King's College London Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
King's College London (often abbreviated to KCL) in London is the largest College in the federal University of London, with some 19,500 registered students. King's College was founded in 1829, partly in reaction to the founding of University College London (UCL). UCL from its foundation admitted candidates without respect to religion and offered no religious instruction, so that some called it “the godless institution in Gower Street”. King's by contrast had strong Anglican connections in the beginning, and was so named to indicate the patronage of King George IV; today, King's staff and students are of all faiths and beliefs.King's began on a site adjacent to Somerset House in the Strand, still in use and still organized around the original building; the university has spread to several other campuses as well, including the Guy's campus near London Bridge, the St. Thomas' campus facing the Houses of Parliament across the Thames, Waterloo campus across from the BFI London Imax and the Hampstead Halls campus, formerly the site of Westfield College, since merged with Queen Mary. The current institution is the product of the merger of King's with a number of other institutions over the years, including Queen Elizabeth College, Chelsea College, the Institute of Psychiatry, Guy's Hospital, and St Thomas' Hospital.
Well-known alumni of King's College include:
- Anita Brookner
- Arthur C. Clarke
- John Eliot Gardiner
- Peter Higgs
- Derek Jarman
- B. S. Johnson
- Hanif Kureishi
- Michael Nyman
- James Clerk Maxwell
- Rosalind Franklin
- Joseph Lister
- Thomas Hardy
- Michael Collins
- John Keats
- John Deacon
- David Owen
- Quentin Crisp
- James W. Black
- Desmond Tutu
- Maurice Wilkins
- Edward Victor Appleton
- Charles Scott Sherrington
- Frederick Hopkins
- Owen Willans Richardson
- Charles Barka
King's College London Students' Union (KCLSU) is the second oldest in London, founded just after University College London Union, and provides an enormous range of activities and services: over 50 sports clubs, 60 societies, a wide range of volunteering opportunities, 4 bars, 2 nightclubs, shops, eating places and even a Gym. Recently, a third site was opened at the Waterloo campus which finally completes development of services across the three key KCL sites. A former President of KCLSU, Sir Ivison Macadam went on to be elected as the first President of the NUS and the Union has played an active role there and in the University of London Union ever since.