Beginning with such movements as the eighteenth century moral reformation societies and Welsh Sunday schools, and the first adult schools for both men and women in the early 1800's, this historical review traces British adult education up to 1850. Emphasis is on the extensive and widespread programs of the Mechanics' (workingmen's) Institutes and other educational agencies serving poorer, working class adults in both urban and rural areas. The pioneering Birmingham Brotherly Society is described, followed by subsequent institutes and literary societies set up in Aberdeen, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Sheffield, and smaller communities. Attention is also given to what is characterized as the declining role of philosophical and literary institutions and similar learned associations which had been catering mainly to middle and upper class subscribers. Courses and other educational activities conducted through mutual improvement societies, federations of Mechanics' Institutes, schools of design, libraries, lyceums, museums, societies for farmers and factory workers, and other bodies are also described, followed by developments in Europe, North America, Australia, and elsewhere. An index and 37 tables are included. (LY)