George Birkbeck FRS was a British physician, academic, philanthropist, pioneer in adult education and a professor of natural philosophy at the Andersonian Institute. He is the founder of Birkbeck, University of London and was head of the Chemical Society. He is one of the creators of the earliest chemistry laboratory for undergraduates at University College London, and is also known for the creation of mechanics' institutes in Scotland and London.

Birkbeck, University of London, is a research university located in the Bloomsbury neighborhood of London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' Institute by its founder Sir George Birkbeck and its supporters- Jeremy Bentham, J. C. Hobhouse and Henry Brougham- Birkbeck is one of the few universities to specialise in evening higher education in the United Kingdom.