Founding of University of Manchester

The University of Manchester traces its roots to the Manchester Mechanics' Institute, set up in the industrial city to teach working men the principles of science. It later merged with Owens College, which opened in 1851 and became the Victoria University of Manchester, and in 2004 the Victoria University merged with UMIST to create the present institution. Scientists connected with the university include Ernest Rutherford, who split the atom there, and Alan Turing, who worked on early computers. In 1948 the Manchester Baby, the first stored-program computer, ran its first program. Over the years, more than two dozen Nobel Prize winners have worked or studied there, and graphene was isolated at the university in 2004.

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