London, University of, at London, England; founded 1836 as an examining and degree-giving body. Teaching functions were not added until 1898. It comprised at first University College (or UCL, which had been founded in 1826 as the Univ. of London, a nonsectarian school) and King's College (founded 1829 by adherents of the Church of England). It is now a large aggregation of affiliated schools, colleges, institutes, and hospitals. Besides UCL and King's College London, its schools and colleges include the Royal Veterinary College (1791), Royal Academy of Music (1822), Birkbeck (1823), the UCL School of Pharmacy (1842), Royal Holloway (1985; merging Bedford [1849] and Royal Holloway [1883] colleges for women), Queen Mary (1989; merging Queen Mary [1887] and Westfield [1882] colleges for women), London School of Economics and Political Science (1895), Goldsmiths (1904), and the School of Oriental and African Studies (or SOAS, 1916); it also has theological, medical, and business schools. Among its famous institutes are the Warburg Institute, the Courtauld Institute of Art, and the Institute of Historical Research. Imperial College London (1907) became independent in 2007.
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