Ten Facts you didn't know you knew about Queen's
1. The origins of the University date to 1845 when Queen’s College Belfast was established as one of three colleges of the Queen’s University in Ireland. The other two were in Cork and Galway. The new University was only the second in Ireland and one of only 10 in the United Kingdom. The Belfast College became an independent university in 1908 and Queen's celebrated its Centenary in 2008.
2. Queen’s is one of the largest employers in Northern Ireland, with some 3,500 staff.
3. Queen’s is one of the leading UK universities in bringing research excellence to the market place. It is top in terms of the annual turnover of its spin-out businesses, which have created jobs for more than 1,000 staff, mainly graduates.
4. The world’s first digital soundtrack, used to create the soundtrack for the film ‘Jurassic Park’ was produced through technology developed at Queen’s.
5. The man responsible for developing the portable defibrillator - the machine used to jump start a person's heart once it stops beating - was Professor Frank Pantridge, a graduate of Queen's.
6. Queen's has produced a Pulitzer Prize winner and two Nobel Prize winners. Poet Paul Muldoon received a Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 2003. In 1995 renowned Irish poet Seamus Heaney received the Nobel Prize in Literature and in 1998 Northern Ireland's former First Minister David Trimble received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution towards the Northern Ireland peace process.
7. Queen’s is the most important custodian of listed buildings in Northern Ireland, after the National Trust. The University estate, located within three different conservation areas – Stranmillis, Malone and Queen’s – comprises more than 250 buildings, of which almost half are listed as being of special architectural merit.
8. Swashbuckling screen idol Errol Flynn's father, Professor Theodore Thompson Flynn, played a starring role at Queen’s during the Second World War. The Professor of Zoology was also chief casualty officer of the Civil Defence organisation in Belfast.
9. The University owns one of the biggest paintings in Northern Ireland. The 16ft by 6ft “Out of the Shadows”, by Newry-born Michelle Rogers, is a bold and exciting work of art, celebrating the contribution of women at Queen's.
10. You might not only meet your future partner at Queen's - you can also marry them at the University. Queen's holds a Civil Wedding Licence and marriage ceremonies can take place in a number of locations on campus. The University has long been a popular venue for wedding receptions.
