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Albert Frederick Pollard was born on 16 December 1869. He received a scholarship to Jesus College, Oxford University, where he attended the Union and rowed in the college eight. At Oxford he received a first class degree in History. In 1893, Pollard obtained the assistant editorship of the Dictionary of National Biography where he remained for nine years. In 1903, he became Professor of Constitutional History at University College London and in 1908 he was elected to a research fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford. His seminal publications include England under the Protector Somerset (1900), Henry VIII (1905) and Evolution of Parliament (1920). Pollard was also a co-founder of the Historical Association in 1903, editor of its journal History for six years and President 1912-1915. Most signally for the University of London, he was founder of the Institute of Historical Research (IHR) and Director and Honorary Director in turn from its opening in July 1921 until 1939. His long association with the University of London included the continuous Chairmanship of the Board of the Studies in History from 1910 until 1923. Pollard was also deeply interested in modern history and politics and in 1918 he served on the Government Committee on the League of Nations. For three consecutive years 1922-1924, Pollard stood unsuccessfully as Liberal candidate for the University of London seat. In 1924, Pollard took up the post of Visiting Professor at Columbia University for four months and toured a number of universities in Canada and the USA. In 1920, Pollard was elected to the British Academy and in 1930 he was made a Corresponding Member of the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres (Institut de France). By 1933, he had received an Honorary Degree from Manchester University and become an Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. He died on 3 August 1948.

Josiah Clement Wedgwood was born on 16 March 1872. He received his education from Clifton College and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. Wedgwood worked as an Assistant Constructor in the dockyard at Portsmouth from 1895-1896 and as a naval architect at Elswick shipyard from 1896 to 1900. Wedgwood served in the forces between 1914 and 1916. In 1917 he became Assistant Director of Trench Warfare and in 1918 he served on the Mission to Siberia. From 1906 to 1942 Wedgwood represented Newcastle-under-Lyme as a Labour Member of Parliament. He was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1924. He was created 1st Baron of Barlaston in 1942. He had an active interest in history, particularly the history of Parliament. He was Chairman of the Committee on House of Commons Records in 1929 and one of the trustees for the history of Parliament. Wedgewood wrote on politics and history. His historical works include, Staffordshire Parliamentary History, 1258-1919, 1922; History of Parliament, 1439-1509, 1940 and Testament to Democracy 1942. Wedgwood died on 26 July 1943.

Samuel Wilderspin was the controversial self-styled founder of the Infant School System. He was born in Hornsey, North London in 1792 and was an apprentice clerk in the City before being introduced to infant education by Buchanan. He trained with Buchanan at a school in Vincent Square, London and then became master of his own school in Quaker Street, Spitalfields. From 1824 he worked for the Infant School Society and as a freelance, teaching others about his system of schooling. He ran an infant school supply depot in Cheltenham for supplying apparatus and in 1839 set up the Central Model School in Dublin which was subsequently run by Sarah Anne and Thomas Young (his daughter and son-in-law). After returning from Dublin he was heavily involved with the Mechanics' Institute movement. In 1848, having founded several hundred schools, he retired to Wakefield on a civil list pension.Wilderspin's theories on education were mainly a product of his Swedenborgian beliefs. He saw education as a life long training of the child's soul and as such approached education from social, moral and religious aspects.

Publications include:
'Early discipline illustrated; or, the infant system progressing and successful' (1832)
'The importance of educating the infant poor from the age of eighteen months to seven years' (1824)
'The infant system, for developing the intellectual and moral powers of all children, from one to seven years of age' (1834)
'Manual for the religious and moral instruction of young children' (1845) co-author with Thomas John Terrington
'On the Importance of educating the Infant Children of the Poor ... Containing also an account of the Spitalfields Infant School' (1823)
'A system for the education of the young: applied to all the faculties' (1840)

Frederic Seebohm was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, and educated in York. In 1855 he moved to Hitchin, Hertfordshire, where he lived for the rest of his life. He had begun to read for the bar at the Middle Temple whilst still living in Yorkshire and was called to the bar in 1856. In 1859 he became a partner in Sharples and Co bank, which his father-in-law had co-founded. He later became president of the Institute of Bankers. Besides being a committed Quaker and political liberal, Seebohm was strongly interested in history, particularly the medieval period and agricultural history; he wrote and published several books on historical and religious topics and his writings are still influential today.

Masefield was born in Ledbury in 1878. Having entered the Merchant Navy Masefield deserted ship in America where he drifted for some time. Returning to England he became a journalist and his interest in writing was explored, publishing several volumes of poetry before the outbreak of World War One. During the war Masefield was a member of the Red Cross and witnessed the disaster at Gallipoli, which he later wrote about in his position as head of the War Propaganda Bureau. During the twenties and thirties Masefield wrote numerous volumes of poetry which were most successful, as well as two novels and an autobiography. Masefield continued to write until his death in 1967.

No information was available at the time of compilation.

The Alvey Programme was a government initiative that ran between 1983 to 1987. The Directorate of the Programme was established in June 1983 and located formally in the Department of Trade and Industry. The Programme's remit was to advise on the scope for collaborative research in IT, and it represented a direct response to Japan's 1981 announcement of its Government-sponsored collaborative project to develop 'fifth generation' computer systems. Its purpose was to lay out and co-ordinate public and private money in an unprecedented applied research effort, bringing together Government, the computer industry and university-based skills.

Samuel Wilderspin was the controversial self-styled founder of the Infant School System. He was born in Hornsey, North London in 1792 and was an apprentice clerk in the City before being introduced to infant education by Buchanan. He trained with Buchanan at a school in Vincent Square, London and then became master of his own school in Quaker Street, Spitalfields. From 1824 he worked for the Infant School Society and as a freelance, teaching others about his system of schooling. He ran an infant school supply depot in Cheltenham for supplying apparatus and in 1839 set up the Central Model School in Dublin which was subsequently run by Sarah Anne and Thomas Young (his daughter and son-in-law). After returning from Dublin he was heavily involved with the Mechanics' Institute movement. In 1848, having founded several hundred schools, he retired to Wakefield on a civil list pension. Wilderspin's theories on education were mainly a product of his Swedenborgian beliefs. He saw education as a life long training of the child's soul and as such approached education from social, moral and religious aspects.

Publications:
Samuel Wilderspin's publications include:
'Early discipline illustrated; or, the infant system progressing and successful' (1832)
'The importance of educating the infant poor from the age of eighteen months to seven years' (1824)
'The infant system, for developing the intellectual and moral powers of all children, from one to seven years of age' (1834)
'Manual for the religious and moral instruction of young children' (1845) co-author with Thomas John Terrington
'On the Importance of educating the Infant Children of the Poor ... Containing also an account of the Spitalfields Infant School' (1823)
'A system for the education of the young: applied to all the faculties' (1840).

Charles Lahr was born Karl Lahr in 1885 at Wendlesheim in the Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. During his teenage years he became first a Buddhist and later an anarchist. In 1905, to escape conscription into the German army, he left Germany for London. On arriving in London he worked as a baker and expressed his political involvement by joining and frequenting anarchist clubs. By 1914 Lahr had taken work as a razor grinder and had joined the British Section of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). He began to accumulate books at around this time as he moved from residence to residence in the Kings Cross area of London. He also let rooms to people he met through his political activities. Designated an enemy alien, Lahr was interned in Alexandra Palace in London from 1915 to 1919. After the war Lahr returned to his trade and continued his involvement with the IWW, where he met his future wife, Esther Archer, whom he married in 1922. Lahr and Archer both joined the Communist party in 1920, but left in 1921. It was during this brief membership that the Lahr met and became friends with Liam O'Flaherty. In 1921 Lahr took over the Progressive Bookshop at 68 Red Lion Square, Holborn. The bookshop became a centre for new writers and political activists from around the world, and specialised in the sale of radical literature and first editions. The Lahr's first moves into publishing came in when K. S. Bhat recommended the editors of the New Coterie to take the magazine to the Lahrs. From 1925 onwards Lahr started publishing items on his own account, often using his wife's maiden name to counter anti-German prejudice. During 1925 to 1927 these took the form of offprints from New Coterie, and then articles within the magazine itself. In the publishing world he was in close contact with writers such as D. H. Lawrence, T. F. Powys, James Hanley, A.S.J. Tessimond, Liam O' Flaherty, Paul Selver, Russell Green, George Woodcock, Rhys Davies and several others. The New Coterie ran until 1927, and in 1930 Lahr launched his Blue Moon Booklets and a year later the Blue Moon Press. However, by 1933 Lahr was having financial problems. In 1935 his difficulties came to a head when he was found guilty of receiving stolen books and was sentenced to six months imprisonment. However, after his release he continued his publishing activities although on a much reduced scale. The bookshop continued to be a focus for radicals and revolutionaries.The bookshop in Holborn was bombed in May 1941. Lahr moved the bookshop to several locations in central London before finally moving it to the headquarters of the Independent Labour Party at 197 Kings Cross Road, London. Charles Lahr died in London in 1971.

References:R. M. Fox, 'Lahr's Bookshop' in Smoky Crusade, Hogarth Press, 1938, pp. 180-188; D. Goodway, 'Charles Lahr: Anarchist, Bookseller' in London Magazine, Jun-Jul 1977, pp. 47-55.

Charles Lahr was born Karl Lahr in 1885 at Wendlesheim in the Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. During his teenage years he became first a Buddhist and later an anarchist. In 1905, to escape conscription into the German army, he left Germany for London. On arriving in London he worked as a baker and expressed his political involvement by joining and frequenting anarchist clubs. By 1914 Lahr had taken work as a razor grinder and had joined the British Section of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). He began to accumulate books at around this time as he moved from residence to residence in the Kings Cross area of London. He also let rooms to people he met through his political activities. Designated an enemy alien, Lahr was interned in Alexandra Palace in London from 1915 to 1919. After the war Lahr returned to his trade and continued his involvement with the IWW, where he met his future wife, Esther Archer, whom he married in 1922. Lahr and Archer both joined the Communist party in 1920, but left in 1921. It was during this brief membership that the Lahr met and became friends with Liam O'Flaherty. In 1921 Lahr took over the Progressive Bookshop at 68 Red Lion Square, Holborn. The bookshop became a centre for new writers and political activists from around the world, and specialised in the sale of radical literature and first editionsThe Lahr's first moves into publishing came in when K. S. Bhat recommended the editors of the New Coterie to take the magazine to the Lahrs. From 1925 onwards Lahr started publishing items on his own account, often using his wife's maiden name to counter anti-German prejudice. During 1925 to 1927 these took the form of offprints from New Coterie, and then articles within the magazine itself. In the publishing world he was in close contact with writers such as D. H. Lawrence, T. F. Powys, James Hanley, A.S.J. Tessimond, Liam O' Flaherty, Paul Selver, Russell Green, George Woodcock, Rhys Davies and several others. The New Coterie ran until 1927, and in 1930 Lahr launched his Blue Moon Booklets and a year later the Blue Moon Press. However, by 1933 Lahr was having financial problems. In 1935 his difficulties came to a head when he was found guilty of receiving stolen books and was sentenced to six months imprisonment. However, after his release he continued his publishing activities although on a much reduced scale. The bookshop continued to be a focus for radicals and revolutionaries.The bookshop in Holborn was bombed in May 1941. Lahr moved the bookshop to several locations in central London before finally moving it to the headquarters of the Independent Labour Party at 197 Kings Cross Road, London. Charles Lahr died in London in 1971.

References:R. M. Fox, 'Lahr's Bookshop' in Smoky Crusade, Hogarth Press, 1938, pp. 180-188.D. Goodway, 'Charles Lahr: Anarchist, Bookseller' in London Magazine, Jun-Jul 1977, pp. 47-55.

Born in 1771, Fellowes was educated at St Mary Hall, Oxford, where he received a BA in 1796 and an MA in 1801. He published A Picture of Christian Philosophy of Illustration of the Character of Jesus in 1798. From 1804-1811, he edited Critical Review. Fellowes wrote and lectured on politics and religion. In 1826 he gave benefactions to encourage the study of philosophy at Edinburgh University and at London University (now University College London). He died in London on 6th February 1847.

Terry Pratchett published his first novel in 1971. A prolific novellist in the fantasy genre, he was the best-selling British author of the 1990s. His comic Discworld series, in particular, has been widely celebrated. Terry Pratchett was knighted in the New Year Honours list of 2009.

Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool on 17 January 1883. He received his education from St Paul's, London and Magdalen College, Oxford University, where he read Modern History. While at Oxford, Mackenzie founded and edited a magazine called the Oxford Point of View. He also became business manager for the Oxford University Dramatic Society.

Walter Crane was born in Liverpool on 15 Aug 1845, second son of the portrait painter Thomas Crane and his wife Marie née Kearsley. The family moved first to Torquay, and in 1857 to London. From 1859-62 Crane was apprenticed to the wood engraver William James Linton, although he studied painting at the same time. In 1862 his painting 'The Lady of Shalott' was accepted by the Royal Academy. By the mid-1860s, Crane was illustrating children's books including coloured picture books designed in collaboration with Edmund Evans, including the series of 'Toy Books' Evans was producing for Routledge.
Crane was influenced by the Aesthetic Movement and by Japanese prints, as well as the Pre-Raphaelites and in particular Edward Burne-Jones. By the 1870s, Crane was involved in decorative design including creating ceramics (for Wedgwood, Pilkington and Maw and Co.), wallpapers (for Jeffrey and Co.), and textiles as well as exhibiting paintings. In 1881 he became friends with William Morris who was also influenced by Ruskin's ideas on beauty and utility in art and the dignity of the craftsman. Crane was instrumental in promoting the Art Worker's Guild, and became its first President in 1884. He later served for two periods as President of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. He joined the Socialist League in 1883. He acted as Director of the Manchester School of Art from 1893-1896, was appointed Art Director of Reading College in 1896, and was appointed Principal of the Royal College of Art in 1898.
Crane published works on art, design and decoration, including 'The Decorative Illustration of Books' (1896), 'The Bases of Design' (1898), and 'Line and Form'. In addition, he collaborated with William Morris at the Kelsmcott Press on wood-engravings for publications including 'The Story of the Glittering Plain' (1894). As a painter, he exhibited at the Royal Academy, Dudley Art Gallery and the New Gallery amongst others. Important canvases include 'The Renaissance of Venus' (1877), 'The Bridge of Life' (1884), 'The Mower' (1891) and 'Neptune's Horses' (1893).
He married Mary Frances Andrews in 1871, and had two sons (one of whom was called Lionel) and a daughter (Beatrice). Crane died at Horsham on 14 March 1915, three months after his wife Mary had been killed by a train.

George Borrow was born at East Dereham, Norfolk in 1803. He was educated at the High School in Edinburgh, where the family settled for a period of time. At the age of seventeen Borrow was articled to a solicitor at Norwich. Borrow also studied philology and began to consider literature as a profession.

In 1825 Borrow published Faustus translated from the German of F M von Klinger. Borrow went on to undertake a tour of England and Europe and, whilst in St Petersburg, Borrow published Targum or Metrical Translations from Thirty Languages and Dialects. Borrow also acted as an agent for the British and Foreign Bible Society while he travelled through Europe and he became one of the first correspondents to write letters for the Morning Herald.

With the proceeds from the sale of his works, Borrow purchased an estate on Oulton Broad, Norfolk. At Oulton, Borrow befriended gypsies and permitted them to live on his estate. While living at Oulton, Borrow wrote, Lavengro (1850), The Romany Rye (1857), Wild Wales: Its People, Language and Scenery (1862), Romano Lavo Lil: Word Book of the Romany, (1872) and other works. Borrow won acclaim for his publication of two works in particular, Gypsies in Spain (1841) and an account of his travel in Spain The Bible in Spain (1843). George Borrow died at Oulton in August 1881.

Thomas Carlyle was born in Ecclefechan, Annandale, Scotland on 4 December 1795. Brought up as a strict Calvinist, he was educated at the village school, Annan Academy and Edinburgh University (1809-1814) where he studied science and mathematics. After graduating from university he became a teacher at Kirkcaldy.

In 1818 he moved to Edinburgh where he worked on translating German authors. Whilst in Edinburgh he also wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia and the Edinburgh Review. After spending two years in Edinburgh he moved to an isolated hill farm, Graigenputtoch, Dumfriesshire. At Graigenputtoch he worked on the Sartor Resartus, which was published in 1836. Carlyle moved to Chelsea, London in 1834, where he continued to give lectures, write articles, essays and books on many subjects including, history, philosophy and politics. He also contributed essays to the Westminster Review. Carlyle died age 85 in London on 5 February 1881.

Philip Dormer Stanhope was born in London on 22 September 1694. Stanhope was educated at home by private tutors and at the age of eighteen he went to Trinity Hall, Cambridge. After spending two years at university, Stanhope left England to visit Antwerp, The Hague and Paris. Later he was appointed Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales and entered the House of Commons as a Whig member for St. Germans, Cornwall. He was again elected to the Commons in 1722 as the member for Lostwithiel. On the death of his father in January 1726, Stanhope became the Fourth Earl of Chesterfield. In 1727, Chesterfield was appointed Ambassador to the Dutch Republic. As ambassador, Chesterfield negotiated Britain's way into the Treaty of Vienna in 1731. For his services, Chesterfield was appointed Lord Steward of the King's Household and made a knight of the garter in 1730. In the House of Lords Chesterfield spoke out against Walpole's administration. He also voiced his opposition by writing essays for opposition periodicals such as Fogs Journal and Common Sense. Chesterfield was appointed to the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, a post he held for eight months between 1745-1746. He left Ireland on 23 April 1746 to become the Secretary of State for the Northern Department on 29 October 1746. Chesterfield resigned his secretaryship in February 1748. On retiring Chesterfield spent much time and money building Chesterfield House in South Audley Street, Mayfair, London. Although Chesterfield made his last speech in the House of Lords in 1755 he continued to offer his skills as a negotiator to the king. He died at Chesterfield House on 24 March 1773.

James Hogg was born in Ettrick, Selkshire, Scotland in November 1770. Having received little formal education, Hogg taught himself to read and write in his late teens. He continued to work as a labourer and shepherd for twenty five years. Between 1794-1810 Hogg wrote songs which appeared in magazines and in two small collections. Determined to make a career as a professional writer, Hogg, aged 40, moved to Edinburgh in 1810. In Edinburgh, Hogg established a weekly paper entitled, The Spy but only managed to keep it going for a year and in 1813 he decided to return to writing poetry again. He died in 1835.

William Morris was born on 24 March 1834 at Elm House, Walthamstow, London. Morris received his education at Marlborough College, 1848-1851, and Exeter College, Oxford, 1853-1855, where he originally intended to take holy orders. While studying at Oxford Morris became interested in social criticism and medieval art. On leaving university Morris began work at the architectural office of G. E. Street. By 1856 Morris abandoned architecture as a career to become an artist. He painted the Oxford Union frescoes which set in place his career as a designer and established the Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Company, renamed Morris and Company in 1876. In 1862 he designed his famous textiles and wallpaper for the company. Morris also wrote poetry and prose. His first volume of poetry, The Defence of Guenevere appeared in 1858 and the poem which established his reputation as a poet, The Earthly Paradise was published between 1868-1870. Morris became involved in national politics. In 1876 he became treasurer of the Eastern Question Association and in 1879, a year after the Morris family moved to Kelmscott House in Hammersmith, he became treasurer of the National Liberal League. In 1883 Morris was made an honorary fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. That year he joined H. M. Hyndman's Socialist Democratic Federation. In 1884 Morris published Art and Socialism with Hyndman and after disagreements with Hyndman, Morris left to form the Socialist League and later the Hammersmith Socialist Society. He became editor of the Socialist Society's journal, Commonweal in 1885. In the 1880s and 1890s Morris lectured and wrote widely on socialism. In 1890 Morris founded the Kelmscott Press at premises near his Hammersmith home. Morris designed typefaces for the company and printed sixty-six volumes. Morris died at Kelmscott House on 3 October 1896.

John Lothrop Motley was born on 15 April 1814 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, USA. He was educated at Harvard College, 1827-1831. After graduating from Harvard, Motley spent two years as a student at the universities of Berlin and Göttingen. He returned to Boston in 1835, where he began a career as a novelist. His first work Morton's Hope was published in 1839. Motley was appointed secretary of legation in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1841. He returned to Boston in 1842, where he began taking an interest in historical writing. Motley's first piece of historical writing was an essay on Peter the Great, which he contributed to the North American Review in 1845. In 1851 Motley took his family to Europe, where he undertook historical research in many archives and libraries in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Motley published three works on Dutch history including The Rise of the Dutch Republic, (1856). Motley served as minister to Austria between 1861-1867 and to England, 1869-1870. After 1874 he undertook no further literary work. He died at the house of one of his daughters in England on 29 May 1877.

John Ruskin was born on 8 February 1819 in London. Ruskin was educated by his mother and by various tutors before attending Oxford University. His study there was interrupted for two years by illness. He embarked upon a foreign tour with his parents, which lasted from June to September 1840. After resuming his education, he received his BA in 1842 and his MA in 1843. He taught art at Working Men's Colleges and at Oxford. While at Oxford he was appointed the first Slade Professor of Fine Art in 1869. During his life he wrote many books on art, social criticism and politics. In 1871 he purchased Brantwood near Coniston in the Lake District. Ruskin died of influenza on 20 January 1900.

Walter Scott was born on 15 August 1771 in Edinburgh. He was educated at Edinburgh High School, 1779-1783 and Edinburgh University, where he studied arts, 1783-1786 and law, 1789-1792. In 1792 Scott was called to the bar and was appointed sheriff-deputy for the county of Selkirkshire in 1799. In 1806 he became clerk to the Court of Session in Edinburgh. In 1813 Scott became a partner in a printing and publishing business, James Ballantyne & Co. In 1825 the company went bankrupt and Scott found himself personally liable for the payments of debt. The company folded the following year. Scott wrote both prose and poetry. His first works were two translations of German ballads by Bürger published in 1796 and 1799. His two volume work Minstrels of The Scottish Border appeared between 1802-1803. His first novel Waverly was published in 1814. He also contributed to the Edinburgh Review and the Quarterly Review. Scott was created a baronet in 1820, the same year as his novel The Abbot was published. He died at Abbotsford on 21 September 1832.

Robert Southey was born in Bristol on 12 August 1774. He was educated at schools in Corston and Bristol before being sent to Westminster School in 1788. He entered Balliol College, Oxford in 1792 after he was expelled from Westminster for denouncing flogging in a school magazine, The Flagellant. In 1794 Southey wrote the play that belied his then republican spirit, Wat Tyler. The play was published without Southey's consent in 1817. By then Southey had become a supporter of the Tory government.

In 1795 Southey journeyed to Spain and Portugal. That year saw the publication of his epic poem Joan of Arc. On his return to England in 1797, Southey entered Gray's Inn, London, but only for a brief period, before moving to Westbury in June 1798 and then to Burton, Hampshire in 1799. He was appointed secretary to Isaac Corry, the chancellor of the Irish exchequer c 1801. In 1803 Southey moved to Greta Hall, Keswick where he stayed with his family for the remainder of his life.

In 1809 Robert Southey joined the staff of the Quarterly Review and wrote regularly for the periodical until 1839. From 1809 to 1815 he edited and principally wrote the Edinburgh Annual Register. Southey wrote several books including, The Book of the Church Vindicated (1824), Sir Thomas More (1829) and Lives of the British Admirals (1833). Southey was appointed Poet Laureate in 1813. To commemorate the death of King George III in 1821, he wrote his poem A Vision of Judgement. In 1820 the University of Oxford created Southey DCL and in June 1826 he was elected MP for Downton, Wiltshire, but was disqualified for not possessing the necessary estate. Southey died in Keswick on 21 March 1843.

Algernon Charles Swinburne was born in Grosvenor Place, London on 5 April 1837. Swinburne attended Eton in 1849 before entering Balliol College, Oxford in 1856. He left Oxford without graduating in 1860. He contributed to periodicals including the Spectator and Fortnightly Review. The first poem to be published under his name was Atalanta in Calydon (1865), which was received with critical acclaim. He also wrote the political work Songs before Sunrise and continued to write until a few years before his death. He died of influenza on 10 April 1909.

Alfred Tennyson was born on 6 August 1809 at Somersby, Lincolnshire. At the age of seven he was sent to live with his grandmother at Louth where he attended Louth Grammar School. He returned home in 1820 to be educated by his father. In 1827 he entered Trinity College Cambridge, where he won the Chancellor's Gold Medal in 1828 for his poem Timbuctoo. Tennyson published Poems Chiefly Lyrical in 1830 and Poems in 1832, which were given a mixed reception by several periodicals. In 1842 he published another volume of poems which established his popularity. Tennyson received a Civil List pension of £200 per year in 1845 and he was appointed Poet Laureate in 1850. In June 1855 Tennyson received the degree of DCL from Oxford University. Tennyson continued writing poetry until the last year of his life. He died on 5 October 1892 at the age of 83.

James Barrie was born at Kirriemuir, Forfarshire on 9 May 1860. He received his education from, the Glasgow Academy, Dumfries Academy, 1873-1878 and Edinburgh University, 1878-1882.

He was appointed leader writer and sub-editor on the Nottingham Journal in January 1883. In March 1885, Barrie moved to London, where he wrote for many magazines including, the British Weekly.

Barrie published his first book Better Dead in November 1887 and his first play, Richard Savage, on which he collaborated with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1891. His plays were performed in theatres in London's West End. Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens was published in 1906, the same year as his play, Alice by the Fire, which was produced at the Duke of York's Theatre. Barrie continued to write many plays, including Shall We Join the Ladies in 1921 and The Boy David, 1936, the last work which Barrie wrote.

He received honorary degrees from the universities of St. Andrews, 1898, Edinburgh 1909, Oxford, 1926, and Cambridge, 1930. He was appointed as Lord Rector of St Andrews University in 1919 and chancellor of Edinburgh University in 1930. He was appointed the Order of Merit in 1922. Barrie died in London on 19 June 1937.

Herbert Ernest Bates (later known to his friends and wife as 'H.E') was born in Rushton, Northamptonshire on 16 May 1905. He received his education at Kettering Grammar School and when he left at the age of sixteen he became, first, a clerk and then a provincial journalist. His first novel, The Two Sisters, was published in 1926 by Jonathan Cape after being rejected by 9 other publishers. By 1931, Cape had published three further novels.

In 1941, the Royal Air Force recruited Bates as a short story writer under the pseudonym of 'Flying Officer X'. This work included, The Greatest People in the World (1942) and Fair Stood the Wind for France. The latter was published by Michael Joseph who was to be his publisher for the rest of his life.

The Darling Buds of May (1959) began a popular series of earthy novels set in a rural context and for this work, he may be best remembered. His acclaimed autobiography was published in three volumes: The Vanished World (1969), The Blossoming World (1971) and The World in Ripeness (1972). Bates died in Canterbury Hospital, Canterbury, Kent on 29 January 1974.

Henry Hector Bolitho was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1897. In 1915 he became a reporter for a newspaper in New Zealand. In 1922 Bolitho came to England, where he published his first novel. Bolitho wrote widely on historical subjects, most notably on the Royal Family. Before the Second World War he travelled throughout Europe, Africa, North America and Australia. Between 1939-1945 he became a Squadron Leader with the RAF and was the editor of the RAF journal. After the war, Bolitho conducted lecture tours of the United States of America between 1947-1949. He died in England on 12 September 1974.

Robert Burns was born in Alloway, Ayrshire on 25 January 1759. From 1765 to 1768 Burns was educated at an 'adventure' school by his father, neighbours and a teacher, John Murdoch. In 1775 he attended a mathematics school in Kirkswald. Burns spent his youth working on his father's tenant farm and by the age of 15 he was the principle worker on the farm. At this early age Burns began to write poetry about aspects of Scottish life. On the death of his father in 1784, Robert and his brother became partners in the farm. Robert abandoned farming in 1785 to concentrate on writing poetry.

He published his first collection of poems, Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect - Kilmarnock Edition, in 1786. Burns moved to Edinburgh where he won critical acclaim for his poetry amongst the Edinburgh literati. In 1787 he was sponsored by the Caledonian Hunt to publish a new edition of his poems. He left Edinburgh in 1788 for Ellisfarm near Dumfries to begin farming once again. However he continued to write poetry. In 1789 Burns began working for the Excise in Dumfries and in 1791 he left the farm to live and work in the town. Burns died in Dumfries from heart disease on 21 July 1796.

Evelyn Baring was born on 26 February 1841 at Cromer Hall, Norfolk He was educated at the Ordnance School, Carshalton; Woolwich, 1855-1858. In 1858 Baring entered the Royal Artillery, and was commissioned in 1870. He reached the rank of Major in 1876. Whilst in the Royal Artillery, Baring was stationed in the Ionian Islands, where he learnt Greek. Whilst there he took on secretarial duties before undertaking similar roles in Jamaica and India. In 1876 Baring was sent to Egypt where he became the Commissioner of Egyptian Public Debt between 1877-1879 and Controller-General in 1879. Baring was appointed a financial member of the Council of the Governor General of India in 1880. He returned to the imperial administration of Egypt in 1884, serving first as the Financial Assistant at the Conference in London on Egyptian Finance in 1884 and as Agent and Consul-General in Egypt between 1883-1907.

Baring was created Baron Cromer in 1892; Viscount Cromer in 1899 and Earl of Cromer in 1901. During his career in the army and the Civil Service, Baring was awarded the CIE, 1876; KCSI, 1883; CB 1885; KCB 1887; OM and GCMG 1888; and GCB 1895.

Baring wrote works on politics, the military and the classics. In 1910 he became chair of the Classical Association. He died in London on 21 January 1912.

Rhys Davies was born on 9 November 1903 in the Rhondda Valley, Wales. He was educated at Porth County School. Davies published his first novel The Withered Root in 1927 and continued to publish books until the mid 1970s. Davies died in London on 21 August 1978.

Philip Guedalla was born on 12 March 1889 in London. He received his education from Rugby School and Balliol College Oxford, where he became President of the Oxford Union in 1911. Between 1913 to 1923 Guedalla served as a Barrister at the Inner Temple, London. During the First World War, 1914-1918, he served as a legal adviser to the Contracts Department of the War Office and Ministry of Munitions. From 1917 to 1920 he organised and became secretary of the Flax Control Board. He stood for parliament five times between 1922 to 1931, but was always defeated. During the Second World War, 1939-1945, he served as a Squadron Leader in the RAF. He died in 1944.

George Gordon Noel Byron was born in London on 22 January 1788. At the age of ten, he inherited his great uncle William's barony to become the 6th Baron of Rochdale. Byron was educated at Harrow School 1801-1805 and Trinity College Cambridge, 1805-1808; where he received a Master of Arts degree. Whilst at Cambridge, Byron had several poetry books and other works printed and published. On leaving Cambridge, he settled in Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, the ancestral home of the Byrons. He took his seat in the House of Lords on the 13 March 1809 and later that year he began a tour of the Mediterranean and the Near East (1809-1811).

In 1812 Byron published Childe Harold's Pilgrimage Canto I and II and made his maiden speech at the House of Lords. In April 1816 he left England for the continent and spent nearly seven years travelling and writing in Italy. While in Italy he wrote Don Juan, which was published in several parts between 1818-1822. Byron sailed for Greece in July 1823, to help that country in its war for independence. In April 1824 Byron fell ill and died in Missolonghi, Greece.

Little is known about the life of Olive Moore. She was born in England around 1905 and visited America during the 1920s, where she did some writing. Her poem, First Poem was published by Charles Lahr's publishing company Blue Moon Press in 1932. Between 1929 and 1934, she wrote and had published Celestial seraglio, Spleen, Fugue, and The Apple is bitten again. Moore died circa 1970.

Alfred Edward Newton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1863. After receiving his education from private schools, Newton, in 1876, went to work for Porter and Coates Bookshop in Philadelphia. In 1890 he went to work at the Cutter Electrical and Manufacturing Company, becoming the company's financial manager in 1895. Newton wrote books and contributed to the Atlantic Monthly. He also collected rare books, building up a library of 10, 000 volumes. In 1930 Newton became the first American president of the Johnson Society of Great Britain. Newton died in Philadelphia on 29 September 1940.

Liam O'Flaherty was born in the Aran Islands, County Galway, Ireland on 28 August 1896. He was educated at Rockwell College, Black Rock College and University College Dublin. From 1915 to 1917 O'Flaherty served with the Irish Guards. On returning to Ireland he became active in the Irish Civil War. Between 1918 and 1921 he worked at various jobs in London, New York and Hartford Connecticut. He started writing in 1921 and published his first novel, The Neighbour's Wife in 1924. In 1974 he was awarded a Honorary D Litt from the National University of Ireland. O'Flaherty died on 7 September 1984.

Theodore Francis Powys was born at Shirley, Dorset in 1875. He was educated at Dorchester Grammar School. He published his first work An Interpretation of Genesis in 1908. During his writing career, Powys wrote many novels and short stories. His last novel published during his lifetime was Goat Green in 1937. Powys remained in Dorset for the rest of his life. He died on 27 November 1953.

Siegfried Sassoon was born on 8 September 1886 at Weirleigh, Kent. He was educated at Marlborough College and at Clare College Cambridge. In 1914, Sassoon enlisted as a trooper in the Sussex Yeomanry and a year later he was commissioned in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. During the First World War, 1914-1918, he served in France and Palestine. While in France, Sassoon wrote a series of poems exposing the horrors of war. In 1919 Sassoon became the first literary editor for the Daily Herald. In 1920 he made a tour of the United States, reading poems and speaking out against the war. Sassoon published his first prose work, Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man in 1928. He died on 1 September 1967.

Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole was born on 13 March 1884 in Auckland, New Zealand. He was educated at King's School, Canterbury, Durham School and in 1903 he attended Emmanuel College Cambridge. Before the First World War Walpole joined the staff of the Mersey Mission to Seaman in 1906; he travelled to France and Germany in 1907 and became the assistant master at Epsom College in 1908. In 1909 he went to London where he published his first novel The Wooden Horse. While in London he also became a book reviewer for the Evening Standard, in 1913. During the First World War, 1914-1918, he served with the Red Cross in Russia, receiving the Order of St George for his heroism. He was also awarded a CBE in 1918 and during the following two years he received the literary prize, the James Tait Black Prize. Walpole was a prolific writer, averaging about a novel a year. He was knighted in 1937. Walpole died in his country home in Keswick, Cumbria on 1 June 1941.

Israel Zangwill was born in London on 1 February 1864. He was educated at schools in Bristol and Plymouth. In 1873 his parents returned to London, where they sent Zangwill to the Jews' Free School at Spitalfields, London. He received a BA with triple honours from the University of London. He published his first literary work, a short story in the journal Society. His first novel, The Premier and the Painter, appeared in 1888. From 1888 to 1926 Zangwill wrote many novels and plays including, The Big Bow Mystery, 1891, Children of the Ghetto: A study of a Peculiar People, 1892-1893 and the play We Moderns, 1926. During his lifetime, Zangwill also worked as a teacher, a lawyer and editor of the journal Ariel. Zangwill was involved in the Zionist movement. In 1904 he founded the Jewish Territorial Organisation. He also became the president of several Jewish cultural organisations including the Jewish Historical Society of England and the Jewish Drama League. He wrote pamphlets and addressed meetings in America, Europe and Israel on Jewish life and politics. Zangwill died on 1 August 1926 at his home in Midhurst, Sussex.

Gaetano Donizetti was born on 29 November 1797 in Bergamo, modern day Italy. His first successful opera was Enrico di Borgogia, which appeared in Venice in 1818. Between 1818-1830 Donizetti composed 33 operas. Donizetti also composed operas in Paris and Vienna. In 1842 Emperor Ferdinand I appointed Donizetti the official composer to the Emperor. Donizetti's most important works include, Anna Bolena 1830, Lucia di Lammermoor 1835 and The Elixir of Love 1832. He died in Bergamo on 8 April 1848.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston on 25 May 1803. Emerson was educated at Boston Latin School, 1812-1817 and at Harvard College, 1821-1825. In 1822 he published his first article in The Christian Disciple. Emerson was admitted to Harvard Divinity School in 1825 and was ordained minister of a Unitarian Church in Boston in 1829, where he remained until October 1832.

On resigning his only pastoral post, because of doctrinal disputes, Emerson embarked upon the first of three trips to Europe in December 1832, during which time meetings with other writers developed his notions of the transcendent. On returning to the United States in 1834, Emerson settled in Concord, Massachusetts, which became a centre of Transcendentalism. The following year Emerson published Nature, which stated the movement's main principles. Throughout his life Emerson lectured and wrote on philosophy, literature, slavery and religion. Emerson died in Concord, age 78, on 27 April 1882.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston on 25 May 1803. Emerson was educated at Boston Latin School, 1812-1817 and at Harvard College, 1821-1825. In 1822 he published his first article in The Christian Disciple. Emerson was admitted to Harvard Divinity School in 1825 and was ordained minister of a Unitarian Church in Boston in 1829, where he remained until October 1832.

On resigning his only pastoral post, because of doctrinal disputes, Emerson embarked upon the first of three trips to Europe in December 1832, during which time meetings with other writers developed his notions of the transcendent. On returning to the United States in 1834, Emerson settled in Concord, Massachusetts, which became a centre of Transcendentalism. The following year Emerson published Nature, which stated the movement's main principles. Throughout his life Emerson lectured and wrote on philosophy, literature, slavery and religion. Emerson died in Concord, age 78, on 27 April 1882

Details of William Langland's life are chiefly supplied from his work The Vision of Piers Plowman. He was born around 1330, probably in Shropshire, and is thought to have been educated in a monastery, possibly at Great Malvern. Piers Plowman was produced in three versions (1362, 1377, and 1392).

Charles Lahr was born Karl Lahr in 1885 at Wendlesheim in the Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. During his teenage years he became first a Buddhist and later an anarchist. In 1905, to escape conscription into the German army, he left Germany for London. On arriving in London he worked as a baker and expressed his political involvement by joining and frequenting anarchist clubs. By 1914 Lahr had taken work as a razor grinder and had joined the British Section of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). He began to accumulate books at around this time as he moved from residence to residence in the Kings Cross area of London. He also let rooms to people he met through his political activities. Designated an enemy alien, Lahr was interned in Alexandra Palace in London from 1915 to 1919. After the war Lahr returned to his trade and continued his involvement with the IWW, where he met his future wife, Esther Archer, whom he married in 1922. Lahr and Archer both joined the Communist party in 1920, but left in 1921. It was during this brief membership that the Lahr met and became friends with Liam O'Flaherty. In 1921 Lahr took over the Progressive Bookshop at 68 Red Lion Square, Holborn. The bookshop became a centre for new writers and political activists from around the world, and specialised in the sale of radical literature and first editions. The Lahrs' first moves into publishing came in when K. S. Bhat recommended the editors of the New Coterie to take the magazine to the Lahrs. From 1925 onwards Lahr started publishing items on his own account, often using his wife's maiden name to counter anti-German prejudice. During 1925 to 1927 these took the form of offprints from New Coterie, and then articles within the magazine itself. In the publishing world he was in close contact with writers such as D. H. Lawrence, T. F. Powys, James Hanley, A.S.J. Tessimond, Liam O' Flaherty, Paul Selver, Russell Green, George Woodcock, Rhys Davies and several others. The New Coterie ran until 1927, and in 1930 Lahr launched his Blue Moon Booklets and a year later the Blue Moon Press. However, by 1933 Lahr was having financial problems. In 1935 his difficulties came to a head when he was found guilty of receiving stolen books and was sentenced to six months imprisonment. However, after his release he continued his publishing activities although on a much reduced scale. The bookshop continued to be a focus for radicals and revolutionaries.The bookshop in Holborn was bombed in May 1941. Lahr moved the bookshop to several locations in central London before finally moving it to the headquarters of the Independent Labour Party at 197 Kings Cross Road, London. Charles Lahr died in London in 1971.

References:R. M. Fox, 'Lahr's Bookshop' in Smoky Crusade, Hogarth Press, 1938, pp. 180-188.D. Goodway, 'Charles Lahr: Anarchist, Bookseller' in London Magazine, Jun-Jul 1977, pp. 47-55.

Hanley, James (1901-1985), novelist and playwright, was born in Dublin in 1901, the son of Edward Hanley, a ship's stoker. The only school Hanley attended was St Alexandra's Roman Catholic primary school, near his home. At the age of twelve he left school and joined the merchant navy, serving in a submarine during the First World War. Three years later he jumped ship at New Brunswick to enlist in the Canadian Black Watch and eventually saw action in France. Invalided out of the army suffering from the effects of gas, he returned to the sea, working as a stoker on troop carriers, which he featured in some of his novels. He continued to educate himself, mainly by reading Russian literature, and having come ashore in the late 1920s earned a precarious living in a variety of jobs in docks, on the railway, and for a while at Aintree racecourse. Many of his early stories were published in the Liverpool Echo, the editor of which, E. Hope Prince, became his mentor.

Hanley's first novel, Drift (1930), and his first volume of stories, The German Prisoner (1930), were published shortly before his move to Wales, where he settled first at Glan Ceirw, Ty-nant, near Corwen in Merioneth, and then, in the autumn of 1941, at Bodynfoel Lodge and Tan-y-ffridd in the village of Llanfechain, Montgomeryshire. His second novel, Boy (1932), was originally published in an edition of 145 copies for subscribers only. An expurgated trade edition followed, but when in 1934 it was issued in a cheap edition, copies were seized by the police and the book was successfully prosecuted for obscenity. The publisher was fined £400 and copies of the book were burnt. Hanley forbade republication of the novel during his lifetime and it was not reissued until 1990.

The first of Hanley's novels about the Furys, a Liverpool Irish family, appeared in 1935 and a volume of autobiography, Broken Water, in 1937. On the outbreak of the Second World War he found work with the BBC and later with the Ministry of Information, but his home remained in Llanfechain until 1963, when he and his wife moved to London. During the war he wrote three novels of the sea which are among his best work: Hollow Sea (1938), The Ocean (1941), and Sailor's Song (1943). He also wrote the autobiographical No Directions (1943). Many of his stories and radio plays were broadcast on the BBC Third Programme during the 1940s. During his long residence in Wales, Hanley wrote four books: a collection of essays, 'Don Quixote Drowned' (1953), and the novels The Welsh Sonata (1954), Another World (1971), and A Kingdom (1978). His Selected Stories appeared in 1947 and Collected Stories in 1953. Hanley of bronchial pneumonia died in November 1985.

Hanley, James (1901-1985), novelist and playwright, was born in Dublin in 1901, the son of Edward Hanley, a ship's stoker. The only school Hanley attended was St Alexandra's Roman Catholic primary school, near his home. At the age of twelve he left school and joined the merchant navy, serving in a submarine during the First World War. Three years later he jumped ship at New Brunswick to enlist in the Canadian Black Watch and eventually saw action in France. Invalided out of the army suffering from the effects of gas, he returned to the sea, working as a stoker on troop carriers, which he featured in some of his novels. He continued to educate himself, mainly by reading Russian literature, and having come ashore in the late 1920s earned a precarious living in a variety of jobs in docks, on the railway, and for a while at Aintree racecourse. Many of his early stories were published in the Liverpool Echo, the editor of which, E. Hope Prince, became his mentor.

Hanley's first novel, 'Drift' (1930), and his first volume of stories, 'The German Prisoner' (1930), were published shortly before his move to Wales, where he settled first at Glan Ceirw, Ty-nant, near Corwen in Merioneth, and then, in the autumn of 1941, at Bodynfoel Lodge and Tan-y-ffridd in the village of Llanfechain, Montgomeryshire. His second novel, 'Boy' (1932), was originally published in an edition of 145 copies for subscribers only. An expurgated trade edition followed, but when in 1934 it was issued in a cheap edition, copies were seized by the police and the book was successfully prosecuted for obscenity. The publisher was fined £400 and copies of the book were burnt. Hanley forbade republication of the novel during his lifetime and it was not reissued until 1990.

The first of Hanley's novels about the Furys, a Liverpool Irish family, appeared in 1935 and a volume of autobiography, 'Broken Water', in 1937. On the outbreak of the Second World War he found work with the BBC and later with the Ministry of Information, but his home remained in Llanfechain until 1963, when he and his wife moved to London. During the war he wrote three novels of the sea which are among his best work: Hollow Sea (1938), The Ocean (1941), and Sailor's Song (1943). He also wrote the autobiographical No Directions (1943). Many of his stories and radio plays were broadcast on the BBC Third Programme during the 1940s. During his long residence in Wales, Hanley wrote four books: a collection of essays, Don Quixote Drowned (1953), and the novels The Welsh Sonata (1954), Another World (1971), and A Kingdom (1978). His 'Selected Stories' appeared in 1947 and 'Collected Stories' in 1953. Hanley of bronchial pneumonia died in November 1985.

Senate House Library's history goes back to the official foundation of the University of London in 1836 but it really began life in 1871 when a bookfund was started. The library holds material relevant chiefly to the arts and social sciences. The library (formerly the University of London Library) is administered by the central university as part the University of London Research Library Services. In 2005 it had over 32,000 registered users. It is the second largest library in London, outside that of the British Library, less than one mile to the north. The library holds over two million volumes, including 120,000 volumes printed before 1851. Along with subscriptions to over 5200 Journals, the library's resources include the Goldsmiths' Library of Economic Literature, the Harry Price Library of Magical Literature and the Palaeography room, the largest public collection of books of this kind in Europe. The library also holds over 170,000 theses by University of London graduate students and has over 1,100 manuscript collections.

The University of London was established in 1836 out of the principle of a more inclusive approach to education, free from religious tests and more affordable. With its power to grant degrees the University worked generally in close alliance with University College and King's College London as well as numerous other colleges around Britain.

In terms of degrees awarded, the University was the first in England to introduce a Bachelor of Science, tending away from the more general degree. Honours degrees were established in 1903. Of the more marginal degrees, Music was instituted in 1877, the D.Sc. in 1859 and the D.Litt in 1885. Certificates of Higher Proficiency for 'female candidates' were introduced in 1867. Regulations for medical degrees were established in 1839 but continued to change for many years to come.

In 1893, after many years of dispute, a commission sat with the aim of forming a single teaching university in London. The reconstructed University would consist of: University College; King's College; the Royal College of Science; nine medical colleges; the London School of Medicine for Women; the City and Guilds Institute; Bedford College; six theological colleges and four colleges of music. Added to these proposed institutions were the London School of Economics and Political Science; Royal Holloway College and the South Eastern Agricultural College. These proposals were passed in an Act in 1898.

A new committee was established to examine the structure of the University in 1924 that suggested the University adopt the now familiar federal model alongside other recommendations. The University of London Act, 1926, set up a Statutory Commission to pursue the committee's recommendations. In the first half of the century, thirteen more schools were admitted into the federal structure.

The newly modelled University needed more appropriate housing than its present scattered buildings. With the assistance of a sizeable gift from the Rockefeller Foundation a new site was purchased in Bloomsbury. The construction of this new building began in 1933 and it was occupied from 1936.

After the interruption of the war with its occupation of the Ministry of Information, the University began to increase significantly in size and complexity. Expansion also took place outside of Bloomsbury such as Imperial College in South Kensington in the mid 1950s.

The structure and organisation of the University was examined closely in the mid 1960s under the guidance of the Robbins Report. Many of the schools were given a new voice to air their concerns and show their deep-rooted support for the federal system. Numerous other reports would shape the evolution of the University over the next decades. That same evolution and growth exists today.

The Academic Council was created by the Statutes of 13 February 1900 to provide advice on the 'Internal' side of the University's activities. The Council was composed of 16 Senators representing Faculties (2 each), plus the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor and Chairman of Convocation, together with other Senators sufficient to make the number up to 20.

The Academic Council had an advisory role only, on such matters as: the assignment of funds for the erection or extension of buildings or equipment in the University or Schools of the University; the appointment of Professors, Assistant Professors, Readers or Lecturers of the University and generally upon any matter relating to the Internal Students.

The Academic Council's role was revised by the Hilton Young reforms (named after Hilton Young, who produced the Hilton Young Report 1926), embodied in the Statutes of 23 July 1928. These reforms allocated executive functions to the Council in the following areas previously exercised by the Senate:

The constitution and personnel of Faculties, Boards of Studies and the regulation and co-ordination of their work.
The admission or retention of public educational institutions as Schools.
The establishment or abolition of posts of Professors, Readers and Lecturers of the University and the duties, tenure, remuneration and conditions of service, retirement and superannuation which shall apply to persons appointed to such posts.
The recognition of teachers.
The establishment of degrees, diplomas and certificates of proficiency for Internal Students
The regulation of courses of study for Internal Students.
The recognition of courses of study for Associate Students.
The regulation, conduct and superintendence of examinations for Internal Students and the appointment of Examiners for such examinations.
The conditions under which the Higher School Examination of the University may be accepted in whole or in part, as equivalent of the Intermediate Examination for internal Students.
Such other matters as the Senate may prescribe.

The Academic Council lost its role in giving advice on the assignment of funds for building and equipment. This role was taken over by the Court in 1928. The 1928 reforms also enlarged the Academic Council to include: 2 ex officio members (Vice-Chancellor and Principal- these were already in the AC from 1900 as in para 1), 17 Senators representing the Faculties and 9 other Senators.

With the exception of an amendment of 1951 on account of the creation of G.C.E. examinations, the Statutes concerning the Academic Council remained unchanged until the 'Saunders reforms' (named after the chairman of the Committee on Academic Organisation Sir Owen Saunders) of 1966. Under these changes the Faculty Boards were abolished (replaced by Academic Advisory Boards), the membership of the Boards of Studies was extended to include all tenured Teachers in Schools and the programme of School-sponsored degrees was extended.

The Statutes of 17 December 1980 brought about further changes to the Academic Council. The composition has been enlarged to consist of the Vice-Chancellor, the Principal, the forty members of the Senate elected by the teachers, the ten members of the Senate to be co-opted from the Recognised Teachers, and other persons exceeding nine in number annually appointed to the Senate.

From the session 1984/85 the Council for External Students was retitled, 'the Committee for External Students' of the Academic Council, while the Council for Extra -Mural Studies became the 'Committee for Extra Mural Studies. The University Entrance Requirements Committee became a committee directly constituted by the Senate. These new committees reported to the Academic Council.

The Athlone Press was founded in 1948 as the University of London publishing house. It was sold to the Bemrose Corporation in 1979.