The Central School of Speech and Drama (CSSD) was founded in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty

Elsie Fogerty

Elsie Fogerty, was an English teacher of voice, diction and drama.She trained at the Paris Conservatoire, then taught at the Crystal Palace School of Art and Literature and Sir Frank Benson's London School of Acting.She founded the Central School of Speech and Drama in 1906 and trained such...

 to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. The school has been a constituent college of the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

 since 2005.

On 9 October 2008 the School announced that 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature

Nobel Prize in Literature

Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...

, Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...

 (1930–2008), who attended the School in 1950–1951, had agreed to become its president

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 and to receive an honorary fellowship

Honorary title (academic)

Honorary titles in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties...

 in the School's graduation ceremony on 10 December 2008, but Pinter had to receive it in absentia, because of ill health, and he died two weeks later.