From science to fashion, from industry to politics, there isn’t a field that Manchester has failed to leave its mark on.
Our city has produced world-class inventors, designers, activists and artists that have been responsible for some of the most pivotal moments in history, such as Emmeline Pankhurst, who spearheaded the fight women’s right to vote, and Alan Turing, whose work not only helped win the Second World War, but also formed the foundations of computer science.
As if we needed anymore reasons to be proud of Manchester, here are some of the ideas that started here and went on to influence the rest of the world.
5. Graphene
The University of Manchester’s Professor Andre Geim and Professor Kostya Novoselov discovered graphene in 2004. It is a material that consists of a single layer of carbon atoms and is used in all aspects of everyday life – transport, medicine, electronics, energy, defence, to name but a few. Credit: University of Manchester | Graphene
6. Ice cream cones
Antonio Valvona, an Italian living in Manchester, filed a patent for an “Apparatus for Baking Biscuit Cups for Ice Cream” in 1901. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images) | Getty Images
7. Submarines
An early design for the submarine, known as a Resurgam (pictured), was invented in 1878 by British clergyman George Garrett, who was brought up in Moss Side. (Photo by Garrett/Henry Guttmann Collection/Getty Images) | Getty Images
8. Weekends
In the 19th century, Salford workers’ rights campaigner Robert Lowes, who is also Sir Ian McKellen’s great-great-grandfather campaigned for businesses to allow their employees a half-day off on Saturdays. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Coachella) | Getty Images for Coachella