History of University College London tribute. Bentham's body is on public display at UCL in a wooden cabinet, at the end of the South Cloisters of the UCL Main Building; he had directed in his will that he wanted his body to be preserved as a lasting memorial to the university. This 'Auto-Icon' has become famous. Unfortunately, when it came to his head, the preservation process went disastrously wrong and left it badly disfigured. A wax head was made to replace it; the actual head is now kept in the college vaults. In 1827, a year after the founding of UCL, construction of the Main
History of University College London London, to be called the Albert University. The Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Surgeons, meanwhile, petitioned that they be granted degree awarding powers in Medicine and Surgery. Faced with these various options, a Royal commission was established in 1888 to look into the matter. The commission reported in 1889, rejecting the petition of the Royal Colleges and recommending reform of the University of London, with a minority report favouring the granting of the charter to the Albert University. It was agreed that if reform of the existing University failed, the new University should be established. A