Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to support it. An important feature of Walter's foundation was that this "college" was to be self-governing and the endowments were directly vested in the Warden and Fellows. By 1274, when Walter retired from royal service and made his final revisions to the college statutes, the community was consolidated at its present site in the south east corner of the city of Oxford, a rapid programme of building commenced; the hall and the chapel and the rest of the front quad were complete before the end of the 13th century. Mob Quad, one of Merton's quadrangles, was constructed between 1288 and 1378, is claimed to be the oldest quadrangle in Oxford, while Merton College Library, located in Mob Quad and dating from 1373, is the oldest continuously functioning library for university academics and students in the world.

Like many of Oxford's colleges, Merton admitted its first mixed-sex cohort in 1979, after over seven centuries as an institution for men only. Notable alumni and academics past and present include four Nobel laureates and writer J. R. R. Tolkien, Merton Professor of English Language and Literature from 1945 to 1959. Merton is one of the wealthiest colleges in Oxford and held funds totalling £272 million as of July 2017. Merton has a strong reputation for academic success, having ranked first in the Norrington Table in recent years. Merton College was founded in 1264 by Lord Chancellor and Bishop of Rochester, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford, a claim, disputed between Merton College, Balliol College and University College. One argument for Merton's claim is that it was the first college to be provided with statutes, a constitution governing the college set out at its founding. Merton's statutes date back to 1264, whereas neither Balliol nor University College had statutes until the 1280s.

Additionally, Merton was the first college to be conceived as a community working to achieve academic ends, rather than just a place for the housing of scholars. Merton has an unbroken line of wardens dating back to 1264. Of these, many had great influence over the development of the college. Henry Savile was one notable leader who led the college to flourish in the early 17th century by extending its buildings and recruiting new fellows. St Alban Hall was an independent academic hall owned by the convent of Littlemore until it was purchased by Merton College in 1548 following the dissolution of the convent, it continued as a separate institution until it was annexed by the college in 1881. During the English Civil War, Merton was the only Oxford college to side with Parliament; this was due to an earlier dispute between the Warden, Nathaniel Brent, the Visitor of Merton and Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. Brent had been Vicar-General to Laud, who had held a visitation of Merton College in 1638, insisted on many radical reforms: his letters to Brent were couched in haughty and decisive language.

Brent, a parliamentarian, moved to London at the start of the Civil War: the college's buildings were commandeered by the Royalists and used to house much of Charles I's court when Oxford was the Royalists' capital. This included the King's French wife, Queen Henrietta Maria, housed in or near what is now the Queen's Room, the room above the arch between Front and Fellows' Quads. A portrait of Charles I hangs near the Queen's Room as a reminder of the role it played in his court. Brent gave evidence against Laud in his trial in 1644. After Laud was executed on 10 January 1645, John Greaves, one of the subwardens of Merton and Savilian Professor of Astronomy, drew up a petition for Brent's removal from office. Thomas Fairfax captured Oxford for the Parliamentarians after its third siege in 1646 and Brent returned from London. However, in 1647, a parliamentary commission was set up by Parliament "for the correction of offences and disorders" in the University of Oxford. Nathaniel Brent was the president of the visitors.

Greaves was accused of sequestrating the college's plate and funds for king Charles. Despite a deposition from his brother Thomas, Greaves had lost both his Merton fellowship and his Savilian chair by 9 November 1648; the "House of Scholars of Merton" had properties in Surrey as well as in Oxford, but it was not until the mid-1260s that Walter de Merton acquired the core of the present site in Oxford, along the south side of what was St John's Street. The college was consolidated on this site by 1274, when Walter made his final revisions to the college statutes; the initial acquisition included the parish church of St John and three houses to the east of the church which now form the north range of Front Quad. Walter obtained permission from the king to extend from these properties south to the old city wall to form an square site; the college continued to acquire other properties as they became available on both sides of Merton Street. At one time, the college owned all the land from the site, now Christ Church to the south-eastern corner of the city.

The land to the east became the current Fellows' garden, while the western end was leased by Warden Richard Rawlins in 1515 for the foundation of Corpus Christi. By the late 1280s the old church of St John

Middlesex North was a federal electoral district in Ontario, represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1917. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the County of Middlesex into three ridings: the Middlesex North, Middlesex West and Middlesex East; the North Riding consisted of the Townships of McGillivray and Biddulph, Williams East, Williams West and Lobo. In 1882, it was redefined add the township of Stephen and the villages of Ailsa Craig, Lucan and Parkhill, to exclude the townships of Adelaide and Lobo. In 1903, it was redefined to consist of the townships of Adelaide, Lobo, McGillivray, Williams East and Williams West, the town of Parkhill and the villages of Ailsa Craig and Lucan; the electoral district was abolished in 1914 when it was redistributed between Middlesex East and Middlesex West ridings. On Mr. Scatcherd's death, 15 April 1876: List of Canadian federal electoral districts Past Canadian electoral districts Parliamentary website

"We Didn't Know" is a mid-tempo duet by American recording artists Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder, was released as the sixth and final single from Houston's third album I'm Your Baby Tonight. The single peaked at number 20 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart. There was no music video made for the song; the song is about two good friends that realize that they have romantic feelings for each other and are more than just friends — they love each other, they "didn't know." Houston and Wonder performed the song on an episode of The Arsenio Hall Show in December 1990. Rolling Stone adored the song and praised it with a long review: "Still, the key to the kind of music Houston sings on I'm Your Baby Tonight — the black-and-white, funk-and-dance-driven pop, the soundtrack of this cultural moment — is "We Didn't Know," Houston's duet with producer Stevie Wonder. Wonder, who invented the keyboard-based pop that Houston and her fans hear as natural and contemporary, understands Houston totally, he knows what she likes about the expressive properties of ballads, about the passion of rock, about the well-regulated technological zing of dance music.

So, as he's done before in his own music and with other singers, he puts all of this — the barreling rhythm tracks, the soaring choruses, the personable background voices — at the service of "We Didn't Know,", about when "innocent friends/Turn serious lovers." Chances are — and with any luck — this engaged song on Whitney Houston's consistent and resourceful album will affect the music she sings for the rest of her life." Entertainment Weekly's David Browne called the song "sluggish" and that this contribution "blends into the mush." J. D. Considine of The Baltimore Sun wrote: "We Didn't Know," in which Houston follows the lead of duet partner Stevie Wonder has its pleasures, most of which stem from Wonder's deliciously idiosyncratic writing." Us CD Single We Didn't Know 4:45 We Didn't Know 4:26 We Didn't Know 6:14 CreditsProducer, vocal arrangement — Stevie Wonder All instruments — Stevie Wonder Background vocals — Kimberly Brewer, Lynne Fiddmont-Linsey, Dorian Holley, Keith John Engineer, mixer — Bobby Brooks Assistant engineer — Steve VanArden, Danny Normando Sound design — Robert Arbittier Stevland Morris Music Project Coordinator — Stephanie AndrewsRecording and mixingRecorded and mixed at Wonderland Studios, Los Angeles Lead vocals recorded at Sigma Sound Studios, New York City Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Listen to "We Didn't Know" on YouTube