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NORTHWESTERN HISTORY | |
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On May 31 John Evans, Grant Goodrich, Henry W. Clark, Andrew Brown, Orrington Lunt, Jabez Botsford, Richard Haney, Richard H. Blanchard, and Zodoc Hall meet above a hardware store at 69 West Lake Street in Chicago and resolve to establish a university under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal Church. |
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On January 28, the Illinois State Legislature approves Northwestern's Act of Incorporation, granting 36 trustees the power to administer the University's business affairs, organize a faculty, adopt by-laws, and grant degrees. Scholarships for donor's descendants sold to raise money. |
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1853 Clark T. Hinman becomes University's first president on June 23. University purchases 379 acres on Lake Michigan for $25,000. |
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Official opening of University on November 5. Northwestern's first building, Old College, completed. Amendment to University charter forbids the sale of liquor within four miles of campus. Unaffiliated Northwestern Female College founded by William P. Jones. Hinman Literary Society (first extracurricular activity) formed. |
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Daniel Bonright becomes University president. |
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Dr. Randolph S. Foster becomes University president. |
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Four students receive bachelor's degrees at first commencement. Phi Delta Theta fraternity chapter established. |
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Henry Noyes becomes University president. Student Edward Spencer rescues 17 survivors of the Lady Elgin, which sank in Lake Michigan. |
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Seventy-seven students and staff fight for the Union in the Civil War, 2 fight for the Confederacy; seven die. |
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First masters program (in philosophy) begins. |
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Erastus Haven becomes University president. Trustees vote to admit young women to University classes "under the same terms and conditions as young men." Evanston resident Rebecca Hoag becomes first female to enroll at Northwestern. University Hall built. |
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Chicago Medical College and Northwestern agree to become affiliated. Dr. Charles Fowler named University president. |
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Northwestern lifesaving station established where Fisk Hall now stands. More than 400 people saved from drowning in Lake Michigan before the U.S. Coast Guard takes over the operation in 1916. |
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Frances Willard becomes first dean of women when the Evanston College for Ladies merges with Northwestern. |
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Sarah Rebecca Roland is first woman to receive a degree from Northwestern. |
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Purple and gold adopted as school colors. |
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Fences put up to keep cattle off campus. |
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Alpha Phi sorority formed. |
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The Northwestern student newspaper founded as a biweekly publication. Alumni association is formed. |
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First football game played against Lake Forest College. Click here for the University Archives on-line exhibit of the history of Northwestern Football. |
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The first yearbook, The Pandora, published. Memorial Hall of Garrett Bible Institute completed. |
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The Syllabus first published. |
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First Trig Cremation Day, when freshmen burn trigonometry books. College of Dental and Oral Surgery established. |
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Dearborn Observatory built. |
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Northwestern becomes first Midwestern university admitted to Phi Beta Kappa. |
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Henry Wade Rogers becomes University president. |
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School of Law opens. |
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Northwestern University Settlement Association formed to do social work in Chicago. Purple adopted as the official (and only) school color. |
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Daniel Hale Williams, a graduate and faculty member of the Medical School, performs the first successful open-heart surgery at the first interracial hospital in the United States, Provident in Chicago. |
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Lunt Library built. |
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The Conservatory of Music, affiliated with the University since 1891, becomes a permanent department. |
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First PhDs awarded - one in chemistry and one on philosophy. Representatives from Northwestern and six other Midwestern universities create the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives to supervise intercollegiate sports among their institutions. It becomes known as the Western Conference and, eventually, the Big Ten. |
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Semester system replaces the three-term academic year in effect since 1855. Women's tennis team wins second intercollegiate tournament. |
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Women's basketball first played at Northwestern against "young ladies form Austin High School." |