George Birkbeck (1776-1841) was a doctor, academic, philanthropist and early pioneer in adult education. Year 1776 (MDCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Plato is credited with the inception of academia: the body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations. ... A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, or reputation to a charitable cause. ... Libraries are a useful resource for adult learners. ...

Born to a Quaker family in Settle, North Yorkshire, Birkbeck went to Sedbergh School and then completed his training as a doctor in Edinburgh in 1799. Before practising as a physician, however, he initially embarked on an academic career, being appointed professor of natural philosophy at the Andersonian Institution, which later became the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... Statistics Population: 2420 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SD817639 Administration District: Craven Shire county: North Yorkshire Region: Yorkshire and the Humber Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: North Yorkshire Historic county: West Riding Services Police force: North Yorkshire Police Ambulance: Yorkshire Post office and telephone Post... North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county, located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county in that region and also partly in North East England. ... Sedbergh School is a co-educational boarding school in Sedbergh, Cumbria for boys and girls, between the ages of 13 and 18 inclusive. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The University of Strathclyde is a university in Glasgow, Scotland. ... “Glaswegian” redirects here. ...

After mechanics started asking questions about the apparatus he used in his lectures, he had the idea of holding free, public lectures on the 'mechanical arts' (c 1800-1804). These Saturday evening events proved very popular and continued after his departure to London, leading to the formation in 1821 of the first Mechanics' Institute in Glasgow. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Historically, Mechanics Institutes were educational establishments formed to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working men. ...

Working as a doctor in London, Birkbeck, with others, established the London Mechanics Institute in November 1823 - of which he was the first President. The Mechanics Institute concept was quickly adopted in numerous other cities and towns across the UK and overseas, but his association with the ground-breaking London institution was marked by it being renamed the Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution in 1866 (now, as Birkbeck College, part of the University of London). Birkbeck, University of London, sometimes referred to by its former name Birkbeck College or by the abbreviation BBK, is a College of the University of London. ... The University of London is a university based primarily in London. ...

He also helped create the first chemistry laboratory for undergraduates at University College London, and was head of the short-lived London Chemical Society of the 1820s. It has been suggested that the central science be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses of lab, see Lab. ... University College London, commonly known as UCL, is a college of the University of London. ...

He died in 1841 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, London. A monument is also to be found in St Akelda's church in Giggleswick, near his birthplace in Settle. Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery, located in Kensal Green, London, England, was incorporated in 1832, and is the oldest of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries still in operation. ... Giggleswick is a village in the English county of North Yorkshire near to the town of Settle. ...