Birkbeck, University of London
On the 11th of November 1823, a crowd of two thousand people gathered at the Crown and Anchor Tavern in the Strand. They listened as Dr. George Birkbeck chaired the founding meeting of what would become the London Mechanics' Institute. The idea had been proposed just weeks earlier by JC Robertson and Thomas Hodgskin in an issue of Mechanic's Magazine. Francis Place influenced their proposal to reference the work of this University of Edinburgh graduate who pioneered adult education. Some critics accused Birkbeck of scattering seeds of evil, yet he fully devoted his efforts to the college as its founder and first president. The Institute moved into Southampton Buildings on Chancery Lane in 1825. In 1830 it became one of the earliest colleges to admit female students. Changes to the University of London's structure in 1858 allowed the Institute's students to sit examinations for degrees. The Institute became the main provider for part-time university education. In 1866 the Institute changed its name to the Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution. In 1885 Birkbeck moved to the Breams Building on Fetter Lane where it remained for the next 67 years.
During the Second World War Birkbeck was the only central University of London college not to be relocated outside the capital. In 1941 the college's library suffered a direct hit during The Blitz but teaching continued. During the war the college organised lunch-time extramural lectures for the public given by Joad, Pevsner and Harold Nicolson. Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan began teaching botany there in 1921 as the college's first female professor. Other distinguished faculty in the years between the two world wars included Nikolaus Pevsner, J. D. Bernal and Cyril Joad. In 1952 the college moved to its present location in Malet Street. The Royal Charter was granted in 1926 after the outbreak of the First World War delayed a review that had recommended Birkbeck become a constituent college of the University in 1913. The building in Bloomsbury now houses the School of Arts including the Department of English & Humanities in Virginia Woolf's former residence at Gordon Square. John Maynard Keynes, Vanessa Bell and Lydia Lopokova were other notable former residents of that house.
Birkbeck is one of the few universities to specialise in evening higher education in the United Kingdom. Nearly all classes on any one day are taught at the same time resulting in heavy competition for limited space. Many Birkbeck classes are taught at other locations around Bloomsbury not only because the institution is committed to widening participation in higher education but also due to scheduling conflicts. The London Society for the Extension of University Education was founded in 1876 with the aim of encouraging working people to undertake higher education. It became the Department of Extra-Mural Studies of the University of London in 1903. In 1988 it was integrated into Birkbeck first as the Centre for Extramural Studies and then as the School of Continuing Education. In 2009 the Faculty of Lifelong Learning was incorporated into the main college structure. The university offers more than 200 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes yet its distinctive model focuses primarily on serving working adults through evening study.
The Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities was established in 2004 with Slavoj Žižek appointed as International Director. His appointment provoked an article in The Observer titled What have intellectuals ever done for the world which criticised the ostensible irrelevance and elitism of contemporary public intellectuals. Science research at Birkbeck has a notable tradition. David Bohm made notable contributions to the theory of quantum mechanics as Professor of Theoretical Physics from 1961 to 1987. Aaron Klug worked in the Department of crystallography while Derek Barton served in the Department of Chemistry. Roger Penrose and David Bohm were both in the Department of Physics. Kathleen Booth wrote the first computer assembly language. The Centre for Brain Function and Development was awarded The Queen's Anniversary Prize for its brain research in 2005. In the 2021 REF exercise Birkbeck performed very well throughout with notable success in English Language & Literature where it ranked second nationally and Art and Design where it ranked fourth nationally. Seventy-three percent of Birkbeck's research was rated world-leading or internationally excellent.
Birkbeck's alumni and former and current staff include five Nobel laureates, numerous political leaders, members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and a British prime minister. The London Consortium has been running since the mid-1990s offering master's and doctoral degrees in interdisciplinary humanities and cultural studies. Its permanent and adjunct faculty has included Tom McCarthy, Colin MacCabe, Laura Mulvey, Steven Connor, Marina Warner, Juliet Mitchell, Stuart Hall, the late Roger Scruton, Salman Rushdie, Tilda Swinton as well as Slavoj Žižek. Anthony Julius currently chairs that consortium. David Latchman became Master of the Birkbeck in 2003 and forged closer relations between Birkbeck and University College London. Joint research centres include the UCL/Birkbeck Institute for Earth and Planetary Sciences and the UCL/Birkbeck/IoE Centre for Educational Neuroscience. The Bloomsbury Centre for Structural biology established in 1998 is a collaborative venture between Birkbeck and UCL leading academic centre for translating gene sequences and determining protein structure and function.
In late October 2022 the University and College Union published a press release stating that Birkbeck was planning to significantly reduce its staff because of a multi-million-pound deficit. In the same release it was stated that the local UCU branch had passed a motion of no confidence in the senior leadership team. Protests against possible job cuts took place at Birkbeck in November 2022. In 2018 Birkbeck announced that it would withdraw from UK university rankings because their methodologies unfairly penalise it since other factors caused by its unique teaching model unrelated to performance push it significantly down the ratings. In 2006 Birkbeck announced that it had been granted five million pounds by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to expand its provision into East London working with the University of East London. The partnership launched on the 21st of November 2006 is called Birkbeck Stratford. The Stratford campus transferred to the adjacent University of East London in July 2021. A building on Euston Road was refurbished by Penoyre & Prasad to be used by Birkbeck in 2021.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When was Birkbeck, University of London founded?
Birkbeck, University of London was founded on the 11th of November 1823 during a meeting at the Crown and Anchor Tavern in the Strand. Dr George Birkbeck chaired this founding meeting which established what would become the London Mechanics Institute.
Who is the founder of Birkbeck, University of London?
Dr George Birkbeck served as the founder and first president of the institution that became Birkbeck, University of London. He fully devoted his efforts to the college despite critics who accused him of scattering seeds of evil.
Where is Birkbeck, University of London located today?
Birkbeck, University of London moved to its present location in Malet Street in 1952. The Bloomsbury building now houses the School of Arts including the Department of English & Humanities in Virginia Woolf former residence at Gordon Square.
What makes Birkbeck, University of London unique compared to other universities?
Birkbeck, University of London is one of the few universities to specialise in evening higher education in the United Kingdom. Nearly all classes on any one day are taught at the same time resulting in heavy competition for limited space due to its distinctive model focusing primarily on serving working adults through evening study.
When did Birkbeck, University of London receive its Royal Charter?
The Royal Charter was granted to Birkbeck, University of London in 1926 after the outbreak of the First World War delayed a review that had recommended it become a constituent college of the University in 1913.