Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London. Imperial grew out of Prince Albert's vision for a cultural centre in South Kensington, including the Royal Albert Hall, Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum, and Royal Colleges.In 1907, Imperial College was established by Royal charter, unifying the Royal College of Science, Royal School of Mines, and City and Guilds of London Institute. In 1988, the Imperial College School of Medicine was formed by merging with St Mary's Hospital Medical School. In 2004, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Imperial College Business School.

The college focuses exclusively on science, technology, medicine, and business. The main campus is located in South Kensington, and there is an innovation campus in White City. Facilities also include a research field station at Silwood Park and teaching hospitals throughout London. The college was a member of the University of London from 1908, becoming independent on its centenary. Imperial has an international community, with more than 59% of students from outside the UK, and 140 countries represented on campus.

Student, staff, and researcher affiliations include 14 Nobel laureates, 3 Fields Medallists, 2 Breakthrough Prize winners, 1 Turing Award winner, 74 Fellows of the Royal Society, 87 Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and 85 Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences.