during a scene of Charles Dickens's novella The Haunted Man (1848) at the Regent Street theatre to great success. However, Pepper's implementation of the effect tied his name to it permanently. Though he tried many times to give credit to Dircks, the title "Pepper's ghost" has endured.
Under the chairmanship of Joseph Butterworth Owen, the Royal Polytechnic Institution increased its presence in formal classes for young men traditionally denied the opportunity of higher education in the United Kingdom during the nineteenth century. Expansion gradually gave way to financial difficulty, reflecting a long-standing tension between education and the need to run a successful business. A fatal accident on the premises in 1859 caused the first institution to be wound up and a new one formed. Various regeneration schemes were considered, but in 1879 a fire damaged the roof, precipitating the final crisis.
=== 1881–1970: Polytechnic Regent Street ===
In September 1881, the Royal Polytechnic Institution closed, marking …
