The foundation of UMIST can be traced to 1824 during the Industrial Revolution when a group of Manchester businessmen and industrialists met in a public house, the Bridgewater Arms, to establish the Mechanics' Institute in Manchester, where artisans could learn basic science, particularly mechanics and chemistry.

[3] The meeting, convened by George William Wood on 7 April 1824,[2][3][4] was attended by prominent members of the science and engineering community, including: A committee was elected to realise the planned institution, including Wood, Fairbairn, Heywood, Roberts and John Davies and the institute opened in 1825 with Heywood as chairman.

Subscriptions and memberships in 1830 and 1831 were an all-time low and only the gradual opening of the board up to election by the members rectified the situation.

However, the increased popularity had been somewhat at the cost of science education as more and more lectures on non-scientific subjects were occupying its programmes.

Similarly in the 1920s it pioneered academic training in management, with the formation of a Department of Industrial Administration funded by an endowment from asbestos magnate Sir Samuel Turner.

[10] In 1905, the Tech become the Faculty of Technology of the Victoria University of Manchester, allowing the award of BSc and MSc degrees.

In fact, first year UMIST undergraduates were often placed into Manchester University halls of residence and vice versa.

[15] During the last quarter of the 20th century UMIST established a reputation as a major research-based university, performing well in the government's Research Assessment Exercise in 2001, and was well placed in various league tables.

Famous alumni include Nobel Laureate in nuclear physics Sir John Cockcroft, aeroplane pioneer Sir Arthur Whitten Brown, and designer of the Lancaster bomber Roy Chadwick, while famous academics include mathematicians Louis Joel Mordell, Hanna Neumann, Lewis Fry Richardson and Robin Bullough, and the physicist Henry Lipson.

Terry Leahy, CEO of Tesco and alumnus was the last Chancellor of UMIST, and the Vice-Chancellor was a chemical engineer, John Garside.

The merged university undertook a massive expansion and a £350 million capital investment programme in new buildings.

[18] In the estates strategy for 2010–2020 for the University of Manchester[19] it is stated that essentially all of the former UMIST campus, described as the "area north of the Mancunian Way", is to be disposed of.

Only the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, which was built in 2006, is exempted, whilst the fate of the former UMIST Main Building is left vague.

However, the growth of social networking websites has allowed the development of a number of unofficial UMIST alumni groups in cyberspace, particularly on Facebook.

UMIST moved to its present location just south of Manchester city centre at the end of the 19th century.

Starting in 1927, plans were drawn up by the architects Bradshaw Gass & Hope for an extension which would approximately double the size of the original building.

The latter firm were also responsible for internal alterations which enlarged and upgraded the library so that it extended over more floors and some of the academic departments were relocated (1986-1987).

[25] In the 1960s the institution expanded rapidly to the south, growing from a single large building to an entire campus.