Birkbeck, George (1776–1841)

English doctor and pioneer of workers' education. Born in Settle, Yorkshire, he studied medicine and philosophy in Edinburgh. As professor of natural philosophy at Anderson's College, Glasgow, he started giving free lectures to workers in 1799 and these classes later became the Glasgow Mechanics' Institution. He moved to London as a doctor in 1804 and established a similar scheme of free classes for workers there. This scheme became the London Mechanics' Institute in 1824 and then evolved to become Birkbeck College, a college offering part-time degrees in the new University of London, which he also helped found.