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The London School of Economics and Political Science

LSE was the brain child of Sidney Webb (1859-1947) supported by his wife, the social investigator Beatrice Webb (1858-1943), the political scientist Graham Wallas (1858-1932) and the writer G Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). All four were members of the Fabian Society. An economic historian, William Hewins (1865-1931) was appointed the first Director. The first prospectus lists eleven lecturers.

“The special aim of the School will be, from the first, the study and investigation of the concrete facts of industrial life and the actual working of economic and political relations as they exist or have existed, in the United Kingdom and in foreign countries.”  LSE Prospectus, 1895

From the start, the School was open to women and men and welcomed students from overseas. The School was committed to providing its students with “scientific training in methods of investigation and research” and resources for research, and in 1896 it founded the Library, known from 1928 as the British Library of Political and Economic Science.

As the School reaches its 125th birthday in 2020-2021 it continues to develop and change with new departments and research centres. These include the Centre for Economic Performance (1990), Gender Institute (1993), the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (2008) and LSE African Initiative (2009) and the South Asia Centre and Women Peace and Security established in 2015.

 

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