University College London

University College London, college of the University of London, England. University College London was founded in 1826 following a proposal, made by the Scottish poet Thomas Campbell and inspired by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, for a London university to match the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge and without their close connection to the Church of England; it was the first English university to admit students of all beliefs and teach no religious subject. Institutional pressure from Anglican interests, especially the two existing English universities, prevented the granting of a royal charter, so the college was incorporated as a joint-stock company. The college was renamed University College and chartered in 1836 as part of the new University of London, following the establishment of King's College, London. University College was fully incorporated into the university in 1907, but had its independence restored in 1977. University College admits undergraduate and graduate students of both sexes. The head of University College is known as the Provost. Notable alumni of University College include the lawyer Sir Stafford Cripps, the chemist Thomas Graham, the economist William Stanley Jevons, the physicist Sir Oliver Lodge, the mathematician Sir Roger Penrose, the astronomer Eleanor Margaret Burbidge, the psychologist Sir Cyril Burt, the New Zealand statesman Sir Julius Vogel, the birth control campaigner Marie Stopes, and the writer David Lodge. Under the terms of his will, Jeremy Bentham's preserved body is housed in a glass case on the college premises.