20th century and contemporary Birmingham

destruction of bull ring during birmingham blitz, 1940

birmingham suffered heavy bomb damage during world war ii s birmingham blitz . city scene of 2 scientific discoveries prove critical outcome of war. otto frisch , rudolf peierls first described how practical nuclear weapon constructed in frisch–peierls memorandum of 1940, same year cavity magnetron, key component of radar , later of microwave ovens, invented john randall , henry boot. details of these 2 discoveries, outline of first jet engine invented frank whittle in nearby rugby, taken united states tizard mission in september 1940, in single black box later described official american historian valuable cargo ever brought our shores .

the city extensively redeveloped during 1950s , 1960s. included construction of large tower block estates, such castle vale. bull ring reconstructed , new street station redeveloped. in decades following world war ii, ethnic makeup of birmingham changed significantly, received waves of immigration commonwealth of nations , beyond. city s population peaked in 1951 @ 1,113,000 residents.

world leaders meet in birmingham 1998 g8 summit

birmingham remained far britain s prosperous provincial city late 1970s, household incomes exceeding of london , south east, economic diversity , capacity regeneration declined in decades followed world war ii central government sought restrict city s growth , disperse industry , population stagnating areas of wales , northern england. these measures hindered natural self-regeneration of businesses in birmingham, leaving top-heavy old , infirm , , city became increasingly dependent on motor industry. recession of 1980s saw birmingham s economy collapse, unprecedented levels of unemployment , outbreaks of social unrest in inner-city districts. in recent years, many parts of birmingham have been transformed, redevelopment of bullring shopping centre , regeneration of old industrial areas such brindleyplace, mailbox , international convention centre. old streets, buildings , canals have been restored, pedestrian subways have been removed , inner ring road has been rationalised. in 1998 birmingham hosted 24th g8 summit. city serve host of 2022 commonwealth games.