Royal Institution Christmas Lectures Royal Institution Christmas Lectures The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825, missing 1939–42 because of the Second World War. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including young people, in an informative and entertaining manner. Michael Faraday initiated the first Christmas Lecture series in 1825. This came at a time when organised education for young people was scarce. Faraday presented a total of nineteen series in all. The Royal Institution's Christmas Lectures were first held in
Edith Humphrey University of Zurich. She joined a growing band of Alfred Werner's students, working in the inadequate cellars known as the "Katakomben" (catacombs). Humphrey was awarded a grant of £60 a year for three years by the Technical Education Board of the London County Council, but studying in Switzerland was expensive, and Humphrey was "hard up". Werner recognised Humphrey's ability and appointed her as his assistant, with a salary. Humphrey worked hard, and her account of the time suggests that she found the social life disappointing. Humphrey was "the first of his students to succeed in preparing Werner's first new series