King George III Museum, University museum at King's College London, England
The King George III Museum was a university museum in King's College London's King's Building, displaying scientific instruments and experimental apparatus from royal collections. The double-height gallery held devices from notable scientists including Charles Wheatstone and Charles Babbage.
Queen Victoria donated King George III's scientific collection to King's College London in 1841, leading to the museum's establishment in 1843 under Prince Albert's direction. Space constraints eventually caused the collections to move to the Science Museum London in 1926.
The museum displayed instruments originally stored at Kew Observatory, reflecting the royal court's scientific interests during the 1700s. Visitors could see how astronomy and experimental work were valued parts of life at that time.
The museum was located within King's College's main campus building and was accessible to visitors. Since the collection transferred to other institutions in 1926, the objects can now be viewed at their current locations.
The collection housed an unfinished prototype of Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 1, one of the earliest examples of mechanical computing machines. This object represented the origins of modern computer technology in the 1800s.
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