Established | 1843 |
---|---|
Dissolved | 1927 |
Location | King's College London, London, United Kingdom |
Type | University museum |
The King George III Museum was a museum within King's College London, England between 1843 and 1927 which held the collections of scientific instruments of George III as well as eminent nineteenth-century scientists including Sir Charles Wheatstone and Charles Babbage. The collection of scientific and mathematical instruments assembled by George III, after whom the museum is named, was donated to the university by Queen Victoria in 1841, and the museum was opened by Albert, Prince Consort on 1 July 1843. The museum was located within the King's Building designed by Sir Robert Smirke. It counted among its collections the unfinished prototype of the Difference Engine No. 1, designed by Charles Babbage, who is considered a "father of the computer". [1] The museum closed in 1926, and much of its collections were transferred on loan to the Science Museum, London.
The scientific collections of George III were previously housed in the Kew Observatory, Kew, which had been the king's private observatory, constructed to observe the Transit of Venus in 1769. In the mid-nineteenth century the government discontinued the maintenance of Kew, giving rise to the need to house the collections elsewhere. [2] The collection of electrical and mechanical apparatus for use in scientific experimentation, which had formed the nucleus of the royal collection and had served for the instruction of the royal children, was donated to the university by Queen Victoria in 1841 and the museum was opened by Albert, Prince Consort on 1 July 1843. [2] [3] The royal gift was presented to the college for the purposes of maintaining "a general course of experimental philosophy" [1] with the stipulation that it should remain intact and be associated with the name of its royal founder. [4]
The museum held the collections of Sir Charles Wheatstone, Professor of Chemistry and Experimental Philosophy at King's, which were bequeathed to King's College following his death in 1875. [1] In 1926, due to space constraints within the college much of the museum's collections were transferred on loan to the Science Museum or kept in the college archives. [1] [3]
The museum was located in a double-height galleried space opposite the Council Room in the King's Building designed by Sir Robert Smirke, part of the Strand Campus. [1]
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation.
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Sydney Smirke was a British architect.
Sir Robert Smirke was an English architect, one of the leaders of Greek Revival architecture, though he also used other architectural styles. As an attached architect within the Office of Works, he designed several major public buildings, including the main block and façade of the British Museum and altered or repaired others. He was a pioneer in the use of structural iron and concrete foundations, and was highly respected for his accuracy and professionalism. His advice was often sought in architectural competitions and urban planning, especially later in his life.
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Events from the year 1843 in the United Kingdom.
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The King's Observatory is a Grade I listed building in Richmond, London. Now a private dwelling, it formerly housed an astronomical and terrestrial magnetic observatory founded by King George III. The architect was Sir William Chambers; his design of the King's Observatory influenced the architecture of two Irish observatories – Armagh Observatory and Dunsink Observatory near Dublin.
Robert Stewart Whipple was a businessman in the British scientific instrument trade, a collector of science books and scientific instruments, and an author on their history. He amassed a unique collection of antique scientific instruments that he later donated to found the Whipple Museum of the History of Science in Cambridge in 1944.
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