current Te Rangi Hiroa College along Cumberland Street. The new college is estimated to cost NZ$90 million and is located on the corner of Albany and Forth Streets near the Dunedin campus.

O-Week

'O-Week' or Orientation Week is the Otago equivalent of Freshers' Week. New students are most commonly known by their seniors as 'freshers' or simply as 'first-years'. O-week is organised by the Otago University Students' Association and involves competitions such as 'Fresher of the Year' whereby several students volunteer to carry out a series of tasks throughout the week before being voted to win. Other competitions include that of different faculties facing off with each other. The OUSA also organises events each night including various concerts, a comedy night, hypnotist plus bigger events at Forsyth Barr Stadium. Typically there is a Highlanders rugby game scheduled during the week. Local bars organise events also with a range of live music and promotional deals. Historically events have included the Cookathon and a Miss O-Week competition hosted by The Outback. The Cookathon was held by a local pub (the Cook) with the premise that your first drink costs you about $20 which gives you a t-shirt, three meal vouchers and reduced price on drinks then you spend the rest of the day binge drinking and 'telephoning' the occasional jug with mates. Each year the first years are encouraged to attend the toga parade and party dressed in white sheets wrapped as togas. Retailers called for an end of the parade after property damage and disorder during the 2009 event. However, the OUSA took it upon themselves to reintroduce this tradition, with a festival like event taking place at the stadium. 2012 Toga Party saw an unofficial world record. A clocktower race also occurs, in the style of Chariots of Fire. Students must race round the tower and attached building, beginning on the first chime of the clock at noon and completing before the chimes cease. Unlike Chariots of Fire, the task is possible with a couple of students completing each year.
 * Traditions

Behavioural issues
Student behaviour is a major concern for both the university administration and Dunedin residents in general. Concerns over student behaviour prompted the university to introduce a Code of Conduct (CoC) which its students must abide by in 2007. The introduction of the CoC was accompanied by the establishment of the dedicated 'Campus Watch' security force to keep tabs on crime and anti-social behaviour on campus and in the student neighbourhoods nearby. Campus Watch reports directly to the university's Proctor.

Riots took place in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 related to events surrounding the Undie 500 car rally organised by students from Canterbury University. Other student social events during the year such as the Toga Parade and the Hyde Street Keg Race are also notable for attracting police attention, but not to the scale of the Undie riots. In 2012 there were 80 people treated by emergency services and 15 arrests by police after the Hyde Street party went out of control.
 * Riots

Otago students are notable for protesting over contentious political issues in nearly every decade. In the 1960s students at Otago who were involved with the Progressive Youth Movement led protests against the Vietnam War. In the 1960s mixed flatting (males and females were prohibited from sharing housing up to that time) was contested in various creative ways by Otago students. On 28 September 1993 Otago students protested against a fee increase at the University Registry (Clocktower Building), which ended in a violent clash with police. In the lead up to the 1996 general election students trying to stop a 25% fee increase occupied the University Registry (Clocktower Building) for over a week (which was followed by similar occupations at campuses around the country), fee increases were limited to 17%. Since 2004, the Otago University NORML club, led by Abe Gray, met weekly on the Otago campus to protest by smoking cannabis in defiance of New Zealand's cannabis laws. In 2008, several members were arrested and issued with trespass notices banning them from the Union Lawn.
 * Protest

Chancellors
The following is a list of chancellors of the University of Otago.

The following is a list of vice-chancellors of the university:

Faculty

 * Muriel Bell, nutritionist and medical researcher
 * Agnes Blackie, first female physics academic
 * Robert J. T. Bell, mathematician
 * Noel Benson, geologist
 * Carolyn Burns, Marsden Medal winning zoologist
 * Jennie Connor Medicine
 * Alice Copping, nutritionist
 * Alison Cree, herpetologist
 * Marie Crowe, psychotherapy academic
 * John Crump, infectious diseases specialist
 * Michael Cullen, politician
 * Catherine Day, biochemist
 * Sarah Derrett, injury prevention specialist
 * John Carew Eccles, medical researcher
 * Norman Lowther Edson, biochemistry
 * Solomon Faine, microbiologist
 * J.N. Findlay, philosopher
 * Jim Flynn, intelligence researcher and political philosopher
 * Abe Gray, founder of the Whakamana Cannabis Museum, high-profile cannabis activist and protester for almost two decades
 * David Harris, software developer
 * Jocelyn Harris, Professor of English
 * Janet Hoek, public health
 * Christina Hulbe, Antarctic researcher, glaciologist
 * Keith Hunter, Marsden Medal winning marine chemist
 * Robert Jack, physicist
 * Leopold Kirschner, bacteriologist
 * Pat Langhorne, physicist
 * Raechel Laing, clothing and textiles researcher
 * J. L. Mackie, philosopher
 * Brian John Marples (1907–1967), Professor of Zoology 1937–1967
 * Alan Musgrave, philosopher of science
 * Lisa Matisoo-Smith, Professor of Biological Anthropology and Head of the Department of Anatomy
 * Pauline Norris, pharmacy professor
 * Patricia Priest, epidemiologist and professor of public health
 * Elaine Reese, psychology professor
 * Christina Riesselman, paleoceanographer
 * Bridget Robinson, Mackenzie Chair in Cancer Medicine
 * Angus Ross, professor of history
 * Abigail Smith, professor in marine sciences
 * David Skegg, epidemiologist
 * Rachael Taylor
 * Virginia Toy, geology
 * Gillian Whalley, medical research

Alumni
(with residential college, if any, in parentheses where known)

 * Arthur Henry Adams, journalist and writer
 * Barbara Anderson, novelist
 * Rui Maria de Araújo, Prime Minister of Timor-Leste
 * Annette Baier, moral philosopher
 * Rayyanah Barnawi, Saudi astronaut
 * Muriel Bell, nutritionist and medical researcher
 * David Benson-Pope, politician
 * W. D. Borrie, demographer
 * Christine Jensen Burke, mountain climber
 * Dame Silvia Cartwright, Governor General
 * Brian Christie, neuroscientist
 * Nathan Cohen, world champion and Olympic champion rower
 * John Coverdale, academic psychiatrist
 * John Crump, infectious diseases specialist
 * David Cunliffe (Carrington), politician
 * Helen Danesh-Meyer, ophthalmology academic
 * Thomas Davis, politician, diplomat and researcher
 * Glen Denham, Tall Black
 * Derek Denny-Brown
 * Sarah Derrett, injury prevention specialist
 * Archibald Durward FRSE, anatomist
 * Marc Ellis (University College), All Black
 * Bill English (Selwyn), 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand
 * Solomon Faine, microbiologist
 * Janet Frame, writer
 * Ian Fraser, broadcaster
 * Caroline Freeman, first female graduate of the University of Otago
 * William Fyfe, geochemist
 * Jon Gadsby, comedian and actor
 * John Gallas, poet and educator
 * Abe Gray, founder of the Whakamana Cannabis Museum, high-profile cannabis activist and protester for almost two decades
 * Sir Harold Delf Gillies, plastic surgeon
 * Sir Malcolm Grant (Selwyn), lawyer and Vice-Chancellor of University College London (2003–13); subsequently Chairman of NHS England and Chancellor of the University of York
 * Stephen Guest, legal academic
 * Geoffrey Harding OAM, medical practitioner
 * Graeme Hart, businessman
 * Volker Heine, physicist
 * Jan Hellriegel, singer/songwriter
 * Greg Henderson, cyclist
 * Sir Peter Buck, doctor, military leader, health administrator, politician, anthropologist and museum director.
 * Brent Hodge (Cumberland), director
 * Fergus Hume, novelist
 * Ludwig Keke, Nauruan politician
 * David Kirk (Selwyn), All Black captain and businessman
 * Josh Kronfeld (Aquinas College), All Black
 * Chris Laidlaw, All Black and politician
 * Samuelu Laloniu, Permanent Representative of Tuvalu to the United Nations
 * Michael Laws, (Arana) politician, writer, broadcaster
 * Tania Lineham, science teacher, winner of the Prime Minister's Science Teacher Prize, 2015
 * Bridie Lonie, artist and art academic
 * John Edward "Jack" Lovelock, athlete
 * Chris Mahony, World Bank professional, University of Oxford doctorate, athlete
 * Dee Mangin, David Braley Nancy Gordon Chair in Family Medicine at McMaster University
 * Kamisese Mara (Knox), politician
 * Diana Martin, microbiologist in New Zealand (1942–2019)
 * Stella Maxwell, fashion model
 * Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas, businesswoman
 * Archibald McIndoe, plastic surgeon
 * Joseph William Mellor, chemist
 * James S. Milne, mathematician
 * Arnold Nordmeyer, politician
 * Christopher Norton, composer
 * Anton Oliver (University College), Captain of the All Blacks
 * Mazlan Othman, astrophysicist, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
 * Lan Pham, politician and ecologist
 * Lord Porritt (Selwyn), Olympian, physician to the Queen and Governor General
 * Arthur Prior, philosopher
 * Lauren Kim Roche, physician and author
 * Emily Siedeberg, first female medical graduate
 * Penny Simmonds, politician
 * Robert Stout (Aquinas), Prime Minister of New Zealand
 * Sulaiman Daud, politician
 * Sione Tapa, Tongan Minister of Health
 * Peter Tapsell, politician
 * Pobert H Wade LSE Professor
 * Jeremy Waldron, legal philosopher
 * Murray Webb, cricketer and caricaturist
 * Bridget Williams, publisher
 * Allan Wilson, molecular biologist

Rhodes Scholars
list of Rhodes Scholars: (College at Oxford in brackets)(Source: List of NZ Rhodes Scholars)

title: University of Otago


text:
BEC

BEC may refer to:

Education

 * Bapatla Engineering College
 * Basaveshwar Engineering College
 * Business Environment and Concepts in the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination
 * Business and Enterprise College, in English secondary education
 * Breton Education Centre, Nova Scotia, Canada

Companies and commerce

 * Bilbao Exhibition Centre
 * Bahamas Electricity Corporation
 * BEC (company), Bandai Entertainment Company
 * Bolinao Electronics Corporation, later ABS-CBN Corporation
 * Former British Employers' Confederation
 * Brookville Equipment Corporation
 * Botswana Examination Council
 * Business Environment Council, Hong Kong

Other acronyms

 * Business Email Compromise
 * Bacon, egg and cheese sandwich
 * Basic ecclesial community, a Christian movement
 * Battery eliminator circuit
 * Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes, history journal
 * Binary erasure channel
 * Bose–Einstein condensate, a state of matter
 * Broad Economic Categories
 * Business English Certificate, a Cambridge English Qualification
 * The IATA code for Beech Factory Airport, Wichita, Kansas, US

Other

 * BEC Recordings
 * BEC-TERO, Thai entertainment company
 * Beckenham Hill railway station in London
 * Bachelor of Economics, BEc

title: BEC


text:
Downpatrick

Downpatrick is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about 21 mi south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the burial place of Saint Patrick. Today, it is the county town of Down and the joint headquarters of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. Downpatrick had a population of 11,545 according to the 2021 Census.

Pre-history
An early Bronze Age site was excavated in the Meadowlands area of Downpatrick, revealing two roundhouses, one was four metres across and the other was over seven metres across. Archaeological excavations in the 1950s found what was thought to be a Bronze Age hillfort on Cathedral Hill, but further work in the 1980s revealed that this was a much later rampart surrounding an early Christian monastery.

Early history
Downpatrick is one of Ireland's oldest towns. It takes its name from a dún, a medieval royal fort, which stood on a drumlin overlooking the River Quoile. In the Middle Ages, the river was an estuary that would have surrounded the drumlin on most sides. It is believed that there was a ringfort on the site in the early Middle Ages. This may have been the site called Ráth Celtchair (later anglicized Rathkeltair), the 'fort of Celtchar', after a hero in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.

A small Christian monastic settlement was also built on the neighbouring drumlin to the south, now known as 'Cathedral Hill'. Nearby Saul Monastery was associated with Saint Patrick. The saint is said to have been buried on Cathedral Hill in the 5th century, and his reputed grave is still a place of pilgrimage. Down Cathedral was later built on this spot.

In the early 11th century, a much bigger fort with earthen ramparts was built on the northern drumlin, now known as the 'Mound of Down'. This was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaidh (Ulster), who held the title "Rí Uladh", "King of Ulster". Deirdre Flanagan suggests that the older name Dún Lethglaise referred to Cathedral Hill, while Dún da Lethglas was the name of this new royal residence.

The King of Norway, Magnus Barefoot, was killed in an ambush near Downpatrick in 1102. It is believed his grave is marked by a mound at Horse Island, southwest of Cathedral Hill.

Saint Malachy became the Bishop of Down (Dún da Lethglas) in 1137. He administered the diocese from Bangor and introduced a community of Augustinians (canons) to Dún da Lethglas dedicated to St John the Evangelist. Malachy and his successors repaired and enlarged Down Cathedral.

In the late 12th century, the area was conquered by Anglo-Normans led by John de Courcy, becoming part of his Earldom of Ulster. In February 1177, a Norman army of 300 men and 20 knights marched north from Dublin and took the town by surprise. The King of Ulster and Dál Fiatach, Ruaidrí mac Duinn Sléibe (Rory MacDunleavy), tried to retake the town, but was forced to withdraw after a fierce battle. The Normans began building a motte (fortified mound) inside the older royal fort, but abandoned it when de Courcy made Carrickfergus his capital in 1178.

In 1183, de Courcy brought in Benedictine monks from the abbey of St Werburgh in Chester (today Chester Cathedral), England. He built a friary for them at Downpatrick; this building was destroyed by an earthquake in 1245. He also re-dedicated the cathedral to Saint Patrick, giving it the name Ecclesia S. Patricii Duni in Latin. It is claimed that de Courcy miraculously found the bones of St Patrick, St Brigid and St Colmcille at Downpatrick. In the presence of the Papal Legate, Vivian, the relics were reburied inside the cathedral on 9 June 1196. This story of their discovery is thought to have been crafted by de Courcy for political reasons. In the Anglo-Norman and later medieval era the town's name in Latin and English documentation is variously 'Dunum', 'Dun' or 'Down'. The oldest surviving record of the name 'Downpatrick' is in the Bodley Survey of the early 1600s.

In 1260 Brian O'Neill, King of Tír Eoghain (Tyrone) and claimed High King of Ireland, marched to Downpatrick, which was then part of the Anglo-Norman earldom of Ulster. Allied with a Connacht force under Hugh O'Conor, he fought the Anglo-Normans in the Battle of Down. O'Neill was killed and the Irish were defeated. The death of O'Neill and defeat of the Irish was lamented in a poem by the Cenél nEógain bard Giolla Brighde Mac Con Midhe (1210–1272).

The earldom collapsed in the 1300s, but the English retained a foothold in Lecale. In 1375, Niall O'Neill of Tyrone defeated the English at Dundalethglas.

Reformation and aftermath
Under orders from King Henry VIII of England, Downpatrick's monastic community was dissolved by the English around 1540, and the Cathedral fell into ruins. In 1600, the cathedral was allegedly burnt by English forces led by Edward Cromwell. A painting from 1788 shows the abbey ruins and its round tower.

The Archbishop of Armagh, composer of Irish bardic poetry and Christian poetry in the Classical Gaelic literary language, and Franciscan Counter-Reformation theologian Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil was born outside Downpatrick in 1571. On 21 January 1575, Franciscans John Lochran, Donagh O'Rorke, and Edmund Fitzsimon were hanged by Protestants at Downpatrick.

After his 25 April 1681 assassination by his foster brother, Art McCall O'Hanlon near Hilltown, County Down, rapparee leader Count Redmond O'Hanlon's severed head was displayed spiked upon Downpatrick Gaol. The Count's body was buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery at Ballynabeck, on the road between Tandragee and Scarva.

Cathedral Hill was the subject of an archaeological investigation in Series 5 of the Channel 4 Time Team programme.

18th century
Four main thoroughfares are shown converging on a town plan of 1724, namely English Street, Scotch (now Saul) Street, Barrack (now Scotch) Street, and Irish Street. The landscape limited the growth of the town. The early-18th-century street plan continued largely unchanged until 1838 when Church Street was built, followed by Market Street in 1846.

The condition of the town was greatly improved in the 18th century by a land-owning family named Southwell. The first Edward Southwell was responsible for building a shambles in 1719 and paving of the streets, which started in 1727. In 1717 he built a quay and grain store at Quoile Quay, contributing to the economic growth of the town. The second Edward Southwell was responsible for building Southwell School in 1733.

Down County Infirmary was established in a house in Saul Street in October 1767, where it operated for seven years. It was moved to Barrack Lane (now Fountain Street) where the former Horse Barracks was bought in 1774 for £150 by Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor for use as the Infirmary. It was used until the new Infirmary (later known as the Downe Hospital) was opened in 1834.

In June 1778, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, preached in the new preaching house in Downpatrick and in The Grove beside the ruins of Down Cathedral, which he called a "noble ruin".

19th century
On 21 October 1803, a co-founder and leader of the United Irishmen, Thomas Russell, was hanged outside Downpatrick Gaol for his part in trying to raise local United Irishmen and Defenders in support of Robert Emmet's rebellion in July of that year. Russell is buried in the graveyard of the Anglican parish Church of Downpatrick, St Margaret's, in a grave paid for by his friend Mary Ann McCracken, sister of leading Belfast United Irishman Henry Joy McCracken who had been hanged in 1798.

In his role as barrister, Daniel O'Connell, "The Liberator", was called away from London to Downpatrick to attend the County Down Assizes, as counsel in a case heard on 1 April 1829. As the leading campaigner for Catholic Emancipation, he had been in London for the parliamentary passage of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 which lifted the sacramental test bar to Catholics entering the British Parliament. On 2 April 1829, O'Connell attended a public dinner at Downpatrick in his honour, along with "upwards of eighty gentlemen, of different religious persuasions".

On St Patrick's Day, 17 March 1848, a crowd of 2,000–3,000 Catholics set off from Old Course Road intending to parade to the reputed grave of St Patrick on Cathedral Hill. They were attacked by Protestant Orangemen at the Irish Street shambles and a riot ensued.

The Troubles
There were many gun attacks and bombings in Downpatrick during the Troubles. The deadliest incident was the Downpatrick landmine attack on 9 April 1990. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a massive improvised land mine under a British Army convoy on Ballydugan Road, just outside the town. Four soldiers of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) were killed

Places of interest

 * Ballyalton Court Cairn is a single court grave situated on a rock outcrop by the roadside 0.5 mi from Ballyalton village, which is 2.25 mi east of Downpatrick, at grid ref 531 448.
 * Ballynoe stone circle, a large circle of over 50 closely spaced upright stones, surrounding a mound which, when excavated, was found to contain two cists in which cremated bones were found, is only 2.5 miles (4 km) south in the hamlet of Ballynoe. The site is near the disused railway station, reached by a long footpath off the main road, at grid ref: J481404.
 * The Down Arts Centre, located in the former Downpatrick Town Hall, is an events venue in the town.
 * Down County Museum, is located on the Mall in English Street in Downpatrick and was formerly the old Down County Gaol. It was built between 1789 and 1796 at the behest of the County Grand Jury of Down under the supervision of Marquess of Downshire, the Earl of Hillsborough and the Hon Edward Ward, it was designed by architect Charles Lilly.  The building served for a time as a barracks for the South Down Militia. It is famously where, at its gates, United Irishman, Thomas Russell was hanged in 1803.
 * Downpatrick Racecourse, is located on the Ballydugan Road on the outskirts of Downpatrick. Horse racing has been held at Downpatrick under the charter of James II of England.
 * Downpatrick and County Down Railway is Ireland's only full-sized heritage railway. Built on the BCDR's former line to Belfast, it links the town with Inch Abbey and various other places of historical interest. The railway houses Ireland's largest collection of Victorian carriages, eight diesel locomotives, three steam engines, and several railcars.
 * Inch Abbey, a large, ruined Cistercian monastic site featuring early Gothic architecture is 0.75 miles (1.2 km) north-west of Downpatrick on the north bank of the River Quoile off the main road to Belfast, at grid ref: J477455.
 * The Lecale peninsula covers an area of some 78 sqmi between Downpatrick and Dundrum. It is an area of historical and geographic significance.
 * The Mound of Down or Rathkeltair is one of the major earthworks of Ulster, situated on the NW edge of Downpatrick it is a good example of an Iron Age defensive earthwork in the middle of which a Norman Motte and Bailey was built by John de Courcy after his defeat of Rory Mac Donlevy in 1177. Some believe that it was the residence of Celtchar mac Ulthechair, the legendary Iron Age hero of the Ulster Cycle. It seems to have become the administrative centre of the Kings of Dál Fiatach by the early Christian period.
 * St Patricks Centre.tif. Patrick Centre, is the only permanent exhibition in the world dedicated to the patron saint of Ireland. As a nonprofit educational organisation offers of reconciliation in Northern Ireland, thousands of children each year and the ongoing cross-border and international youth programs.
 * Quoile Castle is a ruined 16th-century tower house, just off the main road from Downpatrick to Strangford, at grid ref: J4963 4701.
 * Struell Wells is a set of four holy wells 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Downpatrick (grid ref: J513442). The wells date from before the time of Saint Patrick, and even today are used for people seeking cures.
 * The Eclipse cinema, now an Omniplex, opened in 2009. The first cinema in Downpatrick was the Pavilion on St Patrick's Avenue in 1917, followed by the Grand on Market St in 1935.
 * Lough Money is about three miles from the town. A rainbow trout fishery is maintained there for anglers.
 * Saul Church is approx. 3 Miles from the town, built in 1932 to commemorate St Patrick's first church in Ireland.

St Patrick's Day Parade
St Patrick's Day is celebrated in Downpatrick through an annual cross-community parade which goes through the centre of the town. This is the one day of the year that Downpatrick closes its main streets so that celebrations can begin. The celebrations occurs every year on 17 March. Newry, Mourne and Down District council in recent years have lengthened the celebrations from one day to the entire week full of history exhibitions and family events.

Downpatrick's St Patrick's Day celebrations are also popular for tourists especially because of the town's history of St Patrick and because of his burial site.

2021 Census
On Census day (21 March 2021) there were 11,545 people living in Downpatrick. Of these:
 * 83.6% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic faith and 10.4% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' denominations.

2011 Census
On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 10,822 people living in Downpatrick (4,179 households), accounting for 0.60% of the NI total, and representing an increase of 4.9% on the Census 2001 population of 10,316. Of these:
 * 22.35% were aged under 16 years and 13.28% were aged 65 and over.
 * 51.55% of the usually resident population were female and 48.45% were male.
 * 85.51% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic faith and 10.78% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' denominations.
 * 42.95% had an Irish national identity, 34.77% had a Northern Irish national identity and 26.58% indicated that they had a British national identity (respondents could indicate more than one national identity).
 * 34 years was the average (median) age of the population.
 * 13.10% had some knowledge of Irish (Gaeilge) and 3.12% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots.

Transport

 * Downpatrick Station, February 2010 (01).JPG]]Downpatrick is situated at the junction of the A7 (Downpatrick to Saintfield and Belfast) road, the A25 (Downpatrick to Newry and Dublin) road and the A2 coast road. While there are no rail services in Downpatrick, Ulsterbus provides bus services to and from the Downpatrick Bus Station.
 * Downpatrick railway station on the Belfast and County Down Railway, opened on 23 March 1859 and Downpatrick Loop Platform opened on 24 September 1892. Both closed on 16 January 1950. Downpatrick Racecourse Platform had opened on 8 March 1893, but closed in September 1949. The current station, owned by the Downpatrick and County Down Railway, was opened in the early 1990s and serves several sites of historical interest near the town, having originally been a gas manager's office situated elsewhere in Downpatrick.
 * Downpatrick also holds a Translink bus station on the Ballydugan Road providing bus services to Belfast, Bangor and Newry alongside services to local towns and townlands.

Primary schools

 * Downpatrick Primary School – "controlled" Primary School.
 * Bunscoil Naomh Pádraig (St Patrick's Primary School) – Irish Speaking Primary School.
 * St Brigid's Primary School – Roman Catholic Primary School.
 * St Colmcille's Primary School – Roman Catholic Primary School.
 * Our Lady & St Patrick Primary School – Roman Catholic Primary School. (St Patrick's Boys' Primary School & Convent of Mercy Primary School merged to form this school which is situated at the old Convent of Mercy building, with a new school building in the planning stages.)

Post-primary schools

 * Down High School – (known locally as "The Green High") "Controlled" coeducational Grammar School
 * De la Salle High school – Roman Catholic all-male High School
 * Blackwater Integrated College – Integrated High School
 * St Mary's High school – Roman Catholic all-female High School
 * St Patrick's Grammar School (known locally as "The Red High") – Roman Catholic all-male grammar school (although girls are admitted in the sixth form)

Further and higher education

 * South Eastern Regional College ( Downpatrick Campus ) – the local campus of the regional further and higher education college

People
See Category:People from Downpatrick
 * Trevor Carson, Northern Ireland international football team goalkeeper.
 * Maurice Hayes, the former Northern Ireland Ombudsman, Chairman of the Ireland Funds and Taoiseach-appointed Senator in Seanad Éireann.
 * Conor Hazard, Northern Ireland international goalkeeper who currently plays for Plymouth Argyle.
 * E. Neville Isdell, former chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.
 * William Johnston of Ballykilbeg (1829-1902), MP for Belfast, Orangeman, tenant righter and women's suffragist.
 * Patrick Kielty, attended (St. Patrick's Grammar) school in Downpatrick.
 * Miles Kington, journalist, musician and broadcaster born in Downpatrick.
 * George Lowden, custom guitar maker, based in Downpatrick
 * Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil (1571-1629), poet, Franciscan theologian and Archbishop of Armagh
 * Colin McGrath, South Down SDLP MLA, Chairman and party Chief Whip.
 * Lynn C. Doyle, pseudonym of Leslie Alexander Montgomery (1873–1961), comic writer and playwright born in Downpatrick.
 * Colin Murphy, comedian.
 * The Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick, a former SDLP MP and a former minister in the Northern Ireland Executive.
 * Thomas Russell (1767-1803) United Irishman executed at Down County Gaol following Robert Emmet's Rebellion in 1803. He is honoured in the name of the local GAA.
 * Robert Scott (1874–1961) Second Boer War Victoria Cross
 * Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, writer and radical activist, was raised in Downpatrick.

 * Tim Wheeler, lead singer of rock band Ash.

Gaelic games
Downpatrick is home to Russell Gaelic Union, Downpatrick. The Russell Gaelic Union was formed by an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman: Willie King, Alex McDowell, and Willie Byrne, respectively, in the county town in the early 20th century. The team traditionally wears green and white hoops. Downpatrick has had mixed fortunes over the years but has still managed to produce excellent county footballers such as Ray McConville, Conor Deegan, and Barry Breen, all of whom won All-Irelands with Down. The club was named in honour of United Irishman, Thomas Russell.

Downpatrick has had a successful handball club since the 1980s when local teacher Martin Murphy established a team. After a number of years it was incorporated into the RGU family.

Cricket
Downpatrick Cricket Club has won the Irish Senior Cup on two occasions, the NCU Senior League on six occasions and the NCU Challenge Cup on six occasions. The club's Strangford Road ground has hosted Ireland international matches, most recently against Australia "A" and South Africa in 1998.

Rugby union
The community of Downpatrick also features two Rugby Clubs. These clubs are Ballynahinch Rugby Football and Dromore Rugby Football.

Association football
Downpatrick's most prominent team is Celtic Bhoys which competes in the Newcastle Premier district League The Bhoys are current Premier Division and Division 2 Champions for Season 2018/2019. There are other clubs associated with the town, and others from surrounding areas. These include Ballynagross F.C and Rossglass County F.C

There are also many youth teams such as the Celtic Bhoys, Ballynagross, Rossglass and Coney Island who along with many other teams in the area, participate in the Downpatrick Youth League. Most famous football side out of Downpatrick were Downpatrick Rec. who won the Steel & Sons Cup in 1978. Downpatrick is home to one of the biggest Northern Irish branches of the Manchester United Supporters' Club, the Downpatrick Manchester United Supporters' Club, which was founded in 1993.

Snooker and billiards
Downpatrick is also the home of the Downpatrick & District Snooker & Billiard League. Many of the local towns compete in the leagues. Teams from Downpatrick, Newcastle, Ballynahinch, Crossgar, Drumaness, Ballykinler, Castlewellan, Newtownards and Ballyalton play in the local district. The league currently has the Northern Ireland Billiards and Snooker Association Billiard Champion Darren Dornan playing in the league.

Bowls
Downpatrick Bowling Club is situated on the Old Belfast road, Downpatrick. Having been established since the early 1950s it is only over the last several years that they have finally enjoyed a sustained period of success. The club won the Irish Bowling Association Junior Cup for the first time in their history in 2006. The following year they once again reached the final only to be beaten by Cookstown in a close encounter. However the club once again regained the Irish Cup in 2011, with a resounding victory against Kilrea. In 2011 Downpatrick also won the PGL Midweek Division 2 title.

Other sports
Downpatrick Golf Club has its own club grounds. The town also has its own tennis club, Downpatrick Tennis Club. Downpatrick has several other clubs that use the facilities of the Down Leisure Centre (run by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council) such as the Lecale Amateur Swimming Club, the Downpatrick School of Lifesaving and the East Down Athletics Club. Downpatrick Golf Club is now known as St Patrick's Golf Club.

Annalistic references
See Annals of Inisfallen

 * AI1026.5 Mael Petair Ua hAilecáin, lector of Dún dá Lethglas, rested in Christ.

title: Downpatrick