The University of Rochester is founded in…
January 1849 CE
The school traces its origins to The First Baptist Church of Hamilton (New York), which was founded in 1796.
The church established the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York, later renamed the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution, in 1817.
This institution gave birth to both Colgate University and The University of Rochester
Its function was to train clergy in the Baptist tradition.
When it aspired to grant higher degrees, it created a collegiate division separate from the theological division.
The collegiate division had been granted a charter by the State of New York in 1846, after which its name was changed to Madison University.
John Wilder and the Baptist Education Society urged that the new university be moved to Rochester, New York.
However, legal action prevented the move.
In response, dissenting faculty, students, and trustees defected and departed for Rochester, where they sought a new charter for a new university.
Madison University will eventually be renamed as Colgate University in 1890.
Asahel C. Kendrick, professor of Greek, is among the faculty that had departed Madison University for Rochester.
Kendrick serves as acting president while a national search was conducted.
He will reprise this role until 1853, when Martin Brewer Anderson of the Newton Theological Seminary in Massachusetts is selected to fill the inaugural posting
The University of Rochester's new charter is awarded by the Regents of the State of New York on January 31, 1850.
The charter stipulates that the university have $100,000 in endowment within five years, upon which the charter will be reaffirmed.
An initial gift of $10,000 is pledged by John Wilder, which helps catalyze significant gifts from individuals and institutions.
Classes will begin in November, with approximately sixty students enrolled, including twenty-eight transfers from Madison.
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Northern North America
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