Historedia
Episode 1 of 2

Establishment of London University

When
11 February 1826
Where
London, England
Part of
University College London founded as University of London

London University was established on 11 February 1826 as a secular alternative to Oxford and Cambridge, lacking state recognition.

Founded by individuals inspired by Jeremy Bentham, the institution was the first university in London and the first in England to be entirely secular. It admitted students regardless of religion, contrasting with the Anglican universities that limited degrees to Church of England members.

Sources

  1. University College London Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-29
  2. University of London Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-02

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.