McGill University is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university. Founded in 1821, McGill was chartered during the British colonial era, 46 years before the Canadian Confederation. McGill is consistently ranked among the top universities in Canada and worldwide. In the Maclean's 20th Annual University Rankings, McGill was the top-ranked in Canada among all institutions offering medical and doctoral degrees, maintaining this ranking for the sixth year in a row. In 2010-2011, the QS World University Rankings placed McGill first in Canada and 19th in the world, while the Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed McGill third in Canada, 26th in North America, and 35th in the world; in terms of reputation alone, the latter ranking placed McGill 29th in the world. With almost 215,000 living alumni worldwide, students and professors at McGill have been recognized in fields ranging from the arts and sciences, to business, politics, and sports.