X-Nico

100 unusual facts about Birmingham


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.

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.

Alan Culpepper

After taking 2003 off from marathons, Culpepper ran his second at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Birmingham, Alabama.

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.

Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act

State Representative John Rogers of Birmingham has repeatedly introduced legislation to repeal the ban, but each bill has been defeated.

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.

Aubrey Willis Williams

At the very young age of six, Aubrey went to work in as a cash-boy in a Birmingham, Alabama department store.

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.

Babati Link Group

The Babati Link Group (BLG) is an educational link between King Edward VI Five Ways School, Birmingham, England and Babati Day Secondary School, Babati, Manyara, Tanzania.

Barrie Lynch

Born in Northfield, Birmingham, Lynch played youth football for Rubery Hill School and Cross Castle, before playing professionally in England and the United States for Aston Villa, Oldham Athletic, the Atlanta Chiefs and the Portland Timbers.

Bill Fitzgerald

Prior to joining MSNBC, Fitzgerald served as weekend anchor and general assignment reporter for the NBC owned-and-operated station WVTM-TV in Birmingham, Alabama.

Birmingham, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania

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

Brian Webber

Brian Webber (December 19, 1967) is an American actor from Birmingham, Alabama.

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.

Bruno's

The crash caused a large outpouring of grief among the Birmingham metropolitan community due to the family and the company's well-known philanthropic contributions.

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.

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.

Corporation Street tram stop

Corporation Street will be a stop on the city-centre extension of Line 1 of the Midland Metro onto Corporation Street in Birmingham City Centre, United Kingdom.

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

South West - Birmingham - the North West (CrossCountry): PenzanceBirminghamGlasgow direct (ceased after the change of CrossCountry franchise in 2007)

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.

DeDee Nathan

LeShundra "DeDee" Nathan (born April 20, 1968 in Birmingham, Alabama) is a retired heptathlete from the United States, who won the gold medal at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba.

Deidre Downs

After her year as Miss America, she began medical school at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama.

Delcam

The company was renamed Delcam International in 1991 and moved to a new purpose built office in Small Heath.

DIY Week

Originally launched by a Birmingham hardware wholesaler as Martineau & Smith's Monthly Circular, the magazine was very soon renamed Hardware Trade Journal, and changed from monthly to weekly publication in 1900.

Donald Watkins

Donald V. Watkins (born 1948 - ) of Birmingham, Alabama is an African-American lawyer, banker and international entrepreneur.

Dottie Peoples

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

Edmund Street

Edmund Street is one of a series of roads on the old Colmore Estate which originally stretched from Temple Row in the city centre, around St Phillip's Cathedral, to the northern end of Newhall Street.

Emily Scarratt

Emily is also a PE assistant at King Edward's School Birmingham, following in the footsteps of fellow England rugby international Natasha Hunt.

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.

Eric James Eames

A former steam engine driver, Eames represented the city's Small Heath ward on Birmingham City Council from 1949-1992, without break.

Frank Stitt

Frank Stitt III is the owner and executive chef of Highlands Bar and Grill, Bottega Restaurant, and Chez Fon Fon in Birmingham, Alabama.

G. E. Kidder Smith

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

George Inwood

After a heavy Luftwaffe air raid on Birmingham on the night of 15/16 October 1940, Inwood was asked by the police to aid in recovery work in Bishop Street (in the Five Ways area.

George Linnaeus Banks

George was born in Birmingham, the son of a seedsman familiar with the plant nomenclature of Linnaeus.

Gerald A. Lewis

Born in 1934 in Birmingham, Alabama to Bernard and Molly Lewis, Gerald Lewis was educated in Birmingham schools before attending Harvard College and graduating with an A.B. degree in 1955.

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.

Henry Folliott, 3rd Baron Folliott

He married Elizabeth Pudsey, heiress of Langley Hall, Sutton Coldfield in 1677 and built a substantial mansion, Four Oaks Hall, Sutton Coldfield, to a design by architect William Wilson.

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.

Janet Monach Patey

Whytock's first appearance, as a child, was made at Birmingham.

Jeffrey Brillhart

His organ, teaching, and conducting engagements have taken him throughout America, Europe and South America, with engagements in Paris, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle, Birmingham, Alabama, Waco, Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York City, Iowa City, Des Moines, Walla Walla, and Worcester, Massachusetts.

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.

John Henry Chamberlain

Chamberlain became the unofficial domestic architect to Birmingham's civic leaders, designing a string of prestigious houses in upmarket districts of South Birmingham including Highbury Hall – the home of Joseph Chamberlain himself, and now the official residence of Birmingham's Lord Mayor.

Kim Sunée

She now lives in Birmingham, Alabama, and is food editor for Cottage Living magazine, a Time Warner publication.

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.

Larry Lemak

Larry A. Lemak, M.D., FAAOS, FCRSC, born 1943 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is an orthopedic surgeon who practices at the Lemak Sports Medicine & Orthopedics in Birmingham, Alabama, located at Trinity Medical Center (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.

Leonard Lord

On 26 March 1962 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Lambury, of Northfield in the County of Warwick.

Mark Kimbrell

Mark Kimbrell is an American guitarist based in Birmingham, Alabama.

Middelaldercentret

A historical reenactment society from King Edward's School, Birmingham have visited the museum several times as a part of their education.

Mikel Herzog

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

Mindless Ones

Plokta, a Duke of Hell, decided to conquer the world exponentially from a tower block in Birmingham.

Moorish Delta 7

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

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.

Philip Bradbourn

Philip Bradbourn also came under fire in 2008 when it was discovered that the website of the West Midlands Conservative MEPs showed a photo of Birmingham, Alabama instead of Birmingham, England.

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 Catalogue Foundation

Oil paintings in public ownership in Birmingham,The Public Catalogue Foundation, Andrew Ellis, Sonia Roe, 2008, ISBN 9781904931386

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.

Rebel Love

The picture was shot on locations in Birmingham and Bessemer, Alabama during the summer of 1983, with many scenes filmed at the Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park.

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.

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.

Robert Lee Minor

Minor was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and made his first television appearance in 1973 on the television program, Search, then appeared in tons of shows such as: Barnaby Jones, McCloud, The Six Million Dollar Man, Eight is Enough, and Starsky and Hutch among other popular television programs.

Ronnie Bruno

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

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.

Sadie Lloyd

Pam was revealed to be living in Birmingham, having been paroled a year earlier, working as a maid.

Saks, Inc.

After acquiring Parisian, Proffitt's relocated its corporate headquarters to Birmingham, Alabama from Knoxville in October 1997.

Sarah Smiley

Sarah Smiley has a B.S. in Education from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and a M.A. in Mass Communication fro the University of Maine in Orono.

Scott Spiegel

He is best known for co-writing the screenplay for the movie Evil Dead II with longtime friend, film director Sam Raimi, with whom he attended Wylie E. Groves High School in Birmingham, Michigan.

Selby Clewer

He was responsible for the design of Quinton Methodist Church in 1968, St. David's Church, Shenley Green which opened in 1970 and the Friends Meeting House in Redditch and the adjoining housing complex, built for the Redditch Friends Housing Trust.

Shifnal

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

Smalbroke family

He was instrumental in the foundation of King Edwards School in New Street.

Stuck Rubber Baby

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

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.

Tempography

In 2004 tempographs were displayed on multiple screens on more than 200 double-decker buses in London and in Birmingham.

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).

Trocadero, Birmingham

The Trocadero, 17 Temple Street, Birmingham, England, currently a pub, is a dazzling demonstration of the use of coloured glazed tile and terracotta in the post-Victorian era of architecture.

Undular bore

"A tornado in Birmingham, Alabama in April 1998 that came in contact with an undular bore increased in size and intensity."

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.

Victoria Law Courts

Standing at the northern end of the street it is complemented by the similarly coloured Methodist Central Hall, which stands opposite.

Victoria Square, Birmingham

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.

W. H. Denny

Denny was born William Henry Leigh Dugmore at Balsall Heath, Birmingham, England.

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.

Western Region of British Railways

The Region consisted principally of ex-Great Western Railway lines, minus certain lines west of Birmingham, which were transferred to the London Midland Region in 1963 and with the addition of all former Southern Railway routes west of Exeter, which were subsequently rationalised.

William Barleycorn

He was the son of Napoleon Barleycorn, also a Primitive Methodist missionary in Fernando Po, who sent his sons to be educated at Bourne College in Quinton, England.

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.

WTVR-TV

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


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.

1993–94 Colchester United F.C. season

United used six keepers again and Steve McGavin moved to Birmingham for £150,000 in January with no funds made available.

Benjamin Hall Kennedy

He was born at Summer Hill, near Birmingham, the eldest son of Rann Kennedy (1772–1851), of a branch of the Ayrshire family which had settled in Staffordshire.

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

In 2004 the company controversially cancelled as series of performances of Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's play Behzti after protests from Birmingham's large Sikh community.

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.

Bob Brettle

A silver belt, given to him by his patrons to honour his achievements, and made in Birmingham, was featured on the television programme Antiques Roadshow, while in the possession of one of his descendants.

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.

Cerruti 1881

There are Cerruti 1881, 18CRR81 and Cerruti stores throughout the world in Milan, Cosenza, Madrid, London, Munich, Stockholm, Athens, Birmingham, Riyadh, Moscow, New York, Hong Kong, Taipei, Damascus, Jakarta, and Tokyo among other locations.

Chief Blue Horse

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show was part of the celebration during the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle in England, and toured through Birmingham, Salford, and London for five months.

Christ Church, Birmingham

Christ Church, Birmingham was a parish church in the Church of England on Colmore Row, Birmingham from 1805 to 1899.

Frederick Rushbrooke

The son of a miller and confectioner from Willenhall in Staffordshire, Frederick Rushbrooke initially established himself in business as a wholesale ironmonger in 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.

Heino Puuste

On May 6, 1983, he threw at Birmingham a new Soviet record of 94.20 meters, eclipsing the old mark (and former world record) of 93.80 by Jānis Lūsis.

Jamie Shepherd

During his degree at Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, Jamie was freelancing at Dee 106.3 in Chester, Brmb in Birmingham, Heart 100.7 in Birmingham and Heart Radio in North Wales and Cheshire.

John Kenneally

John Patrick Kenneally was born as Leslie Jackson at 104 Alexandra Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham.

Joseph Lancaster Ball

Born to a Methodist family in Maltby in Yorkshire, Ball was articled to the architect William Wilmer Pocock in London in 1877, and moved to Birmingham in 1880 to set up in private practice after winning a competition to design the Handsworth Wesleyan Theological College, now the Hamstead campus of Birmingham City University.

Joseph Pickford

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

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.

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.

Kathleen Dayus

She was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree by University of Birmingham in 1992 in recognition of her contribution to the written record of Birmingham's history.

Kotli

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

Lapal

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

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.

Marie Weaver

In "Four Voices: Echoes," (Bare Hands Gallery, Birmingham, AL) her work was shown with Janice Kluge (sculptor), Lucy Jaffe (painter), and Sonja Rieger (photographer) and Marie Weaver (printmaker).

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.

No More Night: Live in Birmingham

No More Night: Live in Birmingham is a live CD/DVD from Christian singer David Phelps.

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.

River Itchen, Warwickshire

The infant river is fed by several small brooks and skirts the village of Bishop's Itchington (to which it gives its name) before passing below the former Great Western Railway London to Birmingham railway (now operated by Chiltern Trains).

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.

Robert McCracken

McCracken worked as a wood machinist at Hoskins Cabinet Works, Bordesley, Birmingham before turning to boxing.

Robin Corbett, Baron Corbett of Castle Vale

Siôn Simon replaced him as Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Erdington.

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.

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.

Socio-Analysis

Northfield Hospital was a military hospital, situated in Birmingham, in the English Midlands, with the task of treating soldiers who had developed psychiatric problems, in order to get them back into the war.

T. J. Lang

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

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.

University House, University of Birmingham

It is located in beautiful grounds in the conservation area of Edgbaston, 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