St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College
View over the rear buildings of St John's from the Chapel
Arms of St John's College, being the arms of the foundress Lady Margaret Beaufort: Royal arms of England a bordure componée azure and argent
University	Cambridge University
Location	St John's Street (map)
Full name	The College of St John the Evangelist of the University of Cambridge
Motto	Souvent me Souvient (Old French; motto of the foundress Lady Margaret Beaufort)
Motto in English	I often remember
Founder	Lady Margaret Beaufort
Established	1511
Named for	The Hospital of St John the Evangelist
Sister colleges	Balliol College, Oxford Trinity College, Dublin Ghislieri College, Pavia
Master	Chris Dobson
Undergraduates	534
Postgraduates	340
Website	www.joh.cam.ac.uk
JCR	www.sjcjcr.com
MCR	sbr.soc.srcf.net

St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge (the full, formal name of the college is The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge). The college was founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The aims of the college, as specified by its Statutes, are the promotion of education, religion, learning and research.

The college's alumni include the winners of ten Nobel Prizes, seven prime ministers and twelve archbishops of various countries, at least two princes, and three Saints. The Romantic poet William Wordsworth studied at the college, as did William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson, the two abolitionists who led the movement that brought slavery to an end in the British Empire. HRH Prince William was affiliated with St John's while undertaking a university-run course in 2014.

St John's College is also well known for its choir, its members' success in a wide variety of inter-collegiate sporting competitions, and its annual May Ball. In 2011 the college celebrated its quincentenary, an event marked by a visit of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

The college was founded on the site of the 13th-century Hospital of St John in Cambridge at the suggestion of Saint John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and chaplain to Lady Margaret Beaufort. However, Lady Margaret died without having mentioned the foundation of St John's in her will, and it was largely the work of Fisher that ensured that the college was founded. He had to obtain the approval of King Henry VIII of England, the Pope through the intermediary Polydore Vergil, and the Bishop of Ely to suppress the religious hospital and convert it to a college. The college received its charter on 9 April 1511. Further complications arose in obtaining money from the estate of Lady Margaret to pay for the foundation and it was not until 22 October 1512 that a codicil was obtained in the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. In November 1512 the Court of Chancery allowed Lady Margaret's executors to pay for the foundation of the college from her estates. When Lady Margaret's executors took over they found most of the old Hospital buildings beyond repair, but repaired and incorporated the Chapel into the new college. A kitchen and hall were added, and an imposing gate tower was constructed for the College Treasury. The doors were to be closed each day at dusk, sealing the monastic community from the outside world.