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Colourful illustration of a botanical specimen of Comfrey (Symphytum officinale). This is one of a series of German hand coloured plates from Wagner’s Pharmaceutische-Mediziner Botanik from about 1830, which was used for teaching at Anderson’s University.

The illustrations are all of plants which were of pharmaceutical interest in the early 1800s. It is believed they were used for teaching in the University’s Materia Medica classes in the Faculty of Medicine. A University handbill of 1858 may well be referring to them when it mentions ‘a valuable collection of Plates and Specimens’ in the Materia Medica Museum available for study.

The illustration shown is of symphytum officinale, commonly known as comfrey, which had a wide variety of medicinal uses.

Archives reference: OF 8/1/2 Botanical illustrations from Wager's Pharmaceutische-Mediziner Botanik, c.1830.

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Strathclyde’s first African and Asian Honorary Graduates

Each year, the University of Strathclyde confers a small number of honorary degrees upon exceptional people who have made a tangible difference in the world. To mark Black History Month, our display on Level 3 of the Andersonian Library highlights the first people of Ghanaian, Malaysian, Pakistani and Thai heritage to be awarded an honorary degree from Strathclyde, as well as the University’s first honorary graduate of Scottish-Nigerian heritage. Those featured are:Professor Robert Gardiner (1914-1994), who received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1973. Gardiner was a Ghanaian academic and civil servant who served as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa from 1962-1975. He was also a Visiting Professor of Economics at Strathclyde from 1970-1975.Hamzah Sendut (1927-1996), who received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1976. Sendut was a Malaysian regional planner and academic. He served as a United Nations consultant on urbanisation and urban development and, from 1969, as Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia: the first science and technology university to be established in South-East Asia. Bashir Maan (1926-2019), who received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1999. Maan was a politician and judge. Born in Pakistan, he came to Glasgow in the early 1950s, where he studied at two of Strathclyde’s antecedents, the Royal College of Science and Technology and the Glasgow and West of Scotland College of Commerce. In 1970, he became the first local councillor from an ethnic minority group to be elected in the United Kingdom, winning the Glasgow Kingston seat for the Labour Party. He subsequently became the first member of his community to stand for parliament, to be a Justice of the Peace, and to be Deputy Lieutenant.Professor Krisana Kraisintu (born 1952), who received the honorary degree of Doctor of Science in 2006. Born in Thailand, Kraisintu is a world-renowned pharmacist and a former student of the University of Strathclyde (MSc in Pharmaceutical Analysis, 1978). Her most notable achievement is the development of locally produced, affordable, generic anti-retroviral drugs to treat impoverished HIV sufferers in Asia and Africa.Professor Jackie Kay CBE (born 1961), who received the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in 2013. Born to a Nigerian father and a Scottish mother, Kay was raised in Glasgow by her adoptive parents. An award-winning poet, playwright and novelist, she was the Scots Makar (national poet of Scotland) from 2016-2021. In October 2023, she officially opened a plaza named in her honour at the University of Strathclyde. Honorary graduate Krisana Kraisintu (Doctor of Science honoris causa), pictured outside the Barony Hall, University of Strathclyde, 2006. Archives reference: Accession 1215. The display, featuring photos and documents from the University Archives and Special Collections, will be available to view until the end of October during the Library's opening hours. ...

Strathclyde at 60: On Board with the School of Navigation

In 1910, the Royal Technical College in Glasgow (now the University of Strathclyde) opened its School of Navigation, designed to equip students with the technical skills necessary for careers at sea. The School provided a wide range of training in seamanship, navigation, and nautical astronomy, using innovative tools and models to enhance learning. Among these was a 'land-ship,' a revolving mock navigation bridge on the College’s rooftop, which offered students hands-on experience with compass adjustment. This unique platform, built with a Kelvin compass, was a striking feature that appeared—at first glance—like a ship sailing high above Glasgow’s rooftops, with the dome of the City Chambers visible in the background. A giant telescope, housed in an observatory on the top floor of the College, was also part of the School’s resources, helping students study nautical astronomy.In addition to these advanced models and apparatus, the College sought to incorporate practical training on the water. In 1913, they purchased a steam yacht named Vivid, intending to use it as a training ship for the students. The Vivid was meant to provide students with an opportunity to supplement their theoretical education with real-world experience at sea. Unfortunately, this ambitious plan met a tragic end. In July of that year, less than a day into its maiden voyage as a training vessel, the Vivid struck a rock and was wrecked off the coast of Colonsay. Although no lives were lost, the incident marked the end of the School’s aspirations to own and operate a large training vessel. After the loss of the Vivid, the School limited its maritime fleet to smaller boats—dinghies for teaching rowing and sailing.Responsibility for the provision of nautical education was transferred to Glasgow Education Authority in 1965 and the School of Navigation became the Department of Navigation at Stow College of Engineering. In 1969, the responsibility was transferred to the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies.Image references: OP 4/81/2 School of Navigation students aboard the training ship Vivid, 1913; OP/3/72 Photograph of deviascope on roof of Royal College building, c. 1913Further information:Photographs from the School of Navigation on Flickr.Film of the Land-Ship in operation, c 1942 (Scottish Screen Archive)David Pritchard, ‘The loss of the Vivid. The biography of a shipwreck’, July 2015.Navigation School Committee minutes, 1910-1947 (ref: OE/1/17/1)Royal Technical College calendars, 1910-1940, containing details of Navigation School courses (ref: OE/10/1)Navigation School prospectus, c 1956 (ref: OE/10/3/9)Plans of training ship Vivid, 1912-1913 (ref: OF/33/1)Navigation School course handouts and examination papers, 1958 (ref: OF/33/2)...

Strathclyde at 60: Incorporated Weaving, Dyeing and Printing College of Glasgow

The Glasgow Technical College (Weaving Branch) was founded in 1877. It was located on Well Street in Calton, an area of Glasgow known for weaving since the 18th century. In 1896, the College changed its name to the Incorporated Weaving, Dyeing and Printing College of Glasgow.In 1908, the College was integrated into the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College (a predecessor of Strathclyde University) and formed a new Weaving Department.After this merger, the Weaving Department got new equipment, including 40 power looms and 16 hand looms. The department also had a well-equipped textile testing laboratory and a museum with a large collection of samples of raw materials and finished fabrics. The weaving students were also allowed to “avail themselves of the facilities offered by the other departments of the College, particularly Engineering and Chemistry”. The chemistry facilities included new dyeing, bleaching, and printing laboratories.The weaving course of instruction lasted three years. It included “experimental pattern designing and weaving on hand loom, power loom, and domestic loom; yarn and cloth testing; and power loom tuning”.The new Weaving Department also benefited from a scheme of cooperation with Glasgow School of Art. In 1909, the School of Art held classes specifically for weaving students, including an evening class on textile design, and a daytime class on colour. In return, the Weaving Department taught a course on applying design to textiles for art students.The photograph shows an example of the beautifully woven diploma certificate awarded to students at the Weaving College.Archives reference: OG 25 Diploma certificate awarded to students of the Incorporated Weaving, Dyeing and Printing College of Glasgow...

The Kirkwood papers: 50 Years of Community Activism and Adult Education

We are delighted to announce the publication online of a full item-level catalogue of a small but important collection - the papers of Colin Kirkwood, writer, academic and psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and Gerri (Geraldine) Kirkwood, adult and community educator, community activist and English teacher. The papers document the work and thinking of this passionate and engaging couple, and some of their collaborators and friends, over 50 odd years from the mid 1960s to 2020, in the fields of community activism, writers' workshops and adult educational work in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the North Midlands in England. One highlight of their work was the successful establishment of the community newspapers ‘Staveley Now’ and ‘Castlemilk Today’, in which they encouraged ordinary people to speak out directly in their own voices. Another was the establishment of the long-running Adult Learning Project in the working-class Gorgie Dalry area of Edinburgh, where they implemented the ideas of the Brazilian adult educator, Paulo Freire. It is no exaggeration to say that Colin and Gerri were hugely influential. Their work changed the shape of adult education in Britain.The collection includes the couple’s working papers, copies of many of their published articles and books, complete sets of the community newspapers ‘Staveley Now’ and ‘Castlemilk Today’, many Writers' Workshop booklets, as well as several letters and poems from friends, amongst whom were the Scottish writers and poets Tom Leonard, Bob Tait, Edwin Morgan and Ian Hamilton Finlay.Colin himself has written a fascinating account of the couple’s lives and work, which is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the full background to this collection (archives reference: KIR/7/16 ‘The Kirkwood Papers’ by Colin Kirkwood). Explore the full catalogue of the Kirkwood papers on the online archive catalogue....

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Strathclyde at 60: Teaching with botanical illustrations at Anderson's University

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