Bentham in the Community
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The Bentham Project is launching an exciting new public engagement initiative - Bentham in the Community - to bring together academic and amateur historians and raise awareness of the life and work of Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) by examining his connection to London.
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Bentham was born in Houndsditch in London in 1748 and was baptised at St Botolph's Church in Aldgate. Later he attended Westminster School and studied at Lincoln's Inn. He lived at Queen Square Place and jogged regularly in St James's Park. Associated with many important figures in the social and political life of the day, Bentham was a well-connected Londoner whose principles helped found the University of London, later UCL, in 1826. Considered the spiritual father of the institution, his auto-icon rests in UCL's South Cloisters. London shaped Bentham's thinking; Bentham, in turn, helped to shape London.
Funded by a Beacon Bursary from UCL Public Engagement, this project consists of three events aimed at situating UCL more firmly within the local community. The first two events will be evening information sessions, one held at UCL and the other in Spitalfields near where Bentham was born, and will feature talks by Bentham Project staff and amateur historians on Bentham's life and the history of London at the turn of the nineteenth century. The third event will be a Bentham walk around parts of London. These events will take place in May during the Historical Association's Local History Month.
- Event One: Bentham and UCL - May 12th 6.30pm-9pm at Bentham House
- Event Two: Bentham and London - May 16th 7.30pm-9pm at the Women's Library
- Event Three: the Bentham Walk - May 23rd 7pm-9pm at the entrance to Westminster Abbey
Some positive feedback from event one:
- 'London's Philosopher': Blog post by Mike Paterson, Director of London Historians and one of our invited speakers
- 'Discovering Jeremy Bentham': Blog post by one of our audience members