History of Harvard University

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Harvard College was founded in 1636 in New Towne, a settlement itself founded six years earlier in colonial-era Massachusetts Bay Colony, one of the original Thirteen Colonies. In 1638, New Towne was renamed Cambridge, in honor of Cambridge, England, where many of the Colony's settlers had attended the University of Cambridge. In 1639 the school was given the name of Harvard College after its first major benefactor, clergyman John Harvard. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. In the late 18th century, Harvard began granting graduate and doctorate-level degrees, and in 1780 the Constitution of Massachusetts recognized it as a university. In 1783, a new medical school was established as the Medical Institution of Harvard University. Thereafter, Harvard College referred exclusively to the undergraduate programs. The stature of the university grew nationally and ultimately globally, as a dozen graduate and professional schools were formed to add to the...

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