Coat of arms of Imperial College London

The coat of arms of Imperial College London is an heraldic emblem used by Imperial College London. Edward VII granted the college the arms on the 6 June 1908 by royal warrant.[1][2][3] It is blazoned:

Per fesse in chief the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in base or, an open book proper inscribed with the word "Scientia"

— Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, The Book of Public Arms[1]

Coat of arms of Imperial College London
Armiger	Imperial College London
Adopted	1908
Blazon	Per fesse in chief the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in base or, an open book proper inscribed with the word "Scientia"
Motto	Scientia imperii decus et tutamen[1] (no longer depicted[2])
Use	Formal or ceremonial contexts, degrees and official documents, competitions[3]

The open book with Scientia inscribed was later adopted by the then-new New South Wales University of Technology in 1952.[4] The historic constituent colleges, and their surviving constituent unions use their own emblems, with only the City and Guilds's emblem being a coat of arms.[5] Many of the historic medical schools which merged to form Imperial College School of Medicine also had their own coat of arms, although these are no longer used.[6][7] On 5 June 2020, the college decided to remove the motto from the official rendition of the coat of arms, to address issues of colonialism. This was part of a wider effort to address racial inequality in college provisions following the killing of George Floyd and the ensuing focus on the Black Lives Matter movement.[2][8] The motto, "Scientia imperii decus et tutamen", which is translated as "Scientific knowledge, the crowning glory and the safeguard of the empire", had always traditionally been shown with the crest, being depicted as such by Fox-Davies as early as 1915.[1][9] Unusually for an English university motto, it was granted with the coat of arms, which prevented it being updated instead of simply not shown.[3]

Gallery

• 
  As depicted in The Book of Public Arms
• 
  On a plaque to Alfred Beit under Beit Arch
• 
  Wooden rendition in the Huxley Building
• 
  Visible on the façade of Beit Hall
• 
  Royal warrant for the Regius Professor of Engineering
• 
  Traditional rendition with the college motto

See also

• History of Imperial College London
• English Heraldry § Educational Institutions
• Coat of arms of the United Kingdom

References

1. Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (1915). The Book of Public Arms. T. C. & E. C. Jack. pp. 380-381. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
2. "Imperial College London ditches Latin motto from logo over British Empire links". Evening Standard. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
3. "The College crest". imperial.ac.uk. Imperial College London. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
4. "UNSW Symbol Guidelines". University of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012.
5. "Imperial College 1920 - 1929". imperial.ac.uk. Imperial College London. 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
6. "Charing Cross Hospital Medical School". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
7. "Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
8. "New measures to tackle racial inequality, as Imperial pledges to 'do better'". imperial.ac.uk. Imperial College London. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
9. "Rhodes must stay". Felix. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2020.