Gresham College 47 



times. On the other hand, it is well to dispose at once of 

 the erroneous impression that the British Universities were 

 bodies which confined themselves to the academic discussion 

 of abstruse subjects unrelated to the ordinary interests of the 

 community. The Universities trained the medical men. 

 who kept the flag of science flying in the eighteenth century, 

 and the study of astronomy was pursued in great part for 

 the sake of its value in finding the position of ships at sea, 

 and in the measurement of time. The problems dealt with 

 by mathematicians were, at first, generally suggested by 

 practical requirements, and only gradually became detached 

 from them. In fact, science began to be taught as a means 

 towards a practical end. 



If Gresham College had developed as it ought to have 

 done into a University of London, it might have affected 

 the higher education of England at a critical time in a 

 manner which it is difficult now to estimate. Its founder, 

 Sir Thomas Gresham, had studied at Cambridge, and was 

 a man of exceptional abilities. He was admitted to the 

 Mercers' Company at the age of twenty-four, and soon 

 afterwards went to the Netherlands, where his father, a 

 leading London merchant, had business interests. By his 

 management of affairs in Amsterdam he helped King 

 Edward VI. over his private financial difficulties, and 

 received valuable grants of land as a reward. Under Queen 

 Elizabeth he continued to act as financial agent of the 

 Crown, and was knighted previous to his departure on a 

 mission to the Count of Parma. Having realized the utility 

 of the " Bourse " of Amsterdam during his residence in 

 Holland, he offered to build at his own expense what after- 

 wards became the Royal Exchange in London, if a suitable 

 plot of land were placed at his disposal. This was done, 

 and, in the upper part of the building erected, shops were 

 established, the rental for which was handed over to 

 Gresham. He then conceived the idea of converting his 

 own mansion in Bishopsgate into a seat of learning, and 

 endowing it with the revenues arising from the Royal 

 Exchange. Some correspondence about this scheme took 

 place in 1575, and after his death in 1579 it was found that 

 subject to the life interest of his wife he had provided 



