Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber estuary, 25 miles (40 km) inland from the North Sea, with a population of (). 

The town of Hull was founded late in the 12th century. The monks of Meaux Abbey needed a port where the wool from their estates could be exported. They chose a place at the confluence of the rivers Hull and Humber to build a quay. 

The exact year the town was founded is not known but it was first mentioned in 1193. Renamed "Kings-town upon Hull" by King Edward I in 1299, Hull has been a market town, military supply port, trading hub, fishing and whaling centre and industrial metropolis. 

Hull was an early theatre of battle in the English Civil Wars. Its 18th century Member of Parliament, William Wilberforce, took a prominent part in the abolition of the slave trade in Britain. 

The city is unique in the UK in having had a municipally owned telephone system from 1902, sporting cream, not red, telephone boxes. 

After suffering heavy damage in the Second World War (the 'Hull Blitz'), Hull weathered a period of post-industrial decline, gaining unfavourable results on measures of social deprivation, education and policing. In the early 21st century spending boom before the late 2000s recession the city saw large amounts of new retail, commercial, housing and public service construction spending.
What year was it founded?
unknown