Science Museums

The Oxford Companion to British History Date: 2002
Science Museums (Kensington). The museums are the fruit of the Great Exhibition of 1851. It made a profit, and land was bought in Kensington Gore; Prince Albert hoped to establish there a great cultural centre, but to many people it seemed remote from central London. In 1862 the next exhibition was staged there; in 1864 the underground railway station was authorized; and the Department of Science and Arts ran what grew into the Science Museum. Richard Owen, superintendent of natural history at the British Museum, campaigned from 1861 to have ‘his’ exhibits moved to a new building, and in 1881 the Natural History Museum opened its doors.
by : David Knight
© The Oxford Companion to British History 2002, originally published by Oxford University Press 2002.