King's College London
King's College London received its royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. This founding occurred as a direct response to the theological controversy surrounding the establishment of University College London, which opened in 1826 as a secular institution. The new college was designed to reaffirm the educational values of the established order during a period of significant social change following the Napoleonic Wars. A dramatic event marked this turbulent beginning when Prime Minister Arthur Wellesley fought a duel against the Earl of Winchilsea on the 21st of March 1829. The conflict arose from Wellington's support for Catholic emancipation and his vision for an inclusive King's College compared to the Test Acts that restricted Oxford and Cambridge to Anglicans only. Winchilsea accused Wellington of insidious designs to introduce Popery into every department of the State, leading to a furious exchange of correspondence. The duel took place in Battersea Fields where Wellington fired wide while Winchilsa did not fire at all, saving both men's honor. Every year since then, Duel Day is commemorated on the first Thursday following March 21 with reenactments across campus. William Otter served as the first principal starting in October 1831 when the college officially opened its doors. The Archbishop of Canterbury presided over the opening ceremony where Charles James Blomfield delivered a sermon combining religious instruction with intellectual culture.
The original Strand Campus features the Grade I listed King's Building constructed in 1831 by architect Sir Robert Smirke adjacent to Somerset House. This building shares frontage along the River Thames including the King's College London Chapel which was redesigned in 1864 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. The river frontage was completed in April 1835 at a cost of £7,100 fulfilling a key stipulation required by the Crown for securing the site. Beyond this contiguous complex the campus includes Bush House on the opposite side of the Strand and the Maughan Library located on Chancery Lane. The Maughan Library occupies a Grade II* listed former Public Record Office building designed by Sir James Pennethorne and houses collections supporting humanities law and science. Inside the library sits the dodecagonal Round Reading Room inspired by the reading room of the British Museum and the Weston Room featuring stained glass windows and mosaic floors. A new block facing the Strand designed by E.D. Jefferiss Mathews opened in 1972 following major reconstruction that began in 1966 after the Robbins Report on Higher Education. The Waterloo Campus lies across Waterloo Bridge from the Strand Campus containing three main buildings including the Franklin-Wilkins Building one of the largest university buildings in London. Guy's Campus sits close to London Bridge right next to The Shard housing the faculty of life sciences and medicine alongside the dental institute. St Thomas' Campus faces the Houses of Parliament across the Thames carrying out continuing medical and dental training while housing the Florence Nightingale Museum. Denmark Hill Campus is situated in Camberwell serving as home to the Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience.
One of the most famous pieces of scientific research performed at King's were the crucial contributions to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA in 1953 by Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin together with Raymond Gosling Alex Stokes Herbert Wilson and other associates at the Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics. Joseph Lister was appointed professor of clinical surgery in 1877 greatly benefiting the medical school through his antiseptic surgical methods which gained the hospital an international reputation. The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery became part of King's in 1993 and stands as the oldest professional school of nursing in the world continuously connected to a fully serving hospital and medical school since its establishment by Florence Nightingale in 1860. King's claims to be the largest centre for healthcare education in Europe with three main teaching hospitals including Guy's Hospital King's College Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital. The Drug Control Centre established in 1978 holds the only WADA accredited anti-doping laboratory in the UK and served as the anti-doping facility for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In 1997 it became the first International Olympic Committee accredited laboratory to meet the ISO/IEC 17025 quality standard. The Gordon Museum of Pathology contains approximately 8,000 pathological specimens artefacts models and paintings including Astley Cooper's specimens and Sir Joseph Lister's antiseptic spray making it the largest medical museum in the United Kingdom.
King's comprises nine academic faculties ranging from arts and humanities to psychiatry psychology and neuroscience along with their specific departments and research divisions. The faculty of life sciences and medicine was created as a result of the merger of the school of medicine with the school of biomedical sciences in 2014. The Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience is the largest centre for research and postgraduate education in psychiatry psychology and neuroscience in Europe originally established in 1924 as the Maudsley Hospital Medical School. The Dickson Poon School of Law has taught law at King's since 1831 and became the school of law in 1991 after being founded in association with the London School of Economics in 1909. Teaching of experimental physics at King's was the first in England with professors including James Clerk Maxwell Harold A Wilson Charles Glover Barkla Sir Owen Richardson Sir Edward Appleton and Sir Charles Ellis three of whom became Nobel laureates. John Frederic Daniell was the first professor of chemistry establishing the first chemical laboratory in 1834 while teaching of engineering began in 1838 making it the second school of engineering established in the United
Kingdom.
In the fiscal year ending the 31st of July 2024 King's had total income of £1.271 billion with expenditure of £944 million. Key sources included £630.5 million from tuition fees and education contracts £144.9 million from funding body grants and £256.9 million from research grants and contracts. At year end King's held endowments of £324.8 million representing the fourth-largest endowment of any university in the UK behind only Oxford Cambridge and Edinburgh. The university received over 68,000 undergraduate applications per year ranking as the sixth-largest university in the UK by total enrolment. In 2022 King's had the 18th highest average entry qualification for undergraduates of any UK university with new students averaging 168 UCAS points. According to the 2025 Complete University Guide sixteen subjects offered by King's rank within the top ten nationally including Health Studies at number one Social Policy at number two Business Management Studies at number three Anthropology at number four Law at number five Music at number six Classics at number six Economics at number eight Politics at number eight Communication Media Studies at number eight Food Science at number nine Philosophy at number nine Dentistry at
number nine Biological Sciences at number ten History at number ten Computer Science at number ten.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When did King's College London receive its royal charter?
King's College London received its royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. This founding occurred as a direct response to the theological controversy surrounding the establishment of University College London which opened in 1826 as a secular institution.
Who founded King's College London and why was it established?
King's College London was founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington to reaffirm the educational values of the established order during a period of significant social change following the Napoleonic Wars. The college was designed to counter the secular nature of University College London and address restrictions imposed by the Test Acts that limited Oxford and Cambridge to Anglicans only.
What happened on the 21st of March 1829 involving King's College London leadership?
Prime Minister Arthur Wellesley fought a duel against the Earl of Winchilsea on the 21st of March 1829 at Battersea Fields over conflicts regarding Catholic emancipation and the vision for an inclusive King's College. Every year since then Duel Day is commemorated on the first Thursday following March 21 with reenactments across campus.
Where are the main campuses of King's College London located?
The original Strand Campus features the Grade I listed King's Building constructed in 1831 by architect Sir Robert Smirke adjacent to Somerset House along the River Thames. Additional locations include the Waterloo Campus across Waterloo Bridge Guy's Campus next to The Shard St Thomas' Campus facing the Houses of Parliament and Denmark Hill Campus situated in Camberwell.
Who discovered the double helix structure of DNA at King's College London?
Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin together with Raymond Gosling Alex Stokes Herbert Wilson and other associates at the Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics made crucial contributions to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA in 1953. Joseph Lister was appointed professor of clinical surgery in 1877 greatly benefiting the medical school through his antiseptic surgical methods which gained the hospital an international reputation.
What were the total income and expenditure figures for King's College London in the fiscal year ending the 31st of July 2024?
In the fiscal year ending the 31st of July 2024 King's had total income of £1.271 billion with expenditure of £944 million. Key sources included £630.5 million from tuition fees and education contracts £144.9 million from funding body grants and £256.9 million from research grants and contracts.