What is "oldham"

Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. Together with several smaller surrounding towns, it is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham of which it is the administrative centre.

Historically in Lancashire, and with little early history to speak of, Oldham rose to prominence in the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and among the first ever industrialised towns, rapidly becoming "one of the most important centres of cotton and textile industries in England". At its zenith, it was the most productive cotton spinning mill town in the world, producing more cotton than France and Germany combined. Oldham's textile industry fell into decline in the mid-20th century; the town's last mill closed in 1998.

The demise of textile processing in Oldham depressed the local economy. Today Oldham is a predominantly residential town, and a centre for further education and the performing arts. It is, however, still distinguished architecturally by the surviving cotton mills and other buildings associated with that industry. The town has a population of 103,544 and an area of around .

Oldham is a surname with origins tracing to the town of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. People named Oldham include:

• Andrew Loog Oldham (born 1944), British rock group manager
• Arthur Oldham (1926–2003), English chorusmaster, composer
• Chris Oldham (born 1968), American football player
• Denver Oldham (born 1936), American pianist
• Derek Oldham (1887–1968), English singer and actor
• George Oldham (disambiguation), multiple people
• Henry Yule Oldham, (1862–1951), British geographer
• Hugh Oldham (1450–1519), English bishop
• Jawann Oldham (born 1957), American basketball player
• John Oldham (disambiguation), multiple people
• Ray Oldham (1951–2005), American football player
• Red Oldham (1893–1961), American baseball player
• Richard Oldham (died 1486), English bishop
• Richard Dixon Oldham (1858–1936), British geologist
• Robert Oldham (born 1950), Canadian writer
• Robert Oldham (born 1941), American doctor, cancer researcher
• Scott Oldham (born 1969), American journalist
• Spooner Oldham (born 1943), American musician
• Stephen Oldham (born 1948), English cricketer
• Thomas Oldham (1816–1878), British geologist
• Todd Oldham (born 1961), American fashion designer
• William Oldham (disambiguation), multiple people

Oldham is a town in northern England.

Oldham may also refer to:

Oldham was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Oldham, England. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created by the Great Reform Act of 1832 and was abolished for the 1950 general election when it was split into the Oldham East and Oldham West constituencies.

The Oldham constituency was perhaps most notable for being where Winston Churchill began his political career. Although taking two attempts to succeed, in the 1900 general election Churchill was elected as the member of Parliament for Oldham. He held the constituency for the Conservative Party until he defected from them in defence of free trade in 1904. He then represented the Liberal Party as MP for the seat until the 1906 general election.