Liverpool takes its name from the original mile-long inlet from the River Mersey or the "Pool.” It was filled in the 18th century and the entrance to the Mersey Tunnel marks the site.

The term "Liver" has several possible derivations. One, from the old English word "Liefer" meaning 'thick,' is a reference to the mud around the Pool. An alternative explanation is "Lithe," an old Danish word meaning an inlet by a marsh.

Author Herman Melville, visiting from America in 1839, helped spread the fiction that Liverpool was named after an extinct fowl called the "liver bird." He copied the story in good faith from a guidebook and published it in his novel, "Redburn." The book was so widely read that the story of the bird was soon accepted as fact.

Because it was such a convenient port for trade with Ireland, King John declared the town a borough in 1207. Liverpool's development as a major commercial port coincided with mounting trade with the colonies in America and the West Indies.

By 1740, it had become the chief port in Europe for the slave trade. Ships followed a triangular route: to West Africa, where manufactured goods were exchanged for slaves; to the West Indies and America, where the slaves were sold; and then to Liverpool with cargoes of cotton, sugar, rum and tobacco.

Commercial growth continued even after the slave trade was outlawed in 1807. In 1880, Liverpool was declared a city.

Heavy bombing during World War II destroyed commercial areas on Derby Square and Lord Street.

The late 20th-century decline of British manufacturing, particularly the Lancashire textile industry, was a blow to the port-based economy. Unemployment soared, and the population dropped by nearly a third from 1961 to 1981.

Liverpool suffered extreme setbacks with the advent of container ships. By the mid-1980s, jobs were so scarce that soccer fans from the south would taunt Liverpool supporters by rewriting the team anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Gerry Marsden, as "You'll Never Work Again."

From 1830 to 1930, millions of emigrants sailed from Liverpool to America. The quays became infamous for preying upon unsuspecting travelers. Merchants overcharged, and tickets were sold for nonexistent ships. An 1852 study found that many women, heading for America to join their husbands, had been forced into prostitution after their passage money had been stolen.

Beatles geography: Penny Lane is, of course, a street in Liverpool. John Lennon played at Strawberry Field as a child. The National Trust now maintains John's boyhood home at 251 Menlove Ave., and Paul McCartney's boyhood home, at 20 Forthlin Road. The Cavern Club, where the Beatles played, has been demolished. A replica was built in 1984, next door to the original site.

The Titanic was a Liverpool-registered ship.

Liverpudlians call themselves Scousers. The word comes from lobscouse, a sailor's dish of stewed meat, vegetables, and ship's biscuit. Scouser came to refer to a native of Liverpool, the city where they ate scouse. Scouse refers also to the particular pronunciation and phrases used by Liverpudlians.

Received national attention for the 1993 killing of 2-year-old James Bulger. Two days after the toddler went missing from a local shopping centre, his body was found on a railway embankment. Two 10-year-old boys were later convicted of his murder.

Filming location for:
· 1981 movie, "Chariots of Fire"
· 1990 movie, "The Hunt for Red October"
· 2007 movie, "Across the Universe"

Well-known residents have included:
· The Beatles - Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr
· William Gladstone, statesman and prime minister
· Glenda Jackson, actress and member of Parliament
· Rex Harrison, actor

Local bands (past and present) have included The Beatles, The Spinners, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Searchers, Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas, Swinging Blue Jeans

Annual events include:
· Heritage Open Days - 29 August-21 September 2007
· International Beatles Week - 24-27 August 2007
· John Smith's Grand National - 12-14 April 2007
· Liverpool Comedy Festival - 7-24 June 2007
· Maritime Heritage Event - 16-17 June 2007
· Mathew Street Music Festival - 24-28 August 2007
Dates often change. Check Liverpool web sites and events links in the sections below.