550 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



petent and suitable teacher for such an institution presented itself 

 and might have occasioned considerable difficulty, had it not been 

 solved by Mr. Williams offering to undertake the headmastership. 

 It was therefore called the Williams Secular School, and was 

 opened in the Trades' Hall, December 4, 1848. It increased rap- 

 idly, and was soon removed to the larger premises which had 

 been occupied by Dr. R. Knox's anatomical school, where it con- 

 tinued "doing invaluable model work" until Mr. Williams was 

 called, in 1854, to take charge of the Birmingham and Midland 

 Institute. 



This institution was projected by a few leading men in Bir- 

 mingham, and was incorporated by an act of Parliament of July, 

 1854. Mr. Williams was invited by the Council, on the recom- 

 mendation of Mr. Lionel Playfair, now Lord Playfair, to become 

 master of the science classes. He gave an introductory lecture, 

 August 17th, which at once aroused interest, and was commended 

 by the press as the work of " a man of no ordinary ability." In 

 this lecture, Mr. C. J. Woodward says, in his account of the insti- 

 tute, " Mr. Williams pleaded for the application of science to in- 

 dustry, and pointed out the important future to the workman who 

 became a scientific man. The classes first opened at the institute 

 were in physics, chemistry, and physiology ; but the curriculum 

 soon extended, and an important novel feature in popular educa- 

 tion was introduced by Mr. Williams in what were so well known 

 in the town as the ' Institute Penny Lectures.' The first of the 

 series was delivered in the early part of 1856, and attracted large 

 audiences. The first bench was occupied by factory boys im- 

 mediately the doors opened, and, as intended, many who had 

 their interest in science aroused for the first time were led to un- 

 dertake the more serious and systematic courses provided at the 

 institute. The idea of penny lectures led, subsequently, to the 

 establishment of penny classes and penny readings, and did much 

 in the direction of popular education." 



Mr. Williams was an active citizen in Birmingham, and for- 

 ward in every scheme for improvement and enlightenment. He 

 was earnest in promoting the purchase of Asten Hall ; wrote arti- 

 cles in the Journal urging a more liberal policy on the part of the 

 Town Council, especially in measures for the improvement of the 

 public health ; was a leader in discussions concerning education, 

 and advocated the introduction of object lessons and practical 

 illustrations in teaching. He began his career as an author in 

 Birmingham ; contributed frequently to the Birmingham Jour- 

 nal ; published a pamphlet on The Intellectual Destiny of the 

 Workingman, in which he advocated manual occupations ; con- 

 tributed to the Chemical Society a paper describing An Apparatus 

 for Collecting Gases over Water or Mercury ; and, having made 



