The Manchester Technical School was formed out of the Manchester Mechanics' Institute in 1883. Manchester Mechanics' Institute member John Henry Reynolds developed a programme of classes that served the industrial needs of the Manchester region, converting the Mechanics' Institute into the Technical School as a result. Manchester Corporation began funding the Technical School in 1892, when it changed its name to the Manchester Municipal School of Technology. From 1905, students at the Technical School could take degrees from the Victoria University of Manchester, although most of the courses provided professional and technical, rather than academic, qualifications, with most of the teaching delivered through evening classes for students who were at work during the day. After World War 1 the school became known as the Manchester Municipal College of Technology, offering a successful programme of classes in science and technology until 1945, when it became the Manchester College of Technology. The College became an independent university college in 1956, and ten years later was renamed the University of Manchester Institute for Science and Technology.