1.
Classics
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Classics or Classical Studies is the study of classical antiquity. It encompasses the study of the Graeco-Roman world, particularly of its languages, and literature but also it encompasses the study of Graeco-Roman philosophy, history, and archaeology. Traditionally in the West, the study of the Greek and Roman classics was considered one of the cornerstones of the humanities and it has been traditionally a cornerstone of a typical elite education. The word Classics is derived from the Latin adjective classicus, meaning belonging to the highest class of citizens, the word was originally used to describe the members of the highest class in ancient Rome. By the 2nd century AD the word was used in literary criticism to describe writers of the highest quality, for example, Aulus Gellius, in his Attic Nights, contrasts classicus and proletarius writers. By the 6th century AD, the word had acquired a meaning, referring to pupils at a school. Thus the two meanings of the word, referring both to literature considered to be of the highest quality, and to the standard texts used as part of a curriculum. In the Middle Ages, classics and education were tightly intertwined, according to Jan Ziolkowski, while Latin was hugely influential, however, Greek was barely studied, and Greek literature survived almost solely in Latin translation. The works of even major Greek authors such as Hesiod, whose names continued to be known by educated Europeans, were unavailable in the Middle Ages. Along with the unavailability of Greek authors, there were differences between the classical canon known today and the works valued in the Middle Ages. Catullus, for instance, was almost entirely unknown in the medieval period, the Renaissance led to the increasing study of both ancient literature and ancient history, as well as a revival of classical styles of Latin. From the 14th century, first in Italy and then increasingly across Europe, Renaissance Humanism, Humanism saw a reform in education in Europe, introducing a wider range of Latin authors as well as bringing back the study of Greek language and literature to Western Europe. This reintroduction was initiated by Petrarch and Boccaccio who commissioned a Calabrian scholar to translate the Homeric poems, the late 17th and 18th centuries are the period in Western European literary history which is most associated with the classical tradition, as writers consciously adapted classical models. Classical models were so prized that the plays of William Shakespeare were rewritten along neoclassical lines. From the beginning of the 18th century, the study of Greek became increasingly important relative to that of Latin, in this period Johann Winckelmanns claims for the superiority of the Greek visual arts influenced a shift in aesthetic judgements, while in the literary sphere, G. E. Lessing returned Homer to the centre of artistic achievement, in the United Kingdom, the study of Greek in schools began in the late 18th century. The poet Walter Savage Landor claimed to have one of the first English schoolboys to write in Greek during his time at Rugby School. The 19th century saw the influence of the world, and the value of a classical education, decline, especially in the US
2.
University College London
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University College London is a public research university in London, England, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It is the largest postgraduate institution in the UK by enrollment and is regarded as one of the worlds leading research universities. UCL also makes the claims of being the third-oldest university in England. In 1836 UCL became one of the two founding colleges of the University of London, which was granted a charter in the same year. UCL has its campus in the Bloomsbury area of central London, with a number of institutes and teaching hospitals elsewhere in central London. UCL is organised into 11 constituent faculties, within there are over 100 departments, institutes. In 2015/16, UCL had around 38,300 students and 12,000 staff and had an income of £1.36 billion. UCL ranks highly in national and international league tables and its graduates rank among the most employable in the world, UCL academics discovered five of the naturally occurring noble gases, co-discovered hormones, invented the vacuum tube, and made several foundational advances in modern statistics. There are at least 29 Nobel Prize winners and 3 Fields medalists amongst UCLs alumni and current, UCL was founded on 11 February 1826 under the name London University, as an alternative to the Anglican universities of Oxford and Cambridge. London Universitys first Warden was Leonard Horner, who was the first scientist to head a British university and this suggests that while his ideas may have been influential, he himself was less so. In 1827, the Chair of Political Economy at London University was created, with John Ramsay McCulloch as the first incumbent, in 1828 the university became the first in England to offer English as a subject and the teaching of Classics and medicine began. In 1830, London University founded the London University School, which would later become University College School, in 1833, the university appointed Alexander Maconochie, Secretary to the Royal Geographical Society, as the first professor of geography in the UK. In 1834, University College Hospital opened as a hospital for the universitys medical school. In 1836, London University was incorporated by charter under the name University College. The Slade School of Fine Art was founded as part of University College in 1871, in 1878, the University of London gained a supplemental charter making it the first British university to be allowed to award degrees to women. The same year, UCL admitted women to the faculties of Arts and Law and of Science, although women remained barred from the faculties of Engineering and of Medicine. Armstrong College, an institution of Newcastle University, also allowed women to enter from its foundation in 1871. Women were finally admitted to medical studies during the First World War in 1917, in 1898, Sir William Ramsay discovered the elements krypton, neon and xenon whilst professor of chemistry at UCL
3.
Gray's Inn
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The Honourable Society of Grays Inn, commonly known as Grays Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be Called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, located at the intersection of High Holborn and Grays Inn Road in Central London, the Inn is both a professional body and a provider of office accommodation for many barristers. It is ruled by a council called Pension, made up of the Masters of the Bench, and led by the Treasurer. The Inn is known for its gardens, or Walks, which have existed since at least 1597, Grays Inn does not claim a specific foundation date, there is a tradition that none of the Inns of Court claims to be any older than the others. Law clerks and their apprentices have been established on the present site since at least 1370, during the 15th and 16th centuries, the Inn grew steadily with great prestige, reaching its pinnacle during the reign of Elizabeth I. The Inn was home to many important barristers and politicians, most notably Francis Bacon, thanks to the efforts of prominent members such as William Cecil and Gilbert Gerard, Grays Inn became the largest of the four by number, with over 200 barristers recorded as members. During this period, the Inn became noted for the masques and revels that it threw, the Inn continued to prosper during the reign of James I and the beginning of that of Charles I, when over 100 students per year were recorded as joining. Fortunes continued to decline after the English Restoration, which saw the end of the method of legal education. Although now more prosperous, Grays Inn is today the smallest of the Inns of Court, Grays Inn and the other three Inns of Court remain the only bodies legally allowed to call a barrister to the Bar, allowing him or her to practise in England and Wales. The Inn remains a collegiate self-governing, unincorporated association of its members, providing within its precincts library, dining, residential and office accommodation, members of the Bar from other Inns may use these facilities to some extent. During the 12th and 13th centuries, law was taught in the City of London, as a result, the existing system of legal education fell apart. The common lawyers migrated to the hamlet of Holborn, the nearest place to the law courts at Westminster Hall that was outside the City, the early records of all four Inns of Court have been lost, and it is not known precisely when each was founded. The records of Grays Inn itself are lost until 1569, Lincolns Inn has the earliest surviving records. Grays Inn dates from at least 1370, and takes its name from Baron Grey of Wilton, a lease was taken for various parts of the inn by practising lawyers as both residential and working accommodation, and their apprentices were housed with them. From this the tradition of dining in commons, probably by using the main hall. Outside records from 1437 show that Grays Inn was occupied by socii, or members of a society, in 1456 Reginald de Gray, the owner of the Manor itself, sold the land to a group including Thomas Bryan. A few months later, the members signed deeds of release. In 1506 the Inn was sold by the Gray family to Hugh Denys, during the reign of Elizabeth I, Grays Inn rose in prominence, and that period is considered the golden age of the Inn, with Elizabeth serving as the Patron Lady
4.
George Grove
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Sir George Grove, CB was an English writer on music, known as the founding editor of Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Grove was trained as a engineer, and successful in that profession. When responsible for the orchestral concerts at the Crystal Palace. Their researches led to their discovery of the lost score of Schuberts Rosamunde music in 1867, Grove was the first director of the Royal College of Music, from its foundation in 1883 until his retirement in 1894. In addition to his work, Grove had a deep. He contributed to the English literature on the subject, including a concordance in 1854 and he was a co-founder of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Grove was born in Clapham, the eighth of the children of Thomas Grove, fishmonger and venison dealer. He went to a school, on Clapham Common, where one of his schoolfellows was George Granville Bradley, later Dean of Westminster. He next entered Stockwell Grammar School, run by Charles Pritchard, the astronomer, the educational curriculum was based on classics, divinity, mathematics and natural philosophy, and rigorously tested by annual examination. Pritchard also encouraged his pupils to develop interests in literature and music, Grove was a regular worshipper at Holy Trinity church, Clapham, where he heard the music of Bach and Handel. By the age of sixteen, he was competent in classics and mathematics, he left the school in 1836 and was apprenticed to Alexander Gordon, in his free time, he immersed himself in music, attending concerts and studying scores. After completing his apprenticeship, Grove was admitted as a graduate of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a year later he went to Glasgow, gaining further experience in the factory of Robert Napier. In 1841 Grove had an affair with a woman called Elizabeth Blackwell, between 1841 and 1846, Grove spent most of his time in the West Indies, as resident engineer during the building of cast-iron lighthouses. After this he joined the staff of the Chester and Holyhead Railway and then assistant to Edwin Clark. An account of the first floating of the tubes of the bridge is recorded in The Spectator of 23 June 1849, during this period, he lived in Chester, hearing music in the cathedral and also becoming familiar with Welsh folksong. While working on the Britannia Bridge Grove came into contact with Robert Stephenson, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Sir Charles Barry and these distinguished men, Grove later recalled, noticed me and were as good as gold to me. They counselled me to go to London and forced me into the secretaryship of the Society of Arts and this was in 1849, when the Great Exhibition of 1851 was in preparation. Grove was the secretary for the duration of the exhibition
5.
University of London
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The University of London is a collegiate research university located in London, England, consisting of 18 constituent colleges, nine research institutes and a number of central bodies. The university moved to a structure in 1900. The specialist colleges of the university include the London Business School, Imperial College London was formerly a member before leaving the university in 2007. City is the most recent constituent college, having joined on 1 September 2016, in post-nominals, the University of London is commonly abbreviated as Lond. or, more rarely, Londin. From the Latin Universitas Londiniensis, after its degree abbreviations, University College London was founded under the name London University in 1826 as a secular alternative to the religious universities of Oxford and Cambridge. In response to the controversy surrounding such educational establishment, Kings College London was founded and was the first to be granted a royal charter. Yet to receive a charter, UCL in 1834 renewed its application for a royal charter as a university. In response to this, opposition to exclusive rights grew among the London medical schools, the idea of a general degree awarding body for the schools was discussed in the medical press. And in evidence taken by the Select Committee on Medical Education, in 1835, the government announced the response to UCLs petition for a charter. Following the issuing of its charter on 28 November 1836, the university started drawing up regulations for degrees in March 1837. The death of William IV in June, however, resulted in a problem – the charter had been granted during our Royal will and pleasure, queen Victoria issued a second charter on 5 December 1837, reincorporating the university. The university awarded its first degrees in 1839, all to students from UCL, the university established by the charters of 1836 and 1837 was essentially an examining board with the right to award degrees in arts, laws and medicine. However, the university did not have the authority to grant degrees in theology, in medicine, the university was given the right to determine which medical schools provided sufficient medical training. Beyond the right to students for examination, there was no other connection between the affiliated colleges and the university. In 1849 the university held its first graduation ceremony at Somerset House following a petition to the senate from the graduates, about 250 students graduated at this ceremony. The London academic robes of this period were distinguished by their rich velvet facings, the list of affiliated colleges grew by 1858 to include over 50 institutions, including all other British universities. In that year, a new charter effectively abolished the affiliated colleges system by opening up the examinations to everyone whether they attended a college or not. The expanded role meant the university needed more space, particularly with the number of students at the provincial university colleges
6.
Edward Gibbon
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Edward Gibbon FRS was an English historian, writer and Member of Parliament. Edward Gibbon was born in 1737, the son of Edward and Judith Gibbon at Lime Grove and he had six siblings, five brothers and one sister, all of whom died in infancy. As a youth, Gibbons health was under constant threat and he described himself as a puny child, neglected by my Mother, starved by my nurse. At age nine, he was sent to Dr. Woddesons school at Kingston upon Thames and he then took up residence in the Westminster School boarding house, owned by his adored Aunt Kitty, Catherine Porten. Following a stay at Bath in 1752 to improve his health, at the age of 15 Gibbon was sent by his father to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was enrolled as a gentleman-commoner. He was ill-suited, however, to the atmosphere and later rued his 14 months there as the most idle and unprofitable of his life. In that tract, Middleton denied the validity of such powers, Gibbon promptly objected and he was further corrupted by the free thinking deism of the playwright/poet couple David and Lucy Mallet, and finally Gibbons father, already in despair, had had enough. David Womersley has shown, however, that Gibbons claim to having been converted by a reading of Middleton is very unlikely, and was introduced only into the final draft of the Memoirs in 1792–93. Within weeks of his conversion, the adolescent was removed from Oxford and sent to live under the care and tutelage of Daniel Pavillard, Reformed pastor of Lausanne, Switzerland. It was here that he one of his lifes two great friendships, that of Jacques Georges Deyverdun, and that of John Baker Holroyd. Just a year and a later, after his father threatened to disinherit him, on Christmas Day,1754. The various articles of the Romish creed, he wrote, disappeared like a dream, Gibbon returned to England in August 1758 to face his father. There could be no refusal of the elders wishes, Gibbon put it this way, I sighed as a lover, I obeyed as a son. He proceeded to cut off all contact with Curchod, even as she vowed to wait for him and their final emotional break apparently came at Ferney, France in the spring of 1764, though they did see each other at least one more time a year later. The following year he embarked on the Grand Tour, which included a visit to Rome, Womersley notes the existence of good reasons to doubt the statements accuracy. In June 1765, Gibbon returned to his fathers house, and these years were considered by Gibbon as the worst five of his life, but he tried to remain busy by making early attempts towards writing full histories. His first historical narrative known as the History of Switzerland, which represented Gibbons love for Switzerland, was never published nor finished, even under the guidance of Deyverdun, Gibbon became too critical of himself, and completely abandoned the project, only writing 60 pages of text. However, after Gibbons death, his writings on Switzerlands history were discovered and published by Lord Sheffield in 1815, soon after abandoning his History of Switzerland, Gibbon made another attempt towards completing a full history
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Smith, Sir William". Encyclopædia Britannica. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 270–271.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 
