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History of the UniversityFrom its origins as one of the first civic universities to its place as a groundbreaking Russell Group university which excels at teaching, learning and research, the University of Liverpool has remained committed to the 'advancement of learning and ennoblement of life'.
From the start, it recruited notable scholars and received generous financial support from the people of Liverpool. A high proportion of the original students came from Merseyside; for poor yet able students there were scholarships and fellowships. The University grew quickly, and the famous Victoria Building, the original 'redbrick' designed by Alfred Waterhouse, was opened in 1892. The University attracted the pioneers of the day, including Professor Oliver Lodge, who made the world's first public radio transmission in 1894. Two years later, Lodge demonstrated the use of X-ray photography by taking an image of a bullet in a boy's wrist. It was the first time an X-ray had been used for surgical purposes in the UK. 1899 saw the foundation of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Future Nobel Prize winner Ronald Ross, who had just completed his renowned research into the origins of malaria, was appointed at the helm.
The University quickly established itself as an incubator for success. Professor Charles Glover Barkla's research into X-Rays won him the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1917, and Sir James Chadwick was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1935 for discovering the neutron. Other successes included Allan Downie, Professor of Bacteriology from 1943 to 1966, who was instrumental in the eradication of smallpox and Dr Robert Minnitt, Honorary Lecturer in Anaesthesia from 1933 to 1947, who developed the use of gas and air in childbirth. More recently, Sir Joseph Rotblat was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 for his work on limiting the threat posed by nuclear weapons. The University entered the 21st century with great confidence. Its £9m Management School opened in 2002, offering a world-class business education, and a £25m Biosciences Centre opened in 2003, providing first-rate facilities for research, teaching and new biotech businesses.
Today, the University has over 230 first-degree courses offered across 103 subjects, over 19,000 registered students and an annual income of £219 million, which includes £75 million for research. The University remains strongly committed through the teaching and research of its staff to the 'advancement of learning and ennoblement of life' which the people of Liverpool helped establish over a century ago. |
1881The University is founded as University College Liverpool. 1903The University receives its charter and becomes the University of Liverpool. 1914-181673 staff, students and former students serve in the First World War. More than 200 die. 1941A parachute mine causes considerable damage to the University's quadrangle. The University's casualties in the Second World War are relatively few by comparison with the first. 1949Plans for the University Precinct are proposed and the University expands. 1960sAn extension to the Students' Union, the Sports Centre and much of the University's halls of residence are built. 2002The £9m Management School opens. 2003The University celebrates its centenary and the £25m Biosciences Centre opens. |
