ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the changes that play a large role in the birth and in the shaping of the character and development of Victorian Manchester's experiment in higher education. It reviews history of the Owens College and its advantages in Manchester. In 1851, the Owens College was founded, and an entirely new and sophisticated group of scientific practitioners entered upon the scene. The Scientific and Mechanical Society of 1870 was a key group bringing together the academic scientists of Owens and the practical men of affairs of the city discussed. The chapter further discusses Henry Roscoe's attempts to establish a school of chemistry at Owens which would command the attention of the city and of the larger scientific world. The key figure in the progress and development of the Manchester section was Ivan Levinstein who succeeded Roscoe as chairman in 1883. He founded a firm in Manchester in 1864 which was ultimately to rank among Britain's foremost.
