The History of The Christmas Lectures

The first CHRISTMAS LECTURE was delivered in December 1825 by the Royal Institution’s Professor of Mechanics, John Millington. Two years later Michael Faraday gave his first of nineteen series of lectures, culminating with his 1860/61 series ‘The Chemical History of a Candle’ which produced perhaps the most popular science book ever published. As the Royal Institution’s flagship lecture series it was an obvious candidate for broadcasting by the BBC’s fledging television service in 1936. In the post-1945 period several lectures were televised, but it was not until the 1966/7 series that they started being broadcast annually. These two talks, illustrated by clips, experiments and perhaps the odd explosion, will consider the development, content and impact of these lectures.