Berkeley

Berkeley, city, California, United States. Situated on the north-east shore of San Francisco Bay, the city is a leading educational centre, seat of the University of California at Berkeley (1868), Armstrong University (1918), and numerous research institutes (including Lawrence Radiation Laboratory). Manufactured goods include pharmaceuticals, toiletry articles, food products, camping equipment, and metal products.

The site of the city, part of the Rancho San Antonio land grant of 1820, was purchased by developers and settled in 1853 as Ocean View. Incorporated as Berkeley in 1878, the city is named after the Irish philosopher George Berkeley. It acquired fame during the 1960s and 1970s, when students at the University of California campus led the national protest movement against American involvement in the Vietnam War (1959-1975); for many the city became a symbol of dissent, built on an earlier phase of protest in the 1930s. Population (1980) 103,328; (1990) 102,724.