File:Downtown London, Ontario (21202541114).jpg

London is a city located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 366,151 according to the 2011 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the non-navigable Thames River, approximately halfway between Toronto, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan. The City of London is a separated municipality, politically separate from Middlesex County, though it remains the county seat.

London and the Thames were named in 1793 by Lord Simcoe, who proposed the site for the capital of Upper Canada. The first European settlement was between 1801 and 1804 by Peter Hagerman. The village was founded in 1826 and incorporated in 1855. Since then, London has grown to be the largest Southwestern Ontario municipality and Canada's 11th largest municipality, having annexed many of the smaller communities that surrounded it.

London is a regional centre of health care and education, being home to the University of Western Ontario, Fanshawe College, and several hospitals. The city hosts a number of musical and artistic exhibits and festivals, which contribute to its tourism industry, but its economic activity is centred on education, medical research, insurance, and information technology. London's university and hospitals are among its top ten employers. London lies at the junction of Highway 401 and 402, connecting it to Toronto, Windsor, and Sarnia. It also has an international airport, train and bus station.

London's economy is dominated by medical research, insurance, manufacturing, and information technology. Much of the life sciences and biotechnology-related research is conducted or supported by the University of Western Ontario, which adds about C$1.5 billion to the London economy annually.

The headquarters of the Canadian division of 3M are located in London. The London Life Insurance Company was founded there, as was Imperial Oil (in 1880) and both the Labatt and Carling breweries. The Libro Financial Group was founded in London 1951 and is the second largest credit union in Ontario. Canada Trust was also founded in London in 1864. The TD-Canada Trust tower is still one of the tallest buildings in London, and has been home to two nesting peregrine falcons for more than a decade.

General Dynamics Land Systems builds armoured personnel carriers in the city. There are 2,000 workers at GDLS Canada. A $223 million expansion project in 1984 temporarily made Kellogg's Canada's 106,000 m2 (1,140,000 sq ft) London plant one of the most technologically advanced manufacturing facilities in the Kellogg Company. In late 2013, Kellogg's announced the closure of this plant by end of 2014, resulting in 500 jobs lost (production to move to Belleville and Michigan plants).

A portion of the city's population work in factories outside of the city limits, including the General Motors automotive plant CAMI, and a Toyota plant in Woodstock.

The city is home to many festivals, funded by the London Arts Council, including Sunfest, the Home County Folk Festival, the London Fringe Theatre Festival, the Expressions in Chalk Street Painting Festival, Rock the Park, Western Fair, the London Ontario Live Arts Festival (LOLA) and The International Food Festival. The London Rib-Fest, where barbecue ribs are cooked and served, is the second largest barbecue rib festival in North America. Pride London Festival is the 11th largest Pride festival in Ontario. Sunfest, a World music festival, is the second biggest in Canada after Caribana in Toronto, and is among the top 100 summer destinations in North America.

Eldon House is the former residence of the prominent Harris Family and oldest surviving such building in London. The entire property was donated to the city of London in 1959 and is now a heritage site. An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected by the province to commemorate The Eldon House's role in Ontario's heritage. The Banting House National Historic Site of Canada is the house where Sir Frederick Banting thought of the idea that led to the discovery of insulin. Banting lived and practiced in London for ten months, from July 1920 to May 1921. London is also the site of the Flame of Hope, which is intended to burn until a cure for diabetes is discovered.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London,_Ontario