内容简介：
【简介】 In September 1995 the Chemistry Department celebrated its sesquicentenary, for it was in 1845 that the Royal College of Chemistry (RCC) was founded, the ancestor both of their present chemistry department and of Imperial College itself. During the early part of the nineteenth century there was a growing awareness that practical aspects of the experimental sciences were not well taught and that in this country the teaching chemistry in particular had fallen behind that in Germany. Experimental chemists like Liebig at Giessen and Bunsen at Gottingen had helped to make the teaching of chemistry there a national priority, and a flourishing German chemical industry was growing. In London in the early 1840's a movement was formed to set up an institute to teach practical chemistry; funds were raised from 76 MP's, 54 peers and 760 others; donors included Peel, Disraeli and Gladstone, and a Royal College of Chemistry (RCC) was set up in 1845.
The Prince Consort was an enthusiastic supporter and, through his contacts in Germany, persuaded August von Hofmann, then only 28, to be the first Professor. The college opened in 1845 with 26 students at 16 Hanover Square (the building still stands). Hofmann was an inspired choice: he was a charismatic teacher and became a chemist of international renown. However, the college had financial troubles and in 1848 had to abandon Hanover Square and take cheaper premises at 299 Oxford Street. The move was not accomplished without some difficulty: Hofmann relinquished his free personal accommodation in Hanover Square and gave up part of his salary, but the college secretary refused to move from his free accommodation and had to be evicted by force. In 1872, with Government support (secured largely with the help of Lyon Playfair, himself a distinguished inorganic chemist) the college moved to the unused building of the School of Naval Architecture in Exhibition Road, South Kensington (now th e Henry Cole wing of the Victoria and Albert Museum).
