Birkbeck, George : (1776-1841), English physician who pioneered schools for workmen. In 1823, he helped found the London Mechanic’s Institution of which he was president until his death. In 1907 the institution was renamed Birkbeck College.
... not despair. It should be remembered that a similar difficulty was experienced in England in connection with the Workmen's Institutes which sprang up all over the country in response to Dr George Birkbeck's suggestions. The object was to provide the mechanic with lectures on his own trade; but the attempt at first largely failed from the incapacity of the working man to learn anything from the lectures ...
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