University College London UCL
Created | Updated Jun 22, 2007
Cuncti adsint meritaeque expectent praemia palmae
The Motto of UCL, Translation: Let all come who by merit deserve the most rewardIn keeping with its motto, UCL is a thriving community of people from around the world. The University prides itself on having been the first University in England to admit students regardless of race, class, religion and even gender. UCL was also the first to offer the teaching of law, architecture and medicine.
About UCL
UCL is currently home to over 27000 staff and students spanning 72 departments, ranging from medicine to archaeology. Currently, one third of the student body are attending UCL from outside of the UK, originating in over 140 different countries around the world.
Ranked the 5th best University in the UK (Guardian 2008
University League Table) and consistently ranked within the top 25 universities world-wide, UCL is securing its position as 'London's Global University'.
Located near Euston Station in the Bloomsbury area of London, the main hub of the University, the Quad, is just a short five minute walk from the station. The main bulk of the University campus is bordered by Euston Road, Gower Street, Byng Place and Gordon Street.
The only road leading through the campus, Malet Place, passes many of the Universities leading institutions including the Engineering department, the DMS Watson Library, and one of the largest University maintained museums.
Dotted throughout the campus are various museums including the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology which currently houses 80,000 artefacts, making it one of the largest collections of its kind in the world. The other most famous museum is the Grant Museum of Zoology which contains around 32,000 specimens including a preserved Dodo and a Quagga specimen.
UCLs 'Special Collections' department also contains items of immense historical and cultural interest. The first edition copies of Newton's 'Principia' and Charles Darwin's 'Origin of Species' are among the most guarded collections, housed in specially made strong rooms for protection.
The list of famous UCL students and professors include:
- Prof Peter Butler - First full face transplant
- Prof Steve Jones - Genetics
- Digby Jones - Director General, Confederation of British Industry
- Colin Chapman - Founder, Lotus Cars
- Walter Bagehot - Editor, The Economist
- Ricky Gervais - Comedian / Actor
- Jonathan Ross - Presenter
- Baroness Shreela Flather - First female Asian Peer
- Alexander Graham Bell - Inventor, Telephone
To date, 19 academics and graduates have received Nobel Prizes
and 145 members of staff are fellows of notable societies
including the Royal Society, the British Academy and the Royal
Academies of Engineering and Medical Sciences.
HISTORY
UCL was founded after Thomas Campbell wrote a short letter
calling for the establishment of a University in London that
catered for people who were not members of the Church of England.
Until the founding of the University of London on the 11th of
February 1826 (Now UCL) only members of the church were able to
attend University (of which there were only Oxford and Cambridge
at the time).
The new University was criticised as being "The Godless
Institution of Gower Street" and as such, was prevented from
obtaining a royal charter, and so UCL was started as a joint
stock company. The buildings themselves were designed by William
Wilkins who later designed the National Gallery.
Just 180 years ago, the benefits of a university education in England were restricted to men who were members of the Church of England; UCL was founded to challenge that discrimination.
Quoted from the UCL website - On the History of UCLIn 1836, The University of London, became University College
London and received its Royal Charter on the 28th of November. On
the same day, The University of London was established and
granted the power to award degrees to students studying at UCL
and the newly started Kings College.
In 1837, The North London Hospital joined UCL and became
University College Hospital. In 1946 UCH was to be the site of
the very first operation under anaesthetic, performed by Robert
Lister.
1896 see the first series of 'Lectures for Ladies" and were given
by Carey Foster, the then Professor of Physics and Henry Morley,
Professor of English. It wasn't until 1871 that the first mixed
gender classes were offered, and in 1878 were admitted for the
first time as full degree students.
A number of other inventions and discoveries were made in the
following years:
1890s - Prof W Ramsay - Inert gases
1896 - First X-Ray used for clinical purposes
1904 - Prof A Fleming - Thermionic Valve
In 1907 UCL was incorporated into the University of London, but
regained its independence in 1977 when a Royal Charter was drawn
up declaring UCLs independence.
Amazingly, the buildings design was only fully realised in 1985
when the front quad entrance in Gower Street was completed, 158
years after construction started.
Now, UCL is the largest of over 50 colleges and other
institutions which make up the University of London, many of
which are in the Bloomsbury area
Jeremy Bentham - Father of UCL
Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832) is usually called the Founder of
UCL. This is in fact untrue. This myth has been spread due to a
mural in the dome of the Flaxman Gallery. The mural shows W
Wilkins submitting the plans for the building designs to Bentham.
This is of course, purely art and has no historical purpose.
Although Bentham was not one of the direct contributors to UCLs
founding, his ideologies on education and society were highly
respected by the actual founders, two in particular. H Brougham
and J Mills.
Bentham believed that education should be made widely available
to people who were not wealthy and members of the Church. These
ideals were the founding principles of UCL, and so UCL has a very
strong link with Bentham, with whom the University feels is its
spiritual father.
In UCLs early years, Bentham took great interest in the
University, and secured the first position of Professor of
Jurisprudence in 1829.
An Auto-icon of Bentham resides in the South Cloisters opposite a
display case claiming to contain forensic evidence of a crime
involving the Auto-icon and another of the University of London's
institutions.
