History
The University was founded in 1872 as University College Wales. The first Principal was Thomas Charles Edwards and initially there were 26 students. Before 1894, when the college joined the University of Wales as a founder member, students were submitted for examinations to the University of London).
The university's coat of arms was awarded in the 1880s. The shield features two red dragons, the red dragon being a common symbol of Wales, and an open book, symbolising learning. The crest is an eagle or phoenix above a flaming tower; it possibly symbolises the rebirth of the College after the fire of 1885. The motto is "Nid Byd, Byd Heb Wybodaeth": "A World Without Knowledge, is No World At All".
The Department for International Politics was founded in 1919 and Aberystwyth says it is the oldest such department in the world.
The Department of Sports and Exercise Science was established in 2000, and joint honours Psychology degrees were introduced in September 2007.
Read more about this topic: Aberystwyth University
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records between the material and the moral nature.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“No one can understand Paris and its history who does not understand that its fierceness is the balance and justification of its frivolity. It is called a city of pleasure; but it may also very specially be called a city of pain. The crown of roses is also a crown of thorns. Its people are too prone to hurt others, but quite ready also to hurt themselves. They are martyrs for religion, they are martyrs for irreligion; they are even martyrs for immorality.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“It would be naive to think that peace and justice can be achieved easily. No set of rules or study of history will automatically resolve the problems.... However, with faith and perseverance,... complex problems in the past have been resolved in our search for justice and peace. They can be resolved in the future, provided, of course, that we can think of five new ways to measure the height of a tall building by using a barometer.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)