London

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Tower Bridge in London
The Tower Bridge in London
Arrow pointing to where London is
Arrow pointing to where London is

London (also known as Lunnainn in Scottish, Lunnon in Scots, Llundain in Welsh, Londain in Irish and Londres in French) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. It is in the south-east of England on the River Thames. People have been living in London for nearly two thousand years, and 7.5 million people live there today, which means more people live in London than any other city in the European Union. Around 14 million people live in the metropolitan area. It is an important financial centre, and has important museums, churches and other good places for tourists to visit.

Contents

[edit] Events

  • 1381 - Peasants' Revolt - the first poll tax riots
  • 1605 - Gunpowder Plot stopped
  • 1665 - The Great Plague of London - lots of people die
  • 1666 - The Great Fire of London - no one dies
  • 1780 - Gordon riots
  • 1851 - The Great Exhibition held at The Crystal Palace
  • 1908 - The Olympic Games took place in London.
  • 1948 - The Olympic Games took place in London for the second time.
  • 1940-41 - London was bombed by Germany during World War II.
  • 1966 - The Football World Cup took place in London, and it was won by England.
  • 1990 - The Second Poll Tax Riots
  • 2000 - London opened the Millennium Dome to celebrate the new millennium.
  • 2005 - 07/07 Bombings - 52 die and over 700 injured
  • 2012 - The Olympic Games will take place for a third time.

[edit] History

The Romans built a city called Londinium on the River Thames in AD 43. The name Londinium (and then 'London') came from the Celtic language of the Ancient Britons. In the year 61 AD, Queen Boudica (a British Celtic queen) and her army destroyed the city. Boudica killed herself when Romans trapped her and the Romans then rebuilt London. London became an important trading city. After the Romans left Britain, no-one lived in the city for a long time because the Anglo-Saxons liked living in the countryside. In the 9th century, people started living there again. It became the largest city in England, but it did not become the capital city of England until the 12th century.

After that, London grew very big. Greater London has 33 London Boroughs and a mayor. The old City of London is only a square-mile in size but has its own Lord Mayor.

Another famous old part of Greater London is Westminster, which was always a different city from the City of London. Westminster has Westminster Abbey (a cathedral), The Palace of Westminster (the Houses of Parliament, with Big Ben), and 10 Downing Street (where the Prime Minister lives).

[edit] Monuments

[edit] External links