1. an industrial city in the West Midlands of England. It is the second largest city in Britain. Since the late 18th century it has been well known as a centre for business and engineering. In the late 20th century it began to be known also as a centre for the arts. Much of the architecture in the city centre was destroyed in order to build roads in the 1950s and 1960s.
2. the largest city in the US state of Alabama , sometimes called ‘the Magic City’. It is a centre of iron and steel production, which is why it was named after Birmingham, England. In the 1960s it was the scene of many protests by African Americans and other members of the civil rights movement , some of which led to fighting in the streets. Martin Luther King was arrested there in 1963 and wrote his Letter from the Birmingham Jail to explain why he did not obey unfair laws.