Birminghamis an important city and themost populous cityin the US state ofAlabamaand is thecounty seatofJefferson County. Founded in 1871,it grew fromannexingmany more of its smaller neighbors, into an industrial andrailroad transportationcenter with a focus on mining, theiron and steel industry, andrailroading. Birmingham was named forBirmingham, England, one of the UK's major industrial cities.
From its founding through the end of the 1960s, Birmingham was a primary industrial center of thesouthern United States. The pace of Birmingham's growth during the period from 1881 through 1920 earned its nicknames ''The Magic City''and ''The Pittsburgh of the South''. Though the manufacturing industry maintains a strong presence in the city, other businesses and industries such as banking, telecommunications, transportation, electrical power transmission, medical care, college education, and insurance have risen in stature.The cityranks as one of the most important business centers in the Southeastern United States and is also one of the largest banking centers in the United States. In addition, the Birmingham area serves as headquarters to oneFortune 500company:Regions Financial, along with five otherFortune 1000companies.
