In 1887, following the report of the Royal Commission on Technical Education, Anderson’s College merged with four other educational institutions in Glasgow (Allan Glen’s Institution, the Young Chair of Technical Chemistry, Atkinson’s Institution and the College of Science and Arts, itself originally formed as the result of a breakaway of the mechanics’ class from Anderson’s Institution) to become the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College or ‘The Tech’ as it was affectionately known. The College initially occupied the existing buildings of its constituent institutions.

Although the new institution had lost its founder’s name, it still remained true to John Anderson’s vision of ‘a place of useful learning’. It offered a wide range of day and evening courses to support the needs of industry in the West of Scotland. Students studied for certificates and diplomas in all branches of engineering (civil, mechanical, naval, electrical, chemical, metallurgy and mining), together with chemistry, natural philosophy, mathematics, pharmacy, agriculture, architecture, art and design and music. The Associateship of the College, which was introduced in 1889, was a highly respected, degree equivalent qualification.

The calendar was an annual publication listing the College staff and regulations and giving details of all the classes on offer.

Archives reference: OE 10/1/1 Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College calendars

Strathclyde has a proud and long-established LGBT+ community, including staff, students and alumni who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, or intersex. To date, however, very little research has been conducted into this aspect of the University’s history. In August 2023, Alex Kabaj, Graduate Intern at the University’s Equality and Diversity Office, began a project to look through primary sources held in our Archives and gather evidence to fill this significant gap in Strathclyde’s institutional story.

One of the most useful sources for Alex’s project is the Strathclyde Telegraph student newspaper, produced by the Students' Association from 1960 to the present. This offers a wealth of information about the academic, political and social activities of students, including the establishment of a Gay Society (Gaysoc) at Strathclyde in 1971 and the launch of the Strathclyde University Gay Rights Campaign in 1975. Alex is currently searching through all our back copies of the Telegraph, which is a fascinating, but time-consuming task. So, last month, we organised a crowdsourcing event for our Library colleagues to come and lend him a helping hand.  

After an introductory presentation in which Alex spoke about his project and highlighted his initial findings, staff participated in a supervised research session in the Archives and Special Collections reading room. Getting ‘hands on’ with our collections, they searched through original copies of the Strathclyde Telegraph from 1983 and 1984 and noted down any references found to LGBT+ issues, which Alex could then follow up.

The crowdsourcing session was very successful, with the participants collectively working through 16 issues of the newspaper and saving Alex approximately 16 hours’ research time. Staff who signed up for the session also enjoyed the opportunity to directly support Alex’s research: as one commented, ‘it was great to feel of use to such an important project.’ We plan to arrange more crowdsourcing sessions over the summer, and to highlight further findings from Alex’s project towards the end of this year. In the meantime, if you’d like to know more about Alex’s research, please contact him at alex.kabaj@strath.ac.uk.  

Archive reference: OJD/1 Strathclyde Telegraph

George Forbes (1849-1936) was a gifted electrical engineer, inventor and astronomer. In 1872, he was appointed to the Chair of Natural Philosophy at Anderson’s University, where he lectured on the advantages of electricity as a means of traction and collaborated with James Young – the future ‘father of the oil industry’ – on research into the velocity of light. In 1874, Forbes headed a British expedition to Hawaii to observe the transit of Venus. The contacts he forged on his return trip home, which took him across Peking, St Petersburg, the Gobi Desert and Siberia, enabled him to become the sole British war correspondent with the Russian army in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. This earned Forbes the honour of the Russian order of St George.

After leaving the University in 1880, Forbes relocated to London where he established himself as a key figure in the field of electrical power engineering. Amongst other achievements, he became the Manager of the British Electric Light Company, which manufactured arc lamps and carbon filaments; was engaged to report on the best means of powering the City and South London Railway (Forbes recommended electricity), and acted as consultant on various hydroelectric schemes at home and abroad, notably at Niagara Falls.

In the early twentieth century, Forbes switched his attention to the development of military equipment, particularly rangefinders. He invented an infantry rangefinder that was used in the Boer War, and worked with the Admiralty from 1903-1906, developing a gunsight that was still in use at the beginning of the Second World War. Forbes also revived both his passion for astronomy and his links to Glasgow, delivering the David Elder lectures on astronomy at the Royal Technical College, the successor body to Anderson’s University, between 1906 and 1930. The University of Strathclyde maintains its link with Forbes through Forbes Hall, a student hall of residence named after him in 1987.  

Archive reference: OP 4/67/26 Portrait photograph of George Forbes, c.1880