On June 16, 1871, the United Kingdom passed the University Tests Act, repealing a prohibition on non-conformists at the British Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham. The Tests Acts were a series of laws that started in 1673 and eventually required officeholders, university students, civil servants and other persons associated with the government to swear allegiance to the Anglican Church. The Tests Act was repealed by the Catholic Relief Act of 1829, but the university policy lasted until 1871.



Learn more about the Tests Act from the History Channel.