When Baroness Alexandra Freeman became Principal of Hertford College last month, she did not initially realise she was the first woman to hold the role.
A large part of my decision to study Arabic is owed to my father’s passing. Having now experienced life in the Middle East, including its wars, I now understand him far more than I ever could have anticipated.
In 1811, a student at University College published a pamphlet including an essay titled ‘The Necessity of Atheism’ that he later distributed to the Heads of Oxford Colleges. The student, after disputes with the Master of University College at the time, was “sent down” on the grounds of “contumacy” (disobeying authority). This student was Percy Shelley.