... has been administered by English Heritage since 1986.
The first plaque was erected in 1867 by the Royal Society of Arts, on a house in Holles Street, near Cavendish Square (just off Oxford Street, near the junction with Regent Street), in honour of Lord Byron. Unfortunately that house was demolished in 1889. A John Lewis department store now stands on the site, and bears a Westminster City Council plaque to Lord Byron.
The RSA administered the scheme until 1901, when it was passed to the London County Council. English Heritage took over from the Greater London Council in 1986.
The RSA's plaques were a variety of colours – often terracotta. It was the London County Council that standardised on blue, after the Second World War.
There are other similar schemes around the UK, administered by different organisations.
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