Queen's University at Kingston (commonly shortened to Queen's University or Queen's) is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university predated the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more than 1,400 hectares (3,500 acres) of land throughout Ontario and owns Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England.
Queen's was the first university west of the maritime provinces to admit women, and to form a student government. In 1883, a women's college for medical education affiliated with Queen's University. In 1888, Queen's University began offering extension courses, becoming the first Canadian university to do so. In 1912, Queen's secularized and changed to its present legal name.
Queen's is a co-educational university, with more than 23,000 students, and with over 131,000 living alumni worldwide. Notable alumni include government officials, academics, business leaders and 56 Rhodes Scholars. The university ranked 189th in the 2013 QS World University Rankings, 201-225th in the 2012-2013 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and 201-300 in the 2012 Academic Ranking of World Universities. Queen's varsity teams, known as the Golden Gaels, compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport.