Since its foundation in 1799, the Royal Institution of Great Britain has attracted talent and witnessed memorable events in science. The records of many of these events, as well as of the day to day institutional happenings have been preserved. The archives, manuscripts comprising note books, papers and correspondence, as well as the pictorial records, the scientific apparatus and the personal relics of the people who have worked and lived here together with an extensive library all provide a valuable resource (...) for the historian of science. (shrink)