Editing Jeremy Bentham (section)

=== University College London ===
[[File:Four founders of UCL.JPG|thumb|right|upright|[[Henry Tonks]]' imaginary scene of Bentham approving the building plans of London University]]
Bentham is widely associated with the foundation in 1826 of London University (the institution that, in 1836, became [[University College London]]), though he was 78 years old when the university opened and played only an indirect role in its establishment. His direct involvement was limited to his buying a single £100 share in the new university, making him just one of over a thousand shareholders.{{sfn|Harte|1998|pp= 5–8}}

Bentham and his ideas can nonetheless be seen as having inspired several of the actual founders of the university. He strongly believed that education should be more widely available, particularly to those who were not wealthy or who did not belong to the established church; in Bentham's time, membership of the [[Church of England]] and the capacity to bear considerable expenses were required of students entering the Universities of [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]]. As the University of London was the first in England to admit all, regardless of [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]], creed or political belief, it was largely consistent with Bentham's vision. There is some evidence that, from the sidelines, he played a "more than passive part" in the planning discussions for the new institution, although it is also apparent that "his interest was greater than his influence".{{sfn|Harte|1998|pp= 5–8}} He failed in his efforts to see his disciple [[John Bowring]] appointed professor of English or History, but he did oversee the appointment of another pupil, [[John Austin (legal philosophy)|John Austin]], as the first professor of [[Jurisprudence]] in 1829.

The more direct associations between Bentham and UCL—the college's custody of his Auto-icon (see above) and of the majority of his surviving papers—postdate his death by some years: the papers were donated in 1849, and the Auto-icon in 1850. A large painting by [[Henry Tonks]] hanging in UCL's [[John Flaxman|Flaxman Gallery]] depicts Bentham approving the plans of the new university, but it was executed in 1922 and the scene is entirely imaginary. Since 1959 (when the Bentham Committee was first established), UCL has hosted the Bentham Project, which is progressively publishing a [[The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham|definitive edition of Bentham's writings]].

UCL now endeavours to acknowledge Bentham's influence on its foundation, while avoiding any suggestion of direct involvement, by describing him as its "spiritual founder".<ref name="UCL Academic Figures" />