Bradford

/brad"feuhrd/, n.

1. Gamaliel, 1863-1932, U.S. biographer and novelist.

2. Roark /rawrk, rohrk/, 1896-1948, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.

3. William, 1590-1657, Pilgrim settler: second governor of Plymouth Colony 1621-56.

4. William, 1663-1752, American printer, born in England.

5. a city in West Yorkshire, in N England. 460,600.

6. a city in N Pennsylvania. 11,211.

7. Braford.

8. a male given name.

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I

City and metropolitan borough (pop., 2001: 467,668), West Yorkshire, northern England.

The manufacture of wool products was important to its economy as early as 1311; the fine worsted trade began in the late 17th century. By 1900 it emerged as the main wool-buying centre for Yorkshire. The city remains a centre of the textile industry and is the site of the University of Bradford.

II

(as used in expressions)

Bradford William

Cannon Walter Bradford

Shockley William Bradford

Titchener Edward Bradford

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▪ England, United Kingdom

      urban area, city, and metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, northern England, west of Leeds, in a side valley where a broad ford crosses a small tributary of the River Aire.

      A fulling mill recorded in 1311 indicates the early importance of the manufacture of wool products. In the late 17th century the fine worsted trade followed. With the working of local sandstone, ironstone, and coal in the 19th century, Bradford rapidly expanded along the stream toward the canalized Aire. By 1900 it had emerged as the main wool-buying centre for Yorkshire, handling wool from overseas and the home markets. Fine worsteds, silk, alpaca, and velvet cloths were manufactured in the late 19th century, when an influx of foreign merchants (mainly German Jews) stimulated the trade and assured the commercial supremacy of Bradford over other cloth markets at Wakefield and Halifax.

      The textile industry declined in importance during the late 20th century, while other manufacturing sectors—including engineering, paper and packaging, and printing—grew. Service activities also expanded. The city attracted many immigrants and became more cosmopolitan.

      Important Victorian buildings include the Town Hall (Italian style) and the Wool Exchange (Venetian-Gothic). The parish church (dating from the 15th century but occupying the site of an earlier Norman church) became a cathedral in 1920. The University of Bradford is located in the city.

      Besides the historic town and urban area of Bradford, the metropolitan borough encompasses the towns of Shipley, Bingley, Keighley, and Ilkley. It also contains an area of open countryside, including parts of the scenic Wharfedale and Airedale valleys and a section of the Pennines. Area metropolitan borough, 141 square miles (366 square km). Pop. (2001) urban area, 293,717; (2006 est.) city and metropolitan borough, 493,100.

▪ Pennsylvania, United States

      city, McKean county, northern Pennsylvania, U.S., on the forks of the Tunungwant (Tuna) River, near the New York state border. Settlers first came to the area about 1823 or 1827, but Bradford itself was not established until 1837. First called Littleton, it took the name Bradford after 1854, probably for the New Hampshire home of many of its settlers. The discovery of oil (petroleum) (1871) brought sudden wealth, and in 1881, the peak year of production, the area was producing some three-fourths of the world's output. Production declined at the end of the 19th century but increased after 1906 when a water-flooding process was introduced.

      Oil production has remained significant but has been overshadowed economically by diversified manufactures, including lighters, pipe couplings, semiconductors, cutlery, corrugated containers, and wood products. The Bradford campus of the University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, University of) opened in 1963. The Penn-Brad Oil Museum, Allegheny National Forest, and the Cornplanter Indian Reservation (the state's last Indian reserve) are nearby. Inc. city, 1879. Pop. (1990) 9,625; (2000) 9,175.

▪ county, Pennsylvania, United States

      county, northern Pennsylvania, U.S., bordered to the north by New York state. It consists of rugged hills on the Allegheny Plateau and is drained by the Susquehanna (Susquehanna River) and Chemung rivers and Sugar, Towanda, Wappasening, and Wyalusing creeks. Mount Pisgah State Park is located on Stephen Foster Lake.

      Spanish Hill, near Sayre and Athens at the confluence of the Chemung and Susquehanna rivers, was one of the first sites visited by Europeans in their exploration of Pennsylvania. This strategic point was also the site of Tioga, one of the largest Seneca Indian towns in northern Pennsylvania; the town was destroyed by white settlers in 1778 in retaliation for the Wyoming Massacre (July 3, 1778).

      The county was created in 1810 and named for William Bradford, a politician and jurist who served in George Washington's cabinet. The county seat is Towanda. The economy depends on manufacturing (metal products and photographic equipment) and agriculture (livestock, dairy products, and field crops). Area 1,151 square miles (2,980 square km). Pop. (2000) 62,761; (2007 est.) 61,471.

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