1990
University Orchestra in rehearsal
The University Symphony Orchestra in rehearsal. The Orchestra is still very popular today, and attracts some 100 musicians from across the student population. It runs four programmes a year that strike a balance between established classics of the 19th and 20th centuries and new and lesser-known works.
ALSPAC lifts off
The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is launched. This study, also known as Children of the 90s, has followed 14,000 children since before birth and is the first of its kind. Some of the children now live as far away as Australia, Kenya and Brazil but they still take part, and the ALSPAC project is now world-famous. The vast amount of genetic and environmental information ALSPAC families have provided over the years is helping scientists to research a wide range of health issues.
George gets a tune-up
The University carries out repairs to Great George, the giant bell that hangs in the tower of the Wills Memorial Building. Great George is the sixth-largest bell in England and is believed to be the largest that can be rung by hand.
Find out when Great George was cast.
William Coldrick signs the Roll of Benefactors
At the meeting of Court in December, Mr William Coldrick signs the Roll of Benefactors. Mr Coldrick read Physics and Chemistry at Bristol during the Second World War and was a founding member of the Bristol Astonomical Society.The Coldrick Observatory on the roof of the Physics Department, which he endowed to the University in 1997, is named in his honour. He also endowed a Chair in Astrophysics and Cosmology.
Gorbachev receives honorary degree
Mr Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the Soviet Union, becomes an honorary graduate of the University at a special degree congregation in December. He receives the degree of Doctor of Laws. Lord Sainsbury and HRH The Duchess of Kent also receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws during the same ceremony.
Archaeology goes primetime
Channel Four launches Time Team, presented by Professor Mick Aston, then Professor of Landscape Archaeology at the University (now retired), and Tony Robinson, known to many as the character Baldrick in the television series Blackadder. Time Team has introduced archaeology to an audience of millions and has doubtless contributed to the dramatic increase in the number of students applying to study the subject.
Halls get a makeover
The refurbished student accommodation at Goldney Hall is officially opened in September by Lord Sainsbury, whose generous donation made the improvements possible.
See how hall life has changed: 1949, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1998.
In the physiology lab
Students using apparatus in one of the physiology laboratories.
See how our labs have developed over the years: 1910, 1927, 1930, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1950, 1975 and 1999.
Fantastic fanfare
A fanfare by the London Philharmonic Brass Ensemble on the portico steps of the Victoria Rooms heralds its re-opening in January, after its refurbishment to house the Department of Music.
Heart surgery breakthrough
Researchers at Bristol pioneer the technique of 'beating-heart' surgery, which can avoid the need for artificial pumps during certain types of heart surgery, with significant benefits for patients.
Summer sun
Students enjoy the warm climate of the South West ? yet another good reason to study at Bristol.
Mandela honoured at the Palace
The University confers the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws on Nelson Mandela, the then President of the Republic of South Africa, in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Brunel comes back to Bristol
In February, an important collection of papers and drawings by engineer Isambard Isambard Kingdom Brunel returns to Bristol after the University Library successfully bid for his papers at Christie's auction rooms in London. One of the most significant items in the collection is a set of drawings, previously thought lost, that Brunel entered for the 1829 competition to design a bridge across the Avon Gorge.
Brunel's many engineering achievements include the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the ss Great Britain, Temple Meads railway station and the Great Western Railway. In a recent BBC poll of the '100 Greatest Britons' he was placed second, behind Winston Churchill, former Chancellor of the University.
Bristol's porters: a living institution
Ray Bartlett, one of the University porters, helps a student outside the Wills Memorial Building. Porters remain a backbone of the University's support services.
It's in the stars
In August, the Coldrick Observatory, named after William Coldrick, the Bristol alumnus who funded it, is installed on the roof of the H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory. The 12-tonne, six-metre telescope is used to study maser emissions - very bright, variable signals from star-forming regions in our galaxy.
Residences get connected
The ResNet service is launched, making Bristol the first university in the UK to provide internet access direct to study bedrooms in University accommodation. Today, the service has been extended to smaller University houses and is constantly upgraded to provide faster speeds and new services.
In Resnet's 2007 subscriber survey, one student commented, 'from what I gather from other universities, the service provided here is second to none'.
See how hall life has changed: 1949, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1994.
Antiques Roadshow comes to Bristol
The BBC's Antiques Roadshow comes to the University to record a programme in the Great Hall of the Wills Memorial Building.
Former student becomes Chief Medical Officer
Professor Sir Liam Donaldson (MB ChB, 1972), who studied medicine at Bristol, is appointed Chief Medical Officer for England.
Burmese activist honoured
Burmese pro-democracy activist and winner of the 1991 Nobel Prize for Peace Aung San Suu Kyi is awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.
Honorary degree for Bank of England Governor
Eddie (now Baron) George, then Governor of the Bank of England, receives the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.
Importance of ethnicity recognised
The Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship opens. Its work reflects the importance of ethnicity to the study of contemporary societies.
Open wide
The University launches its Widening Participation strategy, aimed at attracting students with the greatest academic merit and potential from the widest possible pool of talent.
World-class chemistry facility opens
The University's Synthetic Chemistry Building is officially opened by Sir Richard Sykes, Chairman of GlaxoWellcome, in November. The building's £4.96 million funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England is the largest single award for any university development project at the time. The facilities rival the best international industrial standards.
See how our labs have developed: 1910, 1927, 1930, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1950, 1975 and 1995.
