their institute. In more recent publications, the claim was instead made that UCL was "the first university to be founded in London", avoiding explicit conflict with Durham's claim although maintaining the argument with KCL and the University of London. This claim still implied that UCL should be considered a university from 1826, and thus could be considered an implicit claim to be the third oldest university in England. It has, however, been dropped from the prospectus for 2019 entry although it appears on the UCL website. The situation is further confounded by the fact that (unlike London and Durham) neither UCL nor KCL are de jure universities in their own right (though they are now de facto universities), but constituent colleges of the University of London, and are thus not named as universities in 19th century references. It is a fact, however, that UCL was an early member of a rapid expansion of university institutions in the UK in the 19th century. Foundation The proposal for foundation of what became UCL arose from an open letter, published in The Times in February 1825, from the poet Thomas Campbell to the MP and follower of Jeremy Bentham, Henry Brougham. Campbell had visited the university at Bonn in today's Germany, which (unlike Oxbridge at that time) allowed religious toleration. Brougham was a supporter of spreading education and a founder (in 1826) of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, a leader of London's Jewish community, convinced Brougham and Campbell to work together on the proposed 'London University'. They were supported by representatives of a number of religious, philosophical and political groups, including Roman Catholics, Baptists, Utilitarians, and abolitionists. Others represented included James Mill and the Congregationalist benefactor Thomas Wilson. A 1923 mural in the UCL Main Library depicts as "The Four Founders of UCL" Bentham, Brougham, Campbell and Henry Crabb Robinson (although Bentham, while an inspiration to the other three, was not directly involved in the College's founding). The College formally came into existence as a Joint Stock Company on 11 February 1826 as 'The University of London', and was unique in Great Britain in being completely secular; in fact no minister of religion was allowed to sit on the College Council. Thomas Arnold was to refer to it as "that Godless institution in Gower Street". The Council appointed in 1827 as Warden Leonard Horner, the founder of