125-420: John Elliotson (29 October 1791 – 29 July 1868), M.D. (Edinburgh, 1810), M.D.(Oxford, 1821), F.R.C.P.(London, 1822), F.R.S. (1829), professor of the principles and practice of medicine at University College London (1832), senior physician to University College Hospital (1834) — and, in concert with William Collins Engledue M.D. , the co-editor of The Zoist . Elliotson was a prolific and influential author,
250-433: A Strategy for Sustainable UCL 2019–24 , including three initiatives to promote sustainability. The Positive Climate initiative saw UCL pledge to have a 40% reduction in energy usage, all energy to come from renewables, and all UCL buildings to be carbon neutral by 2024, along with achieving net zero carbon emissions for UCL by 2030. The Positive Climate initiative was the winner in the "2030 Climate Action" category at
375-528: A barrister and sat as deputy coroner under his father. His youngest son, James Goodchild Wakley , and his middle son, Thomas Henry Wakley , became joint editors of The Lancet . All through his career, Wakley proved to be a man of aggressive personality, and his experiences had a sensational beginning. In August 1820 a gang of men (reputedly, the Thistlewood gang ) that had some imagined grievance against him burnt down his house and severely wounded him in
500-463: A Manchester surgeon, to develop his theories on the role of suggestion and auto-suggestion in mesmerism". — Fred Kaplan (1982) He was highly regarded in literary circles. WM Thackeray 's Pendennis was dedicated to his friend, Elliotson; and the character, Dr Goodenough (in Thackeray's last novel, The Adventures of Philip (1862) , was based on Elliotson, who had attended Thackeray when suffered
625-506: A Sustainable UCL was a finalist in the "Sustainable Institution of the Year" category at the 2022 Green Gown Awards. The two main bodies in UCL's governance structure are the council and the academic board , both of which are established by the royal charter and with powers defined by the statutes. There is also a University Management Committee, which is the executive committee responsible for
750-582: A Taunton apothecary and then later to surgeons in Beaminster and Henley-on-Thames . Young Wakley was a sportsman and a boxer: he fought bare-fisted in public houses. In 1815, he then went to London, where he attended anatomy classes at St Thomas's Hospital, and enrolled in the United Hospitals of St. Thomas's Hospital and Guy's . The dominant personality at these two hospitals was Sir Astley Cooper FRS (1768–1841). He also studied at
875-637: A court case to regain control of part of its campus which had been occupied by pro-Gaza protesters since May. UCL has a second campus, UCL East , at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, east London. The first building, with three floors of teaching and research space as well as accommodation for 500 students in two towers, opened in 2022, and the second, with eight floors of teaching and research space, opened in 2023. A further four buildings are planned for construction in
1000-829: A fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal Society , he had one of the largest private practices in London and, at his peak, was one of the pre-eminent physicians in the entire British Empire. He became interested in phrenology, and was founder and first President of the London Phrenological Society (in 1823). His interest in mesmerism had been aroused initially by the demonstrations conducted by Richard Chenevix in 1829, and re-awakened by Dupotet de Sennevoy's demonstrations in 1837. This prompted Elliotson to begin experimenting with
1125-423: A frequent guest at Wakley's dinner table, is said to have derived material for "Oliver Twist" from Wakley (inquest on Eliza Burgess, held St. Marylebone Workhouse, January 1840) and was juror on more than one Wakley inquest. Details of many of his cases are held in the reference sections of a number of north and west London reference and local history libraries under the collective title of "Coroner Wakley's Casebook",
1250-448: A full six days each week and could not shop on pay nights. If all shops closed for the whole of Sunday, it was clearly unfair to working men. Also, he advocated that places of education, such as museums and zoos, should be open to all on Sundays. The working week became five days long around 1960, and it was even later before shops were able to open on Sundays. Wakley also argued for medical coronerships, and when they were established, he
1375-661: A leading role in the reform of the London Veterinary College and the creation of the Society of Coroners. In addition to his work on The Lancet he also published a number of pamphlets and short guides, including "The Mother's Medical Adviser", published by Wilson and Company, New York, 1844. Reform in the College of Surgeons was slow, and Wakley now set himself to rouse the House of Commons from within. He became
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#17328015986101500-482: A libel lawyer as associates. It was extremely successful: by 1830, it had a circulation of about 4,000. In 1828, one of his accounts of medical negligence accused Bransby Cooper (the nephew of Sir Astley Cooper , the General Surgeon) of incompetence in causing a patient immense suffering as he attempted to extract a bladder stone through a cut beneath the scrotum. Such operations were regularly completed in only
1625-522: A life-threatening illness in 1849. Elliotson was a friend of Charles Dickens , and introduced Dickens to Mesmerism. Wilkie Collins , a close friend of Dickens described Elliotson as "one of the greatest English physiologists," and cites an example of state-dependent memory from Elliotson's Human Physiology in The Moonstone. Elliotson is a major antagonist in the game Assassin's Creed: Syndicate , who performs brutal and fatal experiments on
1750-473: A minute's time by excellent surgeons such as the previous century's William Cheselden , but Cooper took more than an hour and was seen to have great difficulty in locating the stone. The magazine account led to a libel case, Cooper v Wakley , which would raise the profile and popular prestige of Wakley and his magazine. The court found in Cooper's favor, but awarded him much smaller damages than requested, which
1875-471: A month later after symptoms of "serious cardiac and pulmonary mischief" were followed by pleurisy and pneumonia. The army doctors, under direct pressure from the colonel of the regiment, signed the certificate saying "cause of death was in no way connected with the corporal punishment." Before burial, the vicar communicated with Wakley, who issued a warrant for an inquest. Evidence was given by the Army surgeons, by
2000-446: A motion was passed that ended segregation by sex at UCL. This was achieved by Brian Woledge (Fielden Professor of French at UCL from 1939 to 1971) and David Colquhoun , at that time a young lecturer in pharmacology. In 1976, a new charter restored UCL's legal independence, although still without the power to award its own degrees. Under this charter the college became formally known as University College London . This name abandoned
2125-548: A murderous assault. The whole affair is obscure. The assault may have been a follow-up to the Cato Street conspiracy , whose supporters believed (wrongly) that the hangman was a surgeon. Wakley was indirectly accused by the insurance company, which had refused his claim, of setting fire to his house himself. He won his case against the company. In 1823, he started the now well-known medical weekly, The Lancet , with William Cobbett , William Lawrence , James Wardrop and
2250-645: A new Engineering and Architectural Design MEng , started in September 2018. One Pool Street, the first building on the UCL East campus, opened in November 2022. UCL East was officially opened, along with the Marshgate building that completed phase 1 of the development, in September 2023 by Olympic gold medalist and UCL alumna Christine Ohuruogu . UCL continued to grow through mergers with smaller colleges in
2375-584: A new corporate branding under which the name University College London was replaced by the initialism UCL in all external communications. UCL established the UCL School of Energy & Resources (later UCL Australia ) in Adelaide , Australia, in 2008 as the first campus of a British university in the country. The school was based in the historic Torrens Building in Victoria Square. In 2011,
2500-422: A number of lawsuits, but they only increased his influence. He attacked the whole constitution of the Royal College of Surgeons and obtained so much support from among the general body of the profession, now roused to a sense of the abuses that he exposed, that in 1827, a petition to Parliament resulted in a return being ordered of the public money granted to it. Wakley's campaigning was rough and outspoken: He
2625-400: A penetration had taken place, into the neck of Elizabeth Okey (the older sister) whilst she was mesmerized — within the confines of the hospital, in public demonstrations of the so-called 'higher states' of mesmerism: clairvoyance, transposition of the senses (seeing with the fingers, etc.), thought transmission, physical rapport or "community of sensation", psychical rapport, etc. Convinced that
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#17328015986102750-555: A private anatomy college on Webb Street, run by Richard and Edward Grainger . Wakley qualified as a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS) in 1817. A surgeon at 22, he set up in practice in Regent Street and in 1820 married Elizabeth Goodchild, whose father was a merchant and a governor of St Thomas' Hospital . They had three sons and a daughter, who died young. His eldest son, Henry Membury Wakley, became
2875-609: A radical candidate for Parliament and in 1835 was returned for Finsbury ; he retained his seat till 1852. Even after his departure, his work was largely responsible for the content of the Medical Act of 1858. He spoke in the House of Commons against the Poor Laws , police bills, newspaper tax and Lord's Day observance and for Chartism , Tolpuddle Martyrs , free trade , Irish nationalism and, of course, medical reform. All
3000-596: A resolution on 27 December 1838, " That the Hospital Committee be instructed to take such steps as they shall deem most advisable, to prevent the practice of Mesmerism or Animal Magnetism within the Hospital "; and Elliotson, on reading the contents of the resolution, resigned all of his appointments forthwith. Wakley did all that he could, as editor of The Lancet , and as an individual, to oppose Elliotson, and to place all of his endeavours and enterprises in
3125-536: A respected teacher, and renowned for his diagnostic skills as a clinician and, especially, his extremely strong prescriptions: "his students said that one should let him diagnose but not treat the patient". He was always at the 'leading edge' of his profession: he was one of the first in Britain to use and promote the stethoscope , and one of the first to use acupuncture . The son of the prosperous London chemist and apothecary John Elliotson and Elizabeth Elliotson, he
3250-420: A role similar to the senate in other institutions. It is the senior academic body responsible for advising council on academic matters and also elects academic members to council. It is, however, a much larger body than the senates at many other universities, including all professors as well as elected representatives of other academic and non-academic staff. UCL's principal academic and administrative officer
3375-485: A series of books published by C. B. Wakley between 2015 and 2017. Wakley campaigned against flogging as a punishment for many years. Deaths from flogging in the British Army were not unknown and not surprising when one reads the details. Wakley was Coroner when Private James White , after committing a disciplinary offence, was subjected to 150 lashes of the cat-o'-nine-tails in the 7th Hussars in 1846 and died
3500-403: A university, and who make a firm acceptance of a place and apply for accommodation by 10 June each year, and to single overseas first-year postgraduates at UCL who have not previously lived in London while studying at a university, and who make a firm acceptance of a place and apply for accommodation by 30 June each year. Accommodation is also guaranteed for students who are under 18 at the start of
3625-881: A £500 million investment in its main Bloomsbury campus over 10 years, as well as the establishment of a new campus, UCL East , next to the Olympic Park in Stratford in the East End of London. In 2018, UCL opened UCL at Here East , at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, offering courses jointly between the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment and the Faculty of Engineering Sciences . The first undergraduate students, on
3750-486: Is commonly regarded as the "spiritual father" of UCL, as his ideas on education and society were influential with the institution's founders, particularly James Mill (1773–1836) and Henry Brougham (1778–1868). In 1828, the chair of political economy at London University was created, with John Ramsay McCulloch as the first incumbent. In 1829, the university appointed the first professor of English in England, although
3875-419: Is not specified in the statutes, for strategy, external engagement, advancement and operations. Thomas Wakley Thomas Wakley (11 July 1795 – 16 May 1862) was an English surgeon. He gained fame as a social reformer who campaigned against incompetence, privilege and nepotism . He was the founding editor of The Lancet , a radical Member of Parliament (MP) and a celebrated coroner. He
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4000-767: Is on levels 38 and 50 (penthouse) of One Canada Square in the financial district of Canary Wharf . The UCL Observatory is in Mill Hill and the Mullard Space Science Laboratory is based in Holmbury St Mary , Surrey. The UCL Athletics Ground is in Shenley, Hertfordshire. UCL owns 26 halls of residence with around 7,000 student beds. The university guarantees accommodation to single full-time first-year undergraduate students who have not previously lived in London while studying at
4125-569: Is organised into 11 constituent faculties , within which there are over 100 departments, institutes and research centres. UCL operates several museums and collections in a wide range of fields, including the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology and the Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy , and administers the annual Orwell Prize in political writing. In 2022/23, UCL had a total income of £1.93 billion, of which £527 million
4250-407: Is probably the most useful, mainly because it provides a detailed record of a crucial thirteen year period in the development of Victorian psychology. Elliotson was a relentless advocate for his "truth." His articulateness as a writer and his energy as an editor almost triumph over the limitations of his vision and the demands of advocacy … The wonder is that in the face of so much criticism Elliotson
4375-558: Is the President and Provost, who is also UCL's designated accountable officer for reporting to the Office for Students on behalf of UCL. The provost is appointed by Council after consultation with the academic board, and is ex officio a member of council and chair of the academic board. Michael Spence has been president and provost since January 2021, when he succeeded Michael Arthur . Vice-provosts are appointed by council on
4500-627: The ARPANET , later becoming part of SATNET . UCL's interconnection between the ARPANET and early British academic networks was the first international heterogeneous resource sharing network. UCL played a significant role in the very earliest experimental Internet work and adopted TCP/IP in 1982, ahead of the ARPANET. The college's senior common room , the Housman Room, remained men-only until 1969. After two unsuccessful attempts,
4625-735: The Eastman Dental Institute (in 1999), the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (in 1999), the School of Pharmacy (in 2012) and the Institute of Education (in 2014). UCL has its main campus in the Bloomsbury area of central London , with a number of institutes and teaching hospitals elsewhere in central London and has a second campus, UCL East , at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford , East London. UCL
4750-579: The Eastman Dental Institute . Proposals for a merger between UCL and Imperial College London were announced in 2002. The proposal provoked strong opposition from UCL teaching staff and students and the AUT union , which criticised "the indecent haste and lack of consultation", leading to its abandonment by UCL provost Sir Derek Roberts . UCL was granted its own taught and research degree awarding powers in 2005, and all UCL students registered from 2007/08 qualified with UCL degrees. The same year, UCL adopted
4875-593: The Lancet also had other content of a non-medical kind. There was a chess column, the earliest regular chess column in any weekly periodical: The Chess Table . There were also occasional articles on politics, theatre reviews, biographies of non-medical persons, excerpts of material in other publications &c. None of that diminished its huge impact on surgery, hospitals and the Royal Colleges, which were opened up to public view as never before. Wakley also played
5000-495: The Lancet remained in Wakley hands for two more generations. His funeral was a very private affair, attendance restricted to family and close friends; the long-term consequences of his radicalism were eventually appreciated, at least to some extent. Wakley is interred in the catacombs of Kensal Green Cemetery (alcove 59, compartment 13) alongside his wife Elizabeth (alcove 59, compartment 16), who had died three years earlier. There
5125-886: The London Borough of Camden , in Central London . The main campus is located around Gower Street , with many other departments close by in Bloomsbury. Many health institutes are located close to associated hospitals, including the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square , the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children , and
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5250-506: The Royal College of Physicians of London , in which he controversially spoke of how William Harvey , the man whom the Oration was honouring, had been forced to fight against the entrenched conservatism of the medical profession and its initial incredulity and resistance to his discoveries, and stressed the strength of the analogy with the current (equally misguided and ignorant) critics of mesmerism. "In 1846, Elliotson's turn came to deliver
5375-633: The UCL Eastman Dental Institute and Eastman Dental Hospital . Historic UCL buildings in Bloomsbury include the grade I listed UCL Main Building , including the original Wilkins building designed by William Wilkins , and, directly opposite on Gower Street, the early 20th century grade II listed Cruciform Building, the last major building designed by Alfred Waterhouse . Nearby are the grade II listed Kathleen Lonsdale Building, UCL's first purpose-built chemistry laboratory, and
5500-574: The visitor , a position in English charity law that oversees the operation of the institution. That there shall be a visitor of the college is specified by the royal charter, as is that the position is to be held by the Master of the Rolls , the second most senior judge in England and Wales. UCL's council comprises 20 members, of whom 11 are members external to UCL; seven are UCL academic staff, including
5625-728: The 1990s, with the Institute of Child Health joining in 1995, the School of Podiatry in 1996 and the Institute of Neurology in 1997. In 1998, UCL merged with the Royal Free Hospital Medical School to create the Royal Free and University College Medical School (renamed the UCL Medical School in October 2008). In 1999, UCL merged with the School of Slavonic and East European Studies and
5750-437: The 2017/18 academic year, a rise from four cases the year before. Following pressure from victims, and after physicist Emma Chapman won the legal right to speak freely about her abuse at the university, UCL announced in 2018 that it would abandon non-disclosure settlements in settlements. In 2020, UCL became the first Russell Group university to ban romantic and sexual relationships between lecturers and their students. It
5875-461: The 2020 Green Gown Awards. A second initiative, The Loop , promotes circular economy . UCL set a target of reducing waste per person by 20% between 2019 and 2024, while aiming for an 85% recycling rate and the elimination of single-use plastics on campus. The third initiative, Wild Bloomsbury , promotes biodiversity . UCL set a target of creating 10,000 m (1.0 ha; 2.5 acres) of biodiverse green space on campus by 2024. The Strategy for
6000-852: The 2030s. UCL also operates a campus within Here East , the former Olympic park media centre. Elsewhere in Central London are the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology adjacent to Moorfields Eye Hospital in Clerkenwell , the Royal Free Hospital and the Whittington Hospital campuses of the UCL Medical School, and a number of other associated teaching hospitals. The UCL School of Management
6125-561: The Anglican restrictions of Oxford and Cambridge Universities) or by institution (e.g. membership of hospitals). Its officers and Senate would be decided by annual ballot. The cost of diplomas would be set low; those already qualified would be eligible to become Fellows so, for instance, those qualified in Scotland would be received without re-examination. Appointments to official (public) positions were to be by merit, eliminating nepotism and
6250-474: The Harveian Oration, but, as soon as it was known that he had accepted the office, he was attacked in the most savage manner, in order to prevent his appearing. For example, the Lancet called him a professional pariah, stated that his oration would strike a vital blow at legitimate medicine, and would be a black infamy degrading the arms of the College. Undeterred by this, Elliotson made mesmerism
6375-565: The LCM incorporated ideas that formed the basis of reforms in the charters of the main licensing bodies, the Apothecaries, the Royal Colleges of Surgeons and Physicians. Firstly, there was to be one Faculty : the LCM was to include physicians, surgeons and general practitioners; teachers at private medical schools and naval surgeons would also be included. Secondly, the structure was to be democratic: there would be no restrictions by religion (e.g.
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#17328015986106500-525: The London Mesmeric Infirmary. As his reputation rapidly declined, his once lucrative practice also disappeared, and he died, penniless, in 1868 in the London home of a medical colleague, Edmond Sheppard Symes (1805-1881), L.S.A. (1830), M.R.C.S (England, 1832), M.D. (Aberdeen, 1851). "Elliotson firmly believed that mesmerism and phreno-mesmerism could be explained fully in physical terms [and, of] all Elliotson's achievements, The Zoist
6625-591: The Okey sisters, Elizabeth (17) and Jane (15), who had been admitted to his hospital, in April 1837, for treatment of their epilepsy. Their surname was often given as O'Key and it was and is widely assumed they were Irish but in fact they came from an old English family (Okey comes from the oak tree). Elliotson soon began using them as subjects – in 1837 he inserted "a large seton needle with a skein of silk into it", entirely painlessly, and without her even being aware that such
6750-538: The University College's Professor of Clinical Surgery, one of the fastest surgeons of all time (on one occasion Liston amputated a leg, mid-thigh, in 25 seconds), who was pale skinned, and at least 6 ft 2in (188 cm) tall. Liston was fiercely opposed to Elliotson's 'contamination' of the hospital with his demonstrations of 'higher states' of mesmerism (i.e., rather than its 'medical' applications). Despite his unusual physical characteristics, Elliotson
6875-471: The University of London Act 2018, which allowed member institutions to become universities in their own right while remaining part of the University of London, UCL applied for university status in 2019. The application was approved by the Office for Students in 2022 and a supplemental charter was sealed on 17 April 2023, granting UCL university status. UCL is primarily based in the Bloomsbury area of
7000-452: The University of London for a eugenics laboratory; this transferred to UCL in 1907 with Karl Pearson as its director. UCL apologised for its "fundamental role in the development, propagation and legitimisation of eugenics" in 2021. In 1911, UCL received an anonymous donation of £30,000 (equivalent to £3,860,000 in 2023) for a building for its school of architecture . In 1919 the donor consented to being named as Herbert Bartlett and
7125-519: The University of London. On 1 January 2012 the School of Pharmacy, University of London merged with UCL, becoming the UCL School of Pharmacy within the Faculty of Life Sciences. UCL and the Institute of Education formed a strategic alliance in October 2012, followed by a full merger in December 2014. UCL paid tens of thousands of pounds to settle ten sexual harassment claims against staff in
7250-528: The academic year and for students who are care-leavers. There is only limited accommodation available in university halls for returning students and others who do not meet the criteria for a guaranteed place. UCL students are also eligible, as students of a member institution of the University of London, to apply for places in the University of London intercollegiate halls of residence . In 2013, UCL's newly built New Hall student accommodation building on Caledonian Road , designed by Stephen George and Partners,
7375-473: The charter as the first two affiliates. The first students from UCL and King's matriculated as undergraduates in 1838 and the first degrees were awarded to students of the two colleges in 1839. There had been an intention to establish a course in engineering at the college's opening but no professor was appointed until 1840 or 1841, after engineering courses had started at Durham University (1837) and King's College London (1838). The Slade School of Fine Art
7500-415: The collection of the Wellcome Library (see right). Elliotson and William Collins Engledue were the co-editors of The Zoist: A Journal of Cerebral Physiology & Mesmerism, and Their Applications to Human Welfare , an influential British journal, devoted to the promotion of the theories and practices (and the collection and dissemination of reports of the applications) of mesmerism and phrenology , and
7625-470: The college merged with the Institute of Archaeology . In 1988, UCL merged with the Institute of Laryngology & Otology, the Institute of Orthopaedics, the Institute of Urology & Nephrology and Middlesex Hospital Medical School . Middlesex and University College hospitals, together with the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, formed the University College London Hospitals NHS Trust in 1994. Mergers continued in
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#17328015986107750-513: The college. From 1871 to 1872 these were held inside the college building, although still independently of the college. From 1872, some professors, particularly Edward Poynter of the Slade, started to admit women to their classes. The full opening on the faculties of arts, science and law in 1878 came two years after the admission of women alongside men at the University of Bristol from its foundation (as University College Bristol ) in 1876. The first woman to officially enrol in architecture at UCL
7875-423: The colleges and the desire for a "teaching university" in London led to royal commissions that reported in 1888 and 1892 and the reconstitution of the university under the University of London Act 1898. Following the University of London's reconstitution in 1909, transforming it from an examining board to a federal university with constituent "schools", UCL, became a school of the University of London. While most of
8000-429: The colleges that became schools of the university retained their autonomy, UCL chose to be merged into the university in 1907 under the University College London (Transfer) Act 1905 ( 5 Edw. 7 . c. xci) and surrendered its legal independence in return for gaining a greater say in the running of the university. Its formal name became University of London, University College , although for most informal and external purposes
8125-416: The comma used in its earlier name of University College, London . In 1993, a reorganisation of the University of London meant that UCL and other colleges gained direct access to government funding and the right to confer University of London degrees themselves. This led to UCL being regarded as a de facto university in its own right. Mergers were a major feature of this period of UCL's history. In 1986,
8250-501: The conference. Following the revelation, UCL announced in 2018 that it would launch an enquiry into the university's historical links with eugenics. This reported in 2020, but covered only historical eugenics and did not address the 2014–17 conferences, leading to a majority of the authors refusing to sign the final report. The Galton Lecture Theatre, Pearson Lecture Theatre and Pearson Building were all renamed in 2020, and in 2021 UCL apologised for its part in promoting eugenics during
8375-507: The country to Aberystwyth , Bangor, Gwynedd , Cambridge , Oxford , Rothamsted near Harpenden, Hertfordshire and Sheffield , with the administration at Stanstead Bury near Ware, Hertfordshire . The first UCL student newspaper, Pi , was founded in 1946. The Institute of Jewish Studies relocated from Manchester to UCL in 1959. The Mullard Space Science Laboratory was established in 1967. In 1973, Peter Kirstein's research group at UCL became one of only two international nodes on
8500-461: The course concentrated on linguistics and the modern teaching of English – studying English literature – was introduced by King's College London in 1831. In 1830, London University founded the London University School, which would later become University College School . In 1833, the university appointed Alexander Maconochie , secretary to the Royal Geographical Society , as the first professor of geography in Britain. Classes in medicine began at
8625-436: The day-to-day operations of the institution. This comprises the President and Provost, the vice-presidents, the vice-provosts, the pro-provost of UCL East, the deans of the faculties, the chief financial officer, chief information officer, and chief people officer, the chief of staff, the general consul, the executive director of media and marketing, and the director of media relations. The senior leadership team at UCL includes
8750-415: The elder sister, Elizabeth, had a talent for medical clairvoyance (able to see into the body, diagnose illness, prescribe treatment, and deliver a prognosis), Elliotson took her down into the wards in the dead of night and had her both diagnose and prescribe treatments. In August 1838, Thomas Wakley conducted a series of experiments on the sisters in front of several witnesses. His tests focussed on whether
8875-526: The employment of Peruvian bark, inoculation and vaccination for small-pox, the use of mild dressings, instead of boiling oil, in gun-shot wounds, the ligature of the bleeding vessels after operation, instead of the application of burning pitch or red-hot irons, etc. We should, Elliotson said, never forget these things, nor allow authority, conceit, habit, or the fear of ridicule to make us hostile to truth. We should always have before our eyes that memorable passage in Harvey's works: "True philosophers, compelled by
9000-434: The enterprise of "connecting and harmonizing practical science with little understood laws governing the mental structure of man", that was published quarterly, without a break, for fifteen years: from March 1843 until January 1856. The Zoist , was printed on high quality paper, and issued quarterly to its subscribers. It was also published for a wider readership in annual volumes. Well-written in crisp, scientific English, it
9125-443: The exception of courses on public health and hygiene). UCL's admission of women in 1878 came almost three decades after Bedford College became the first institution to offer university-level education for women in Britain, and the establishment of the University of London's General Examination for Women in 1868. The Ladies' Educational Association held classes for women from 1868, taught by professors from UCL but independently of
9250-497: The first half of the 20th century. UCL was criticised (along with Oxford, Imperial and other London universities) in 2021 for accepting money from the Alexander Mosley Charitable Trust, established to hold the fortune left to Max Mosley by his father, British fascist leader Oswald Mosley . UCL received £500,000 to establish a forensic evidence interpretation laboratory. Following the passing of
9375-403: The form of a joint stock company , with shares sold for £100 (equivalent to £10,600 in 2023) to proprietors, under the name of London University , although without legal recognition as a university or the associated right to award degrees. London University's first warden was Leonard Horner , who was the first scientist to head a British university. Despite the commonly held belief that
9500-435: The girls could tell 'mesmerised' from 'unmesmerised' water. When they failed to do this consistently, he denounced them as frauds and proclaimed mesmerism a complete fallacy. In fact, the experiments did not prove the girls were faking nor did they show that mesmerism was false. By the end of 1838, however, Elliotson was forced to resign from the hospital. The Council of the University College, after months of deliberation, passed
9625-594: The government's proposal to establish the University of London as an independent examining body, accepting the status of a college for their institution. As a result, the proprietors of London University were incorporated by royal charter under the name University College, London on 28 November 1836. On the same day, the University of London was created by royal charter as a degree-awarding examining board for students from affiliated schools and colleges, with University College and King's College , London being named in
9750-720: The grade II listed Rockefeller Building. Elsewhere in Bloomsbury is the 1970s grade II* Institute of Education building by Denys Lasdun and Partners. Much of the estate falls within the Bloomsbury Conservation Area , designated in 1968. Important contemporary buildings include the School of Slavonic and East European Studies building ( RIBA Award winner 2006) and the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour building ( LEAF Award for best façade design and engineering and overall winner 2016). In August 2024, UCL won
9875-466: The hand-placing of protégées. All Fellows would carry the prefix 'Dr', removing artificial divisions between members. Perhaps not surprisingly, the LCM did not succeed against the united opposition of the established Colleges and other institutions. Nevertheless, the strong case for reform had been made in the most public manner. Subsequent legislation and reforms in governing charters were, for many years, influenced by this campaign. In its early years,
10000-553: The hospital physician and orderlies and by independent experts. In the event, it was the evidence of Erasmus Wilson , consulting surgeon to the St Pancras Infirmary , who made it clear that the flogging and the death were causally connected. The jury concurred and added a strongly worded rider that expressed their "horror and disgust that the law of the land provided that the revolting punishment of flogging should be permitted upon British soldiers." Sprigge added that it
10125-694: The insane at Lambeth Asylum and is a secret member of the Templar Order . He is later killed by the Master Assassin Jacob Frye . University College London University College London ( branded as UCL ) is a public research university in London , England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London , and is the second-largest university in the United Kingdom by total enrolment and
10250-593: The largest by postgraduate enrolment. Established in 1826 as London University (though without university degree-awarding powers) by founders inspired by the radical ideas of Jeremy Bentham , UCL was the first university institution to be established in London, and the first in England to be entirely secular and to admit students regardless of their religion. It was also among the first university colleges to admit women alongside men in 1878, two years after University College, Bristol . Intended by its founders to be England's third university , politics forced it to accept
10375-670: The love of truth and wisdom, never fancy themselves so wise and full of sense as not to yield to truth from any source and at all times: nor are they so narrow-minded as to believe any art or science has been handed down in such a state of perfection to us by our predecessors that nothing remains for future industry." All this, Elliotson said, should be borne in mind when considering the alleged facts of mesmerism. In his opinion many of these were indisputable; for ten years he had shown how mesmerism could prevent pain during surgical operation, produce sleep and ease in sickness, and even cure many diseases which had been unrelieved by ordinary methods. It
10500-518: The members of Coldplay . UCL academics discovered five of the naturally occurring noble gases , discovered hormones , invented the vacuum tube , and made several foundational advances in modern statistics. As of 2024, 32 Nobel Prize winners and three Fields medallists have been affiliated with UCL as alumni or academic staff. UCL was founded on 11 February 1826 as an alternative to the Anglican universities of Oxford and Cambridge . It took
10625-484: The microscopical and chemical analyses of the solids and fluids consumed by all classes of the public'. The methods were devised by Wakley, Sir William Brooke O'Shaughnessy and Dr Arthur Hill Hassall , who was the Commissioner. The first investigation showed that "it is a fact that coffee is largely adulterated". Of 34 coffees, 31 were adulterated; the three exceptions were of higher price. The main adulteration
10750-748: The mining company BHP Billiton agreed to donate AU$ 10 million to UCL to fund the establishment of two energy institutes – the Energy Policy Institute, based in Adelaide, and the Institute for Sustainable Resources, based in London. UCL Australia closed in December 2017, with academic staff and student transferring to the University of South Australia . Since 2018, UCL and the University of South Australia have offered joint master's degrees in data science and in energy systems with study in Adelaide and London. In 2011, UCL announced plans for
10875-522: The most important improvements in its practice, had been opposed by the profession in the most violent and unprincipled manner. As examples of scientific discoveries which had been received in this way, he cited those of the lacteal vessels, the thoracic duct, the sexual system of plants, the circulation of the blood, the sounds of the chest and their relation to the diseases of the heart and lungs and their coverings, etc. As instances of improvement in practice which had been treated in like manner, he referred to
11000-454: The name "University College, London" (or the initialism UCL) was still used. As of 2022, it remains listed as "University of London: University College" on US Federal Student Aid applications. 1900 also saw the decision to appoint a salaried head of the college. The first incumbent was Carey Foster , who served as Principal (as the post was originally titled) from 1900 to 1904. He was succeeded by Gregory Foster (no relation), and in 1906
11125-420: The nervous system and as an anaesthesia in surgical procedures. Elliotson's approach to the mind was through the body … In addition, Elliotson was the first to attempt to detach the operations of mesmerism and the conditions of the procedure from conscious acts of will on the part of the subject and the operator, the patient and the doctor … In his appreciation of the non-rational and non-conscious elements within
11250-483: The opening of the college in 1828, and in 1834 University College Hospital (originally North London Hospital) opened as a teaching hospital for these classes, which were organised into a faculty of medicine in 1836. After almost a decade of attempting to win recognition as a university and the right to award degrees, including an Address to the Crown from the House of Commons, the proprietors of London University accepted
11375-454: The philosopher Jeremy Bentham was the founder of UCL, his direct involvement was limited to the purchase of share No. 633, at a cost of £100 paid in nine instalments between December 1826 and January 1830. In 1828, he did nominate a friend to sit on the council, and in 1827, attempted to have his disciple John Bowring appointed as the first professor of English or History, but on both occasions his candidates were unsuccessful. However, Bentham
11500-407: The procedure, [he] gave some direction and encouragement to those forces … that were laying the groundwork for Freud and other exponents of the relationship between the unconscious and psychiatric therapy. Finally, Elliotson's imposing mid-century presence and his widely reported mesmeric activities provided both the degree of legitimacy and the intellectual stimulation that encouraged James Braid ,
11625-469: The proofs of the next issue. Upon recognising each other, they fell immediately into laughter or perhaps an altercation. Either way, they reached an agreement that was mutually satisfactory. The libel lawyer was certainly needed for a series of attacks on the jobbery in vogue among the medical practitioners of the day. In opposition to the hospital surgeons and physicians, he published reports of their lectures and exposed their malpractices. He had to fight
11750-449: The provost, three UCL professors and three non-professorial staff; and two are UCL students. The chair is appointed by council for a term not normally exceeding five years. The chair is ex officio chair of the honorary degrees and fellowships committee, nominations committee and remuneration and strategy committee. As of April 2023, the chair of the council is international businessman and UCL alumnus Victor Chu. The academic board plays
11875-547: The purity of the water supply . The first Adulteration Act became law in 1860, the second in 1872. The Sale of Food and Drugs Acts of 1875 and 1879 followed. All was achieved by Wakley and his associates. Wakley's death, on 16 May 1862 in Madeira , was occasioned by pulmonary haemorrhage after a fall from a boat in the harbour. He had been in declining health for about ten years, the symptoms being entirely consistent with tuberculosis . Wakley's three sons survived him, and
12000-440: The recommendation of the provost or the academic board, to assist and advise the provost as required. The vice-provosts are members of the provost's senior management team. There are four vice-provosts (for education and student experience; health; research, innovation and global engagement; and faculties). There are also four vice-presidents, who are also members of the senior management team but whose role and manner of appointment
12125-695: The school was renamed in his honour. UCL sustained considerable bomb damage during the Second World War, including the complete destruction of the Great Hall, the Carey Foster Physics Laboratory and the Ramsay Laboratory. Fires gutted the library and destroyed much of the main building, including the dome; it was not until 1954 that the main building was fully restored. The departments were dispersed across
12250-477: The standards that cover residential buildings, such as having daylight in the rooms. The UCL East development includes 532 student rooms in One Pool Street, which opened in 2022. Further accommodation will be available in the Marshgate building, expected to open in 2023, and at the second Pool Street site. UCL's new Student Centre, which opened in 2019, was designed to be environmentally friendly and
12375-524: The status of a college in 1836, when it received a royal charter and became one of the two founding colleges of the University of London , although it achieved de facto recognition as a university in the 1990s and formal university status in 2023. It has grown through mergers, including with the Institute of Ophthalmology (in 1995), the Institute of Neurology (in 1997), the Royal Free Hospital Medical School (in 1998),
12500-417: The subject of his address. Without referring to the attacks which had been made upon him, he simply stated the result of his researches, and respectfully invited the College to examine alleged facts of overwhelming interest and importance. He exhorted his hearers to study mesmerism calmly and dispassionately, and reminded them, with more truth than tact, that all the greatest discoveries in medical science, and
12625-604: The title was changed to Provost to avoid confusion with the principal of the University of London. Gregory Foster remained in post until 1929. In 1906, the Cruciform Building was opened as the new home for University College Hospital . UCL opened the first department and chair of chemical engineering in the UK, funded by the Ramsay Memorial Fund, in 1923. In 1904, Francis Galton donated £1,000 to
12750-602: The topics were vigorously debated and fought over, for the 1830s was a turbulent decade; the origin of the difficulties lay in the massively expensive Napoleonic Wars , and in the inherent injustice of the way British law and Parliament operated. The Chartist demands were 1. Universal suffrage for adult men 2. Annual Parliaments 3. Payment for members of Parliament 4. Abolition of property qualifications for candidates 5. Vote by ballot (i.e. secret voting) 6. Abolition of rotten boroughs (rough equalisation of electoral districts). Apart from annual Parliaments, but it took time. The effect
12875-468: The well-demonstrated usefulness of mesmerism, not only in the alleviation of disease and suffering, but in the provision of pain-free surgery, especially amputations. In 1846 – by this stage bereft of all his institutional affiliations – and despite many earnest efforts made to prevent him doing so, as the Royal College of Physicians' youngest fellow, Elliotson delivered the Harveian Oration to
13000-422: The world's largest academic health science centre . It is considered part of the " golden triangle " of research-intensive universities in southeast England. UCL has publishing and commercial activities including UCL Press, UCL Business and UCL Consultants. UCL has many notable alumni, including the founder of Mauritius, the first Prime Minister of Japan, one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA , and
13125-626: The worst possible light; for example, in addition to an extensive range of articles in The Lancet , over a number of years, there is also an anti-Elliotson (pseudonymous) work attributed to Wakley, Undeniable facts concerning the strange practices of Dr. Elliotson, ... with his female patients; and his medical experiments upon the bodies of ... E. & J. Okey, etc. (1842) which is held by the British Library , and another, most likely written by either Wakley or one of his associates, held in
13250-494: Was Gertrude Leverkus in 1915, although Ethel and Bessie Charles had been allowed to audit classes in the 1890s. Women were finally admitted to medical studies during the First World War in 1917, although limitations were placed on their numbers after the war ended. A new royal charter granted to the University of London in 1858 effectively removed the affiliation of colleges to the university. Dissatisfaction from
13375-490: Was chicory , otherwise bean-flour, potato-flour or roasted corn was used. Moreover, it was found that chicory itself was usually adulterated. The Lancet published the names of the genuine traders and threatened the others with exposure if they failed to mend their ways. A second report (26 April 1851) actually carried out the threat. A third report showed that canister coffee was even more adulterated. Investigations of sugar, pepper , bread, tobacco and tea followed, then finally
13500-527: Was able to maintain as much objectivity and professional rigor as he did, though clearly the pages of The Zoist need to be filtered carefully to distinguish what is of value from what is sheer advocacy and contentiousness … Elliotson made three important contributions to the history of psychology and medicine. By stressing the physical basis of mesmeric phenomena and its underlying causes in so far as they had therapeutic potential, he demonstrated that mesmerism could be used effectively in illnesses associated with
13625-473: Was awarded the Carbuncle Cup and named the country's worst new building by Building Design magazine, with the comment "this is a building that the jury struggled to see as remotely fit for human occupation". Islington Council had originally turned down planning permission for the building, but this had been overturned on appeal. As it is classified as a hotel or guest house, it was exempt from many of
13750-551: Was born in Membury, Devon , to a prosperous farmer, Henry Wakley (1750 – 26 August 1842), and his wife, Mary née Minifie. His father inherited property, leased neighbouring land and became a large farmer by the standards of the day and a government Commissioner on the Enclosure of Waste Land. He was described as a "just but severe parent" and, with his wife, had eleven children, eight sons and three daughters. Thomas
13875-508: Was born in Southwark on 29 October 1791. He was a private pupil of the rector of St Saviours, Southwark, and went on to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh , from 1805 to 1810 — where he was influenced by Thomas Brown , M.D. (1778–1820) — and then at Jesus College, Cambridge , from 1810 to 1821), from both of which institutions he took the degree of M.D., and subsequently in London at St Thomas' and Guy's hospitals. In 1831 he
14000-525: Was devoted to the propagation of information about the applications of phrenology (rather than its theories) and to the collection, storage, and dissemination of reports of the therapeutic efficacy of mesmerism (with even less treatment of mesmeric theories than of phrenological theories) – in part, it acted as a disciplinary clearing house for information and the experiences of both amateur and professional practitioners (and their subjects) from all over Great Britain, and its colonies – and it placed great stress on
14125-467: Was discovered in 2018 that an annual eugenics conference, the London Conference on Intelligence , had been held at UCL, as an external paid event, between 2014 and 2017. An enquiry found that the organiser, an honorary lecturer, did not correctly follow the room booking procedure, including claiming that no controversial topics would be discussed, leaving the university unaware of the nature of
14250-596: Was elected Coroner for West Middlesex in 1839. Consistent with his views, he held inquests into all sudden deaths, including deaths in police custody. He was indefatigable in upholding the interests of the working classes and advocating humanitarian reforms as well as in pursuing his campaign against medical restrictions and abuses, and he made the Lancet not only a professional organ but a powerful engine of social reform. During his term as coroner he held between 25,000 and 30,000 investigations, sometimes delegating responsibility to his son Henry Membury Wakley. Charles Dickens,
14375-534: Was elected professor of the principles and practice of physic in London University (now University College London ), and in 1834 he became physician to University College Hospital . Barely 5 ft (152 cm) tall, with dark complexion and a very large head, he was also lame (following an 1828 carriage accident). His appearance presented a strong contrast to his 'intramural enemy' Robert Liston (1794-1847), F.R.C.S. (Edinburgh, 1818), F.R.S. (1841),
14500-419: Was especially severe on whomever he regarded as quacks. The English Homeopathic Association were "an audacious set of quacks" and its supporters "noodles and knaves, the noodles forming the majority, and the knaves using them as tools". One of Wakley's best ideas came in 1831, when a series of massive meetings were held to launch a rival to the Royal Colleges. Though successful, not eventually unsuccessful, and
14625-407: Was founded as part of University College in 1871, following a bequest from Felix Slade . In 1878, the University of London gained a supplemental charter making it the first British university to be allowed to award degrees to women. The same year, UCL admitted women to the faculties of Arts and Law and of Science, although women remained barred from the faculties of Engineering and of Medicine (with
14750-516: Was from research grants and contracts. The university generates around £10 billion annually for the UK economy, primarily through the spread of its research and knowledge (£4 billion) and the impact of its own spending (£3 billion). UCL is a member of numerous academic organisations, including the Russell Group and the League of European Research Universities , and is part of UCL Partners ,
14875-415: Was generally taken as an acknowledgment that Wakley's accusations of incompetence and nepotism were justified. At first, the editor of the Lancet was not named in the journal, but after a few weeks, rumours began to circulate. After the journal began printing the content of Sir Astley Cooper's lectures without permission, the great man paid a surprise visit to his former pupil to discover Wakley correcting
15000-494: Was greatly admired as a lecturer, both for the structured clarity of his lectures, and the theatrical liveliness of their delivery. Once he began lecturing at the University College, his widely respected lectures were extensively reported in the medical press; and he published a number of collections of his lectures over the years. At his peak, he was the first President of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society (in 1833),
15125-517: Was not Wilson's able scientific arguments that convinced the jury, but it was his assertion that had it not been for the flogging, White would be alive. The Army Act of 1881 abolished flogging as a punishment. Wakley's last campaigns were against the adulteration of foodstuffs. This was common in Wakley's day, and his opposition was significant in bringing about much-needed reforming legislation. To provide evidence, Wakley set up The Lancet Analytical and Sanitary Commission , which provided 'records of
15250-536: Was one of only 320 buildings worldwide (at the time) to be certified outstanding by BREEAM . This certification requires innovation throughout the design, engineering and construction process, and places the Student Centre among the top 1% of non-domestic buildings in the UK for sustainability. The UCL Student Centre was a finalist at the Green Gown Awards in 2019. Also in 2019, UCL launched
15375-501: Was the imperative and solemn duty of the profession to carefully and dispassionately examine the subject. He therefore earnestly implored them to do so, if they cared for truth, their own dignity, and the good of mankind." — John Milne Bramwell (1903) Elliotson continued to provide mesmeric demonstrations from his own residence at 37 Conduit Street, Hanover Square (which he eventually quit in 1865). In partnership with Engledue, he began publishing The Zoist in 1843, and, in 1849 founded
15500-411: Was the youngest son, and attended the grammar school at Chard (now Chard School ), then Taunton Grammar School . When he was eleven, he sailed on a ship captained by a family friend to Calcutta . He joined the ship on 7 March 1807 as one of six midshipmen . He was discharged on 18 August 1808. When he returned, he attended school at Wiveliscombe , Somerset . At fifteen, he was apprenticed to
15625-451: Was to give ordinary citizens a direct say in how the country was governed. Wakley was one of many campaigners; his influence was greater than most because he was now inside Parliament. As an Anglican and a regular church-goer, Wakley's opposition to aspects of the Lord's Day Observance legislation was based not on secularism but on his sympathy for the ordinary man. In his day, men worked
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