FAQs

1. Why was the College founded? 
2. What did King's feel it could offer that Oxbridge didn't?
3. After which King is King's College named?
4. Did all students sit University of London examinations?
5. Who was King's for and who were its first students and pupils?
6. What was the Provisional Committee of King's College London and what did it do?
7. What was the importance of the College Charter and when was it granted?
8. Who were King's shareholders and how much did they invest?
9. Who was the Rev George D'Oyly and what part did he play in establishing King's?
10. Why is there a chapel at the centre of the College?
11. What happened at Battersea Fields?
12. Did the Duke of Wellington really fight a duel about King's College London?
13. What did the Freemasons have to do with King's College?
14. Why did the Earl of Winchilsea imply in 1829 that King's College was a Trojan Horse?
15. Why was Robert Southey interested in King's College?
16. What did the first coat of arms look like?
17. What is King George III's connection to King's College?
18. What role did Liverpool merchant John Gladstone and his son, Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, play in the history of the College?
19. Who hoped the wild beasts of London Zoo would prove a match for Kingsmen?
20. Who lived and worked on the site of King's College before us?
21. Why was King's built in the Strand?
22. What did Thomas Becket have to do with King's College?
23. What connection did Oliver Cromwell have with King's?
24. What were the 'Rookery' and the 'Ratsnest' and why did they pose a threat to King's students?
25. Who was Sir Robert Smirke?
26. What did the Water Babies have to do with King's College?
27. How was Charles Babbage, the 'father of computing', connected with King's College?
28. What problems were encountered in building the College?
29. When was the building of the College completed?
30. What facilities did the early College have?
31. How have the buildings changed since the opening of King's?
32. How much did it cost to build King's College?
33. What other sources of money did King's attract?
34. Who were the first Principals of King's College?
35. What role did Frederick Maurice play at King's?
36. Who was John Hullah?
37. How was the first Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem connected to King's?
38. In what way did King's prove important in the Pre-Raphaelite movement?
39. Who was Robert Bentley Todd?
40. Why was the study of geology so important in the early years of the College?
41. Who was Sir Charles Wheatstone and why was he so important?
42. Who was John Park and what role did he play in the reform of English law?
43. For what achievements was John Daniell renowned?
44. How was John Ruskin connected to King's College?
45. What role did Samuel Taylor Coleridge play in King's?
46. What did students study during the early years of the College?
47. How much were professors paid?
48. Did all professors and academic staff have to be practising Anglicans?
49. What did Prince Albert, an electrical spark and the Lambeth shot tower have in common?
50. How successful was King's College School and who was its first Headmaster?
51. When was King's College Hospital opened?
52. Who was the body snatcher dissected at King's College London?
53. What happened at King's the day of Queen Victoria's accession?
54. What happened at King's the day the Palace of Westminster burned down?
55. Why did students have to carry candles some days?
56. Why did the College have to be closed some days?
57. What did the composer of the hymn Onward Christian Soldiers think of King's?
58. How can I learn more about the history of King's College?
59. How can I visit the historical collections of King's College?