[20][21] London University was founded, with the backing of Utilitarians, Jews and Nonconformists, as a secular institution, intended to educate "the youth of our middling rich people between the ages of 15 or 16 and 20 or later"[22] giving its nickname, "the godless college in Gower Street".

[23] The need for such an institution was a result of the religious and social nature of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, which then educated solely the sons of wealthy Anglicans.

[24] The secular nature of London University gained disapproval, indeed, "the storms of opposition which raged around it threatened to crush every spark of vital energy which remained".

[25] The creation of King's College as a rival institution represented a Tory response to reassert the educational values of the established order.

[26] More widely, King's was one of the first of a series of institutions which came about in the early nineteenth century as a result of the Industrial Revolution and great social changes in England following the Napoleonic Wars.

In a letter to Wellington, he accused the Duke to have in mind "insidious designs for the infringement of our liberty and the introduction of Popery into every department of the State".

[30] The letter provoked a furious exchange of correspondence and Wellington accused Winchilsea of imputing him with "disgraceful and criminal motives" in setting up King's College London.

[20] The Archbishop of Canterbury presided over the opening ceremony, in which a sermon was given in the chapel by Charles James Blomfield, the Bishop of London, on the subject of combining religious instruction with intellectual culture.

[35] William Howley: the governors and the professors, except the linguists, had to be members of the Church of England but the students did not,[36] though attendance at chapel was compulsory.

[20] The Junior department started with 85 pupils and only three teachers, but quickly grew to 500 by 1841, outgrowing its facilities and leading it to relocate to Wimbledon in 1897 where it remains today, though it is no longer associated with King's College London.

[40] In 1840, King's opened its own hospital on Portugal Street near Lincoln's Inn Fields, an area composed of overcrowded rookeries characterised by poverty and disease.

Parts of the Strand building, the quadrangle, and the roof of apse and stained glass windows of the chapel suffered bomb damage in the Blitz.

[45][46] During the post-war reconstruction, the vaults beneath the quadrangle were replaced by a two-storey laboratory, which opened in 1952, for the departments of Physics and Civil and Electrical Engineering.

The same year King's acquired the former Public Record Office building on Chancery Lane and converted it at a cost of £35 million into the Maughan Library, which opened in 2002.

[56] In April 2011, King's became a founding partner in the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, subsequently renamed the Francis Crick Institute, committing £40 million to the project.

[87] Whilst not a formal campus, King's retains an academic presence and estate at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire.

There are also five vice presidents covering the areas of: finance (also the college's chief financial officer); education and student success; international, engagement and service; research and innovation; and people and talent.

The shield depicts the royal coat of arms together with an inescutcheon of the House of Hanover, while the supporters embody King's motto of sancte et sapienter.

[8] The official coat of arms, in heraldic terminology, is:[136] Arms: Or on a Pale Azure between two Lions rampant respectant Gules an Anchor Gold ensigned by a Royal Crown proper on a Chief Argent an Ancient Lamp proper inflamed Gold between two Blazing Hearths also proper.The crest and supporters: On a Helm with a Wreath Or and Azure Upon a Book proper rising from a Coronet Or the rim set with jewels two Azure (one manifest) four Vert (two manifest) and two Gules a demi Lion Gules holding a Rod of Dexter a female figure habited Azure the cloak lined coif and sleeves Argent holding in the exterior hand a Lond Cross botony Gold and sinister a male figure the Long Coat Azure trimmed with Sable proper shirt Argent holding in the interior hand a Book proper.Although the St Thomas's Hospital Medical School and Guy's Medical School became legal bodies separate from St Thomas' Hospital and Guy's Hospital in 1948, the tradition of using the hospitals' shields and coat of arms continues today.

[241] The Guardian University Guide 2021 ranks King's in the top ten in 6 subjects, including Psychology (2nd), Politics (5th), Law (6th), Anatomy & physiology (8th), Media & film studies (9th), and Philosophy (9th).

It was designed to reflect the twin objectives of King's College's 1829 royal charter to maintain the connection between "sound religion and useful learning" and to teach the "doctrines and duties of Christianity".

[251] Today, the AKC is a modern tradition that offers an inclusive, research-led programme of lectures that gives students the opportunities to engage with religious, philosophical and ethical issues alongside their main degree course.

[260] A small sterling silver incarnation is displayed during graduation ceremonies, which was presented to King's by former Halliburton Professor of Physiology, Robert John Stewart McDowall, in 1959.

[273][274] In addition to sporting clubs, King's College London Students' Union also has around 300 other societies and groups in a wide variety of activities.

[283][284][better source needed] American rock band Foo Fighters played their first UK gig at King's College London Students Union in 1995.

[288] University College's was Phineas Maclino, a wooden tobacconist's sign of a kilted Jacobite Highlander purloined from outside a shop in Tottenham Court Road during the celebrations of the relief of Ladysmith in 1900.

In 1923 it was replaced by a new mascot to rival Phineas – Reggie the Lion, who made his debut at a King's–UCL sporting rag in December 1923, protected by a lifeguard of engineering students armed with T-squares.

[296][297] The LSE Students' Union later on 6 December issued a formal apology, condemned the actions, as well as promising to foot the bill for the damage repair.

[306] Alumni in performing arts include impressionist Rory Bremner;[307] Queen bassist John Deacon;[307] and Oscar winners Greer Garson,[308] Edmund Gwenn[309] and Anne Dudley.

[337] The Maughan Library has also been the location of some film shoots of popular movies and TV series, most notably Johnny English, The Imitation Game and V for Vendetta.