Royal School of Mines entrance in London's Albertopolis.

Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering [1], and Materials [2] at Imperial College London. The Royal School of Mines was established in 1851, as the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts. The Royal College of Chemistry was merged into it in 1853. The School developed from the Museum of Economic Geology, a collection of minerals, maps and mining equipment made by Sir Henry De la Beche, and opened in 1841. The Museum also provided some student places for the study of mineralogy and metallurgy. Sir Henry was the director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, and when the collections outgrew the premises the Museum and the Survey were placed on an official footing, with Government assistance. The Museum of Practical Geology and the Government School of Mines Applied to the Arts opened in a purpose designed building in Jermyn Street in 1851. The officers of the Geological Survey became the lecturers and professors of the School of Mines. The name was changed in 1863 to the Royal School of Mines, and was moved to South Kensington in 1872, leaving the Museum of Practical Geology behind in Jermyn Street. In 1907, the RSM was incorporated into Imperial College of Science and Technology, but remains a "Constituent College" of Imperial. The current Dean of the Royal School of Mines is Professor John Monhemius. Taken by A. Brady 27th March 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Taken by A. Brady 27th March 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Albertopolis is a nickname for the area in South Kensington, London, between Cromwell Road and Kensington Gore, which contains several educational and cultural sites, including Imperial College Natural History Museum Royal Albert Hall Royal College of Art Royal College of Music Royal College of Organists Royal Geographical Society Science Museum... Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. ... The Materials Science Tetrahedron, which often also includes Characterization at the center Materials science is an interdisciplinary field involving the properties of matter and its applications to various areas of science and engineering. ... Imperial College London is a prestigious (ranked 4th in the world for Engineering & Technology) British academic institution focusing on science, engineering and medicine, complemented by a business school. ... The Royal College of Chemistry (RCC) was a college originally based on Oxford Street in central London, England. ... The Geological Museum (originally The Museum of Practical Geology, started in 1835 and therefore one of the oldest single science museums in the world) transferred from Jermyn Street to Exhibition Road, South Kensington in 1935. ... Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche (1796 - April 13, 1855) was an English geologist. ... Mineralogy is an earth science that involves the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals. ... Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and of materials engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. ... The junction with Old Brompton Road and Pelham Street, outside South Kensington tube station. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Today, the RSM no longer exists as an academic entity. The RSM is both the building in which the departments are housed, and the student body that organises social events, sports teams, clubs and societies for students within those departments.

The building

Royal School of Mines entrance and the Goldsmiths' wing, Prince Consort Road, London.

Designed by Sir Aston Webb, the RSM building was erected between 1909 and 1913 specifically to house the Royal School of Mines, which was previously resident in the Huxley Building on Exhibition Road, now the Henry Cole wing of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The RSM was the last of many buildings that Webb designed for the Albertopolis area (including the Cromwell Road frontage of the V&A) and, some would argue, his least resolved. Constructed in Portland stone, the entrance is formed by a three storey, semicircular niche, flanked by large memorials to Alfred Beit and Julius Wernher (P.R. Montford, 1916-1920). The western wing of the building is named for Webb, while the eastern end is named for the Goldsmiths' Company who helped to finance the building of the RSM. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1629x2209, 318 KB) Summary Author: self Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1629x2209, 318 KB) Summary Author: self Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Sir Aston Webb, portrait by Solomon Joseph Solomon, ca 1906 Sir Aston Webb (May 22, 1849 - August 21, 1930) was an English architect, active in the late 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century. ... Sir Henry Cole (15 July 1808, Bath – 18 April 1882, London) was a civil servant who facilitated many innovations in commerce and education in 19th century Britain. ... The Victoria and Albert Museum viewed from Thurloe Square. ... Albertopolis is a nickname for the area in South Kensington, London, between Cromwell Road and Kensington Gore, which contains several educational and cultural sites, including Imperial College Natural History Museum Royal Albert Hall Royal College of Art Royal College of Music Royal College of Organists Royal Geographical Society Science Museum... The Victoria and Albert Museum viewed from Thurloe Square. ... The Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London, England, is made from Portland stone Portland stone is limestone from the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. ... Alfred Beit (1853-16 July 1906) was a South African diamond magnate. ... Sir Julius Charles Wernher, 1st Baronet (9 April 1850–21 May 1912) was a German businessman and art collector who became part of the English establishment. ... The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. ...

The building in film

The distinctively Edwardian and academic styling cues used in the building's architecture have led to the RSM appearing in a number of film and television productions: The Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period 1901 to 1910, the reign of King Edward VII. It is sometimes extended to include the period to the start of World War I in 1914 or even the end of the war in 1918. ...

• 1965: The Ipcress File Directed by Sydney J Furie and starring Michael Caine. The protagonist walks into the RSM and is magically transported to the old Science Museum Library.
• 1993: Agatha Christie's Poirot (ITV television). Appeared as the frontage and main entrance of "Imperial College" on "Exhibition Road" (although the RSM is on Prince Consort Road, off Exhibition Road) in the episode "The Underdog".
• 2004: Hustle (BBC television). Generic university frontage, briefly seen as an architecture student exits and is then approached by the the main characters.

Panther edition front cover The Ipcress File was the first spy novel by Len Deighton, published in 1962. ... Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth in Batman Begins Sir Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, CBE (born 14 March 1933), known professionally as Sir Michael Caine, is a double Oscar-winning English film actor. ... Agatha Christies Poirot (U.S. title Poirot) is a popular British television series starring David Suchet as Agatha Christies detective character Hercule Poirot. ... ITV (Independent Television) is the name popularly given to the original network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. In England, Wales and southern Scotland, the network has been rebranded to ITV1 by ITV plc, the owners of... Imperial College London is a prestigious (ranked 4th in the world for Engineering & Technology) British academic institution focusing on science, engineering and medicine, complemented by a business school. ... The main entrance of the Science Museum on Exhibition Road. ... The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding is a book written by Agatha Christie and published near the christmas of 1960. ... Hustle is a British television comedy-drama series made by Kudos Film & Television originally airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of £4 billion. ...

RSM Student's Union

The RSM students union, or "RSM C&SC" as it is now known, has a constitution written in very formal terms that states the RSM exists for: Image File history File links Rsm. ...

• The furthering of the interests of the members and the status of the RSM;
• The promotion of sport within the RSM;
• The promotion of interest in all aspects of geology and materials science;
• The promotion of social intercourse among its members.

These are achieved through sports teams, societies and events which span the academic year from October to July. The highlight of the sporting and social calendar is the annual Bottle Match against Camborne School of Mines, the second oldest varsity match in the world^{[citation needed]}. The Bottle Match is a varsity match played between the Royal School of Mines (RSM), Imperial College London and Camborne School of Mines (CSM), Exeter University. ... The Camborne School of Mines commonly abbreviated to CSM, is a specialist department of the University of Exeter. ... A varsity match refers to a sporting fixture between two university rivals. ...

Notable past students and professors

• Thomas Henry Huxley, leading 19th Century geologist and natural philosopher, 'Darwin's Bulldog'
• Henry De la Beche, founder of the British Geological Survey
• William Thomas Blanford, geologist, zoologist and naturalist. Geological Society Wollaston Medallist and President (1888)
• Henry Francis Blanford, meteorologist and palaeontologist. Founding head of the India Meteorological Department
• C.V. Boys, experimental physicist
• George Mercer Dawson (RSM 1869-1873), Director of the Geological Survey of Canada 1895-1901
• Robert Etheridge, Junior, Anglo-Australian palaeontologist
• Julius Vogel, Prime Minister of New Zealand
• Nick Dommett, Professor of Globalisation, Kings College London
• Professor William Gowland, the Father of Japanese Archaeology

Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley F.R.S. (May 4, 1825 – June 29, 1895) was a British biologist, known as Darwins Bulldog for his defence of Charles Darwins theory of evolution. ... Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche (1796 - April 13, 1855) was an English geologist. ... The British Geological Survey is a publicly-funded body which aims to advance geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. ... William Thomas Blanford (October 7, 1832 - June 23, 1905) was an English geologist and naturalist. ... The Geological Society of London is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of investigating the mineral structure of the Earth. It is the oldest geological society in the world. ... The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. ... Henry Francis Blanford (1834-1893) was a meteorologist and paleontologist who worked in India. ... IMD logo The India Meteorological Department is a government of India organisation that is responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasts, detecting earthquakes etc. ... Sir Charles Vernon Boys, FRS (15 March 1855 - 30 March 1944) was a British physicist, known for his careful and innovative experimental work. ... (Courtesy of the National Archives of Canada PA-26889) George Mercer Dawson (August 1, 1849 – March 2, 1901) was a Canadian scientist and surveyor. ... The Geological Survey of Canada or GSC is part of the Earth Sciences Sector of Natural Resources Canada. ... Robert Etheridge (23 May 1847–January 4, 1920) was a British-Australian palaeontologist who made important contributions to the Australian Museum. ... Sir Julius Vogel Sir Julius Vogel KCMG (February 24, 1835 - March 12, 1899) was New Zealands only practicing Jewish prime minister. ... Professor William Gowland was a mining engineer most famous for his archaeological work at Stonehenge. ...

Reputation

The Royal School of Mines has a high reputation in Geology, Geophysics, Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Materials Science, Petroleum Science and Engineering. Through societies such as the RSM Association and the Chaps Club, the RSM maintains a strong alumni network in the global mining community.

External links

• RSM Online (rsmonline.co.uk)
• RSM Association Online (rsmaonline.org.uk)
• Department of Earth Science
• Department of Materials