University of Khartoum degrees completed their programs in 1950. The next year, Gordon Memorial College was formally renamed University College Khartoum, which incorporated the Kitchener School of Medicine. When Sudan gained independence in 1956, the new Parliament passed a bill to award university status to Khartoum University College. It officially became Khartoum University on 24 July 1956. The eminent horticultural scientist John Pilkington Hudson was a visiting professor in 1961-3, who founded its department of horticulture. On 5 April 1984, the Government announced the closure of all faculties of the university. The university was reopened fully on August 1. The university was closed
Siege of Khartoum to the north by the Blue Nile and to the west by the White Nile. To defend the river banks, he created a flotilla of gunboats from nine small paddle-wheel steamers, until then used for communication purposes, which were fitted with guns and protected by metal plates. In the southern part of the town, which faced the open desert, he prepared an elaborate system of trenches, makeshift Fougasse-type land mines, and wire entanglements. Also, the surrounding country was controlled by the Shagia tribe, which was hostile to the Mahdi. By early April 1884, the tribes north of Khartoum rose in