University of Cambridge

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The University of Cambridge is a leading educational institution in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1209 by refugees from the University of Oxford, and these two remained the only universities in England until the 19th century. It was officially approved by the Pope in 1325, and English law maintains the legal fiction that it was in possession of a Royal Charter from time immemorial (i.e. before 1189). Its full legal name is "The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge". The Chancellor fulfils a merely honorary and ceremonial role; the post was held until his retirement in 2011 by Prince Philip. Lord Sainsbury was elected as his successor. The Masters are the heads of the more than 30 colleges making up the university from one point of view, though they are not all styled Master. The university was granted the right to elect two members to the English House of Commons by King James I, and this continued in the British House until abolished by the Labour government after the Second World War. The university did not award degrees to non-Anglicans until 1871, or to women until 1948. It has had a distinguished record in mathematics since the time of Sir Isaac Newton.