The Lowell Institute, established in 1839 (by John Lowell, Jr., who bequeathed $237,000 for the purpose), provides yearly courses of free public lectures, and its lecturers have included many of the leading scholars of America and Europe.
The chief of the lecturers, called the Sheik el-Azhar, receives about £zoo a year, the others little or nothing, as regular pay.
Although for a long time lecturers and professors had been attached to universities, generally their duties had also included the study of physics, mineralogy and other subjects, with the result that chemistry received scanty encouragement.
After the university had settled its quarrels these continued to teach, and soon became formidable rivals of the secular lecturers.
Since 1871 the language of instruction has been Polish, and in 1901 the university had 110 lecturers, and was attended by 2060 students.