Assertiveness

The earliest college that led to the formation of Imperial was the Royal College of Chemistry, founded on Hanover Square in 1845, with the support of Prince Albert and parliament. Following some financial trouble, this was absorbed in 1853 into the newly formed Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts, located on Jermyn Street. The school was renamed the Royal School of Mines a decade later.

The medical school has roots in many different school across London, the oldest of which dates back to 1823, with the foundation of the teaching facilities at the West London Infirmary at Villiers Street. Later known as Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, it was designed to provide medical education for the needs of a university. This was followed in 1834 when Westminster Hospital surgeons started taking students under their care. Established on Dean Street, the school was forced to close in 1847, but was reopened in 1849 with a new specimen museum. The first teaching at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington began in 1851, l School established 

The Imperial Institute

The Great Exhibition

Proceeds from the Great Exhibition of 1851 were designated by Prince Albert to be used to develop a cultural area in South Kensington for the use and education of the public. Within the next 6 years the Victoria and Albert and Science museums had opened, joined by the Natural History Museum in 1881, and in 1888 the Imperial Institute. As well as museums, new facilities for the royal colleges were also constructed, with the Royal College of Chemistry and the Royal School of Mines moving to South Kensington between 1871 and 1872.

In 1881 the Normal School of Science was established in South Kensington under the leadership of Thomas Huxley, taking over responsibility for the teaching of the natural sciences and agriculture from the Royal School of Mines. The school was granted the name Royal College of Science by royal consent in 1890. As these institutions were not part of universities, they were unable to grant degrees to students, and instead bestowed associateships such as the Associateship of the Royal College of Science.

The Central Institution of the City and Guilds of London Institute, formed by the City of London's livery companies, was opened on Exhibition Road by the Prince of Wales, founded to focus on providing technical education, with courses starting in early 1885 The institution was renamed the Central Technical College in 1893, becoming a school of the University of London in 1900.