Valladolid
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Valladolid. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of Spain, in Old Castile, capital of the province of the same name (area, 2,922 square miles; pop. about 285,000); on the left bank of the Pisuerga, and on the Irun-Madrid railway, 102 miles N. W. of Madrid. It is a fortress of the first rank and the seat of an archbishop; has a cathedral founded in 1585 by Philip II.; many monasteries; celebrated university a founded in 1346, an institute, an Academy of Fine Arts, a museum containing many beautiful pictures and sculptures, a library, various seminaries and industrial schools, a theater, hospitals, poorhouse, etc. Of its "plazas" the most beautiful are the quadrangular Plaza Mayor, the octagonal El Ochavo, and above all the triangular Campo Grande, where bull fights, autos-da-fé, and other public spectacles used to be held, and where Napoleon is said to have reviewed not fewer than 35,000 men. The manufactures of Valladolid, which have much revived, are chiefly of cloth, iron, and leather. The old Roman town of Pintia is said to have been rebuilt in 625 by the Goths, but the name Valladolid was first applied to it after its recovery from the Moors about 1072. From this time till Charles V. transferred the court to Madrid, Valladolid was a favorite residence of the kings of Leon. It was the birthplace of Philip II. Pop. about 70,000.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a city of Spain, the capital of the province of the same name. It is situated in a spacious, fertile plain on a tributary of the Douro 110 miles by rail from Madrid. Valladolid was the capital of Spain before the monarch moved his residence to Madrid. The royal palace still stands. The University of Valladolid, founded in 1346, is attended by over 1,000 students. Among buildings of note is an unfinished cathedral. Ferdinand and Isabella were married here. Columbus died at Valladolid. The house in which he passed away is still shown. Cervantes resided in this city. There are manufactures of iron, cloth, silks, paper, leather, chemicals, and gold and silver wares. The present population is about 70,000.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Both accounts put the city at about 70,000 people; Valladolid today has roughly 300,000 within the city and around 400,000 in its urban area, and since 1983 it has served as the de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León, an administrative role neither entry could anticipate. The "manufactures... chiefly of cloth, iron, and leather" that Collier's noted in 1921 were overtaken after the 1950s by heavy industry, above all car-making: the FASA plant that became Renault España, plus a large Michelin tyre works. The cathedral Aiton's called "unfinished" in 1910 is unfinished still, and the university founded in 1346 survives with some twenty thousand students, but Madrid is now about an hour away by high-speed AVE train rather than 102 miles of ordinary railway. The autos-da-fé that once filled the Campo Grande are long gone; the square is a public park.
Written for this edition, 2026.