The Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) was a British postgraduate school, research institution and training provider with origins dating back to 1772. It became part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in 2009, and ceased to exist as an independent unit in 2015. History Predecessors The college traced its history back to the Military Society of Woolwich, founded by two artillery officers in 1772 'for the theoretical, practical and experimental study of gunnery'. The Society did not outlast the Napoleonic Wars; but in 1839, inspired by its example, two junior officers (Lt (later Gen Sir) J. H. Lefroy and Lt (later Maj-Gen) F. M. Eardley-Wilmot) proposed the formation of an Institute to train artillery officers along similar lines. This led to the establishment the following year of the Royal Artillery Institution "for the study of science and modern languages". Initially the RA Institution was supported by voluntary donations, but a grant of public money in 1850 put the establishment on a firmer footing and led to the appointment of a Director of Artillery Studies to oversee ongoing training of artillery officers. In 1864, in light of fast-moving advances in technology, an Advanced Class for Artillery Officers was formed within the Institution, again at Lefroy's instigation, to provide a more rigorous, two-year course of study leading to a recognised qualification. A full-time Professor of Applied Mathematics was now appointed, as well as visiting lecturers in Chemistry, Metallurgy and Physics and Practical Mechanics, while students were also provided with professional instruction within the Royal Arsenal in the properties of guns, carriages, ammunition and small arms. In 1885 the Department of Artillery Studies moved from the Institution into Red Barracks, Woolwich and was renamed Artillery College. At the same time its courses were made available to all officers of the Army and the Royal Marines, not just those of the Artillery. Artificer training was also offered by the college. In the early 20th century new chairs were established, alongside that of the Bashforth Professor of Mathematics and Ballistics, with the appointment of Professors of Chemistry (1900), Electricity (1903, later renamed Electrical and Mechanical Engineering) and Physics (1918). In 1889 the College further expanded and a commandant was appointed; in 1899 it was renamed Ordnance College, before reverting to its former name in 1918. Courses were suspended for the duration of the First World War. Establishment After World War I, the