Liverpool

A minor port city in the North West of England, it was originally awarded a City Charter by King John in 1208. However, it was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that Liverpool developed into a major global city. This prominence was based largely on trade, including tobacco, sugar and a major involvement in the slave trade. The slave trade was abolished in 1806, however Liverpool continued to flourish as an industrial trade and financial industries center.

The city currently has a population of approximately 450,000, known as 'Scousers' after a popular local dish, with the wider Merseyside region having a population of 1.5 million. The popular culture and 'soul'of Liverpool has most memorably been portrayed by the author and dramatist Carla Lane in a number of highly-regarded television dramas including "The Liver Birds" and "Bread".

Around 1911 Adolf Hitler visited his brother Alois who lived and worked in Liverpool.

Famous natives of Liverpool: Anne Robinson (TV presenter and journalist) Tony Booth (actor and father-in-law of Tony Blair) Billy Butler (comedian) Jimmy Tarbuck (comedian) Ted Ray (comedian) John Prescott (comedian) Steven Gerrard (footballer) Stan Boardman (comedian) Terry McDermott (footballer and archetypal Scouser)

Culture

• Merseybeat
• The Beatles
• Echo and the Bunnymen
• Tate Modern

Sports

• Everton FC Soccer
• Liverpool FC Soccer
• Liverpool St Helens RUFC
• St Helens RLFC
• Tranmere Rovers Soccer