Cambridge is honoured this year by its selection for the first meeting held in England by the International Congress of Mathematicians. The Cambridge School has played a notable part in the development of mathematics in Britain, and it may be of interest if I briefly summarize the leading facts of its history, which is indeed closely connected with that of the University. The School is of more than respectable antiquity and inevitably it has been sometimes flourishing and sometimes the reverse. Here I desire rather to bring out the salient features in its history than to discuss details or individual achievements.