180 years ago today, Chemist Sir William Henry Perkin was born. An Imperial alumnus, Perkin is known for accidentally discovering the first aniline dye - the purple mauveine. Perkin's accidental discovery helped make high-demand purple-coloured fabric more accessible to the public and also made Perkin incredibly successful. Perkin continued to research organic chemistry and went on to discover several other synthetic dyes. He is truly one of our early innovators! . . #imperialcollege#onthisday#ourimperial#inventions#innovation#history#alumni
Imperial alumni…we want to hear who inspired you during your time at Imperial and why? Was it a professor? A lecturer? A classmate? We will share the best stories in the Alumni Zone at Alumni Weekend, 6-7 May. Leave us a comment or share your photos using #OurImperial. #imperialcollege#alumni#history
Last week we were given the opportunity to take a tour of the hidden labyrinth of tunnels that lie beneath our South Kensington campus. Constructed after the Great Exhibition of 1851 for the Imperial Institute’s heating systems, the tunnel network criss-crosses campus, running beneath Exhibition Road to reach Southside and Prince’s Gardens. Tales abound as to the various goings-on to which this subterranean land has paid witness over the years, but today it primarily serves to house the myriad of cables, wires and heating ducts essential to the running of the College. In the deeper sections of the tunnels, temperatures can soar to a sweltering 40 degrees so, whatever you do, leave your coat above ground before venturing down! —————————————————— #imperialcollege#imperialcollegelondon#tunnels#history#underground
#Repost@icunion ・・・ Happy Birthday Imperial! 🎂🎈 109 years ago on this very day, Imperial College London was established by Royal Charter by King Edward VII on 8 July 1907. Two years later (in 1909), this stone was laid outside the RSM main entrance, to commemorate the new expansion of the College. The Inscription reads: "This stone was laid by His Majesty Edward VII King of Great Britian and Ireland and of the British dominions beyond the seas as Emperor of India, on the 8th day of July 1909, for the new buildings of the Royal School of Mines, initiated by His Royal Highness the Prince Consort, and of the City and Guilds College of Engineering, which with the Royal College of Science, form integral parts of the Imperial College of Science and Technology." —————————————————— #history#royal#royals#KingEdwardVII#plaque#alwaysreadtheplaque#science#icu#imperial#technology#imperialcollegeunion#imperialcollege#imperialcollegelondon#southken#southkensington#london