The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree-awarding examination board for students holding certificates from University College London, King's College London and "other such institutions, corporate or unincorporated, as shall be established for the purpose of Education, whether within the Metropolis or elsewhere within our United Kingdom".

For most practical purposes, ranging from admissions to funding, the member institutions operate on an independent basis, with many awarding their own degrees whilst remaining in the federal university.

The university established by the charters of 1836 and 1837 was essentially an examining board with the right to award degrees in arts, laws and medicine.

In that year, a new charter opened up the examinations to everyone, effectively abolishing the weak link between the university and the colleges.

c. 62) was passed, reforming the university and giving it a federal structure with responsibility for monitoring course content and academic standards within its institutions.

[43] The London University should stand to the British empire as the great technological institution in Berlin, the Charlottenburg, stood to the German empire.The reforms initiated by the 1898 act came into force with the approval of the new federal statutes in 1900.

The expansion of the university's role meant that the Burlington Garden premises were insufficient, and in March 1900 it moved to the Imperial Institute in South Kensington.

[57] However, the post-WWII period was mostly characterised by expansion and consolidation within the university, such as the acquisition as a constituent body of the Jesuit theological institution Heythrop College on its move from Oxfordshire in 1969.

[61] However, the university continued to grow even as it moved to a looser federation, and, in 2005, admitted the Central School of Speech and Drama.

However, documents leaked in 2014 revealed that UNISON representatives tried to counter the 3Cosas campaign in meetings with university management.

In 2016 reforms were proposed that would see the colleges become member institutions and be allowed to legally become universities in their own right.

Twelve of the colleges, including UCL and King's, said that they would seek university status once the bill was passed.

[72] It received royal assent on 20 December 2018, becoming the University of London Act 2018 (c. iii)[73] The twelve colleges (namely, all except The Courtauld, ICR, LBS, RAM and RCSSD) subsequently applied for university status, although stating they did not intend to change their names, with notice being given in the London Gazette on 4 February 2019.

[74] In 2018, Heythrop College became the first major British higher education institution to close since the medieval University of Northampton in 1265.

Legally speaking they are known as Recognised Bodies, with the authority to examine students and award them degrees of the university.

[12] The arms depict a cross of St George upon which there is a Tudor rose surrounded by detailing and surmounted by a crown.

The arms are described in the grant as: The University of London had established a rudimentary code for academic dress by 1844.

The union previously owned London Student, the largest student newspaper in Europe, which now runs as a digital news organisation[91][92] Though most sports teams are organised at the college level, ULU ran several sports clubs of its own, some of which (for example the rowing team) compete in BUCS leagues.

In addition to these, ULU catered for sports not covered by the individual colleges through clubs such as the University of London Union Lifesaving Club, which helps students gain awards and learn new skills in lifesaving as well as sending teams to compete throughout the country in the BULSCA league.

Notable political figures who have passed through the university include Billy Strachan, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal, Romano Prodi, Junichiro Koizumi, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ramsay MacDonald, Desmond Tutu, Basdeo Panday, Taro Aso, Walter Rodney, Nelson Mandela, B. R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi.

[104] 35th President of the United States John F. Kennedy filed an application and paid fees[105] for a year's study at the LSE, but later fell ill and left the university without taking a single class.

Writers include novelists Malcolm Bradbury, G. K. Chesterton, H. G. Wells, Thomas Hardy, Arthur C. Clarke and J. G. Ballard.

Outstanding musicians across a wide range include the conductor Sir Simon Rattle, the soprano Felicity Lott and both members of Gilbert and Sullivan, to Mick Jagger, Elton John, Dido, Pakistani singer Nazia Hassan (known in South Asia as the "Queen of Pop"), and Hong Kong singer Karen Mok, composer Florence Margaret Spencer Palmer, and members of the bands Coldplay, Keane, Suede, the Velvet Underground, Blur, Iron Maiden, Placebo, the Libertines, and Queen.

The university has also played host to film directors (Christopher Nolan, Derek Jarman), philosophers (Karl Popper, Roger Scruton), explorers (David Livingstone), international academics (Sam Karunaratne), Riccarton High School Head of Commerce, Tom Neumann and leading businessmen (Michael Cowpland, George Soros).

[107] Honorary degrees are approved by the Collegiate Council, part of the university's governance structure.

In 2012, outsourced cleaning staff ran the "3 Cosas" campaign, fighting for improvements in three areas – sick pay, holiday and pensions.

[114] After these events, a high-profile "Cops Off Campus" demonstration was held against the university's security policies, with thousands in attendance.

[120] Dion Georgiou, an academic supporting the boycott and a member of UCU, wrote a comment piece for The Guardian shortly before the vote, urging the congress to approve the motion and claiming that "[outsourced workers] face an intransigent university management, whose response has frequently blended short-termism with heavy-handedness".

[123][124] The University of Wales was established in 1893 on a federal model incorporating (originally) colleges in Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff.

[126] Dr. Watson, a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, received his medical degree[127][128][129] from Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry (now part of QMUL) and met Sherlock Holmes in the chemical laboratory there.