W&M Historical Highlights

This is a working chronological list of William & Mary Historical Highlights prepared for use by staff of the Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center. There is of course much more to the history of William & Mary than the dates and vignettes listed here.

January

1781: Classes suspended when the British Army invaded Virginia.
1922: The Marshall-Wythe School of Government and Citizenship was founded.
1990: The Gentlemen of the College, a student men's a cappella group, was founded.
1992: Marshall-Wythe School of Government and Citizenship founded.
January 1, 1943: John Edwin Pomfret becomes President replacing John Stewart Bryan.
January 4, 1966: Swem Library opens its doors.
January 14, 1922: Official opening of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law.
January 15, 1931: William & Mary President's House turned over to the Colonial Williamsburg Restoration Project.
January 18, 1859: College Cemetery developed.
January 20, 1983: Fire nearly destroyed Jefferson Hall, but all 185 students escaped unharmed.
January 27, 1985: Jefferson Hall officially reopens after fire restoration.

February

1859: Wren Building burned for the second time in a fire.
1971: William & Mary Hall dedicated.
1984: Anne Dobie Peebles was elected the first woman rector in William & Mary's history.
1988: Five Democratic presidential candidates debated in Phi Beta Kappa Hall.
February 5, 1972: Thomas A. Graves, Jr. inaugurated President.
February 6, 1896: Ladies of the Town approved to attend Shakespeare courses at the College.
February 6, 1959: Williamsburg's first radio station begins operation.
February 7, 1987: Chancellor's Badge and Chain of Office given to William & Mary.
February 7, 2005: Parking Garage opens for business.
February 8, 1693: Charter for the college was issued by King of England William III and Queen of England Mary II.
February 8, 1923: College Mace given to William & Mary by alumni and students.
February 8, 1937: Charter Day initiated.
February 8, 1963: The first Thomas Jefferson Award is given.
February 8, 1987: Warren E. Burger was installed as the 20th chancellor of the College of William & Mary
February 9, 1959: Landrum Hall dedicated.
February 11, 1967: Andrews Hall dedicated.
February 12, 1918: Board of Visitors endorses a proposal to allow women to attend.
February 12, 1966: Official dedication of Swem Library.
February 22, 1732: Birth of George Washington.
February 22, 1952: Novelist Christopher Bram born.
February 27, 1729: The college is finally fully staffed with six departments.
February 27, 1937: Taliaferro Building opens.
February 27, 1997: Japanese Cultural Association constitution written.

March

March 1920: Mary Cook Branch Munford became the first woman member of the Board of Visitors.
March 1, 1991: Neil Young and Crazy Horse preform at William & Mary.
March 3, 2008: Fire in the kitchen of the Chi Omega House in Sorority Court.
March 8, 1946: Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower visit campus.
March 15, 1918: The college become the first coeducational state college in Virginia.
March 15, 1930: Fire burns Tyler Hall.
March 20, 1999: Plumeri Park dedicated.
March 22, 1951: First African American Student, Hulon Willis, is accepted.
March 25, 1760: Thomas Jefferson begins to attend the college.
March 27, 1953: The second Phi Beta Kappa Hall officially opens.

April

1963: Wig Coffee Club opens in the Campus Center.
April 1: look for the Fat Head traditional April Fools version of the Flat Hat.
April 2, 1756: The first of the Honorary degree recipients of the college was Benjamin Franklin who was given a Master of Arts.
April 3, 1995: The College dedicated the $3-million, 6,400-square-foot McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.
April 6, 2010: Griffin is announced as Mascot.
April 7, 2006: Inauguration of Gene R. Nichol President.
April 7, 2006: Sandra Day O'Connor becomes Chancellor.
April 9, 1758: Reverend Goronwy Owen was installed at master of the Grammar School.
April 11, 1992: The Hulon Willis Association was founded.
April 15, 1974: The Grateful Dead play at William & Mary.
April 16, 2009: Andrews Hall is dedicated on VIMS campus.
April 18, 2000: Presidents' Day established to formally honor the 25 College presidents and their places in the College's history.
April 20, 1788: George Washington becomes Chancellor of the college.
April 20, 1960: SS William & Mary launched from Baltimore.
April 20, 1960: Campus Center opens.
April 21, 2006: Michael Powell member of the Class of 1985, is elected Rector of the College of William & Mary.
April 22, 2008: Resolution passed to explore William & Mary history of slavery and race relations.
April 24, 1981: William George Guy Lecture Hall in Rogers Hall is dedicated.
April 25, 1762: Thomas Jefferson leaves the college.
April 27, 1906: Science Hall dedicated.
April 28, 1758: James Monroe born.
April 28, 1922: Kappa Alpha Theta installed on campus.
April 29, 1993: Margaret Thatcher was elected the College's 21st chancellor by the Board of Visitors.
April 29, 1993: The College dedicated the University Center.
April 30, 1662: Queen of England Mary II born.
April 30, 1993: Gillian T. Cell was appointed provost of the College of William & Mary.
April 30, 2004: Tyler Family Garden dedicated.

May

1691: Reverend James Blair is given instructions to found a college in Virginia.
1861: President Benjamin S. Ewell, the professors, and many students enter the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
1966: Parent's Day was begun.
1976: The college launches its largest fund raising effort yet, the Campaign for the College.
1981: Earl Gregg Swem Library received its one-millionth volume.
May 3, 2005: Fire in Preston Hall.
May 4, 1989: Van Buren band-orchestra room named.
May 5, 1862: Civil War Battle of Williamsburg.
May 8, 1784: Title of public lands surrounding Williamsburg and Jamestown is given to the college.
May 8, 1966: Dupont Hall is dedicated.
May 11. 2008: Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin, a member of the Class of 1995, delivers the 2008 commencement address.
May 13, 1909: Dedication of Tucker Hall.
May 14, 1694: Coat of Arms is issued.
May 14, 2000: Henry A. Kissinger was elected as the College's 22nd Chancellor by the Board of Visitors.
May 14, 2006: Archbishop Desmond Tutu delivers the 2006 commencement address at the College.
May 15, 1926: Calvin Coolidge speaks on campus.
May 16, 1993: For the first time, Commencement was held in Walter J. Zable Stadium.
May 17, 1930: Groundbreaking of Brown Hall.
May 23, 1991: The Association of 1775 was established.
May 31, 1940: Glen Miller and his orchestra preform at William & Mary.

June

1899: The first edition of the Colonial Echo, the college yearbook, was published.
1944: Mascot Wampo sold in a war bond auction.
2008: Integrated Science Center dedicated.
June 1, 1940: Glen Miller and his orchestra play at William & Mary.
June 1, 1992: Timothy J. Sullivan becomes President.
June 3, 1925: Cornerstone of Ewell Hall is laid.
June 4, 1770: Eastern State Hospital is established.
June 6, 1925: Fire at Penniman Building.
June 9, 1925: Monroe Hall is dedicated.
June 11, 1956: Cornerstone for Phi Beta Kappa Hall is laid.
June 11, 1967: The College of William & Mary conferred its first earned doctorate, the Ph.D., in physics.
June 12, 1776: Virginia Declaration of Rights adopted.
June 18, 1925: Penniman Building destroyed by fire.
June 28, 1732: The Chapel of the College Building now known as the Wren Building opens.
June 29, 1776: Virginia Constitution adopted.
June 29, 1984: Waterman's Hall at VIMS dedicated.
June 30, 1985: Paul Verkuil becomes President.

July

July 1892: The William & Mary Quarterly is first published by Lyon G. Tyler.
July 1978: The Virginia Shakespeare Festival began its first season at William & Mary
July 1979: The Virginia Institute of Marine Science at Gloucester Point was fully integrated into the College.
July 1, 1849: John Johns becomes President.
July 1, 1944: Earl Gregg Swem retires.
July 4, 1842: William & Mary Alumni Association is organized.
July 5, 1870: First Commencement since the Civil War.
July 6, 1836: Thomas Roderick Dew was appointed 13th President of the college.
July 10, 1868: Classes suspended until the College Building could be rebuilt.
July 11, 1997: Archaeologists excavated artifacts near the Wren Building related to a structure that existed in the late 17th century.
July 20, 1784: Louis XVI King of France presents 200 volumes to the college library.
July 31, 1732: The foundations of the President's House were laid.

August

1930: The Norfolk Division of the college opens.
1956: First African American student Hulon Willis graduates.
August 8, 1695: First bricks laid for the Collge Building, later called the Wren Building.
August 13, 1752: William Stith becomes President.
August 15, 1729: Transfer of Royal Charter.
August 23, 1888: Lyon Gardiner Tyler becomes President.
August 28, 1926: Albert-Daly Field dedicated.
August 31, 1951: Edward Travis is first African American student admitted to Law School.

September

1965: The general honors program is established.
September 1, 1971: Thomas Ashley Graves, Jr. becomes President.
September 5, 2008: W. Taylor Reveley named President
September 6, 2011: Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates '65 is named the 24th Chancellor of the College.
September 9, 1862: Wren Building consumed by Fire during Civil War.
September 12, 1973: Grateful Dead play at William & Mary.
September 13, 1980: Marshall-Wythe School of Law is dedicated.
September 18, 2003: Hurricane Isabel shut down the campus for 10 days.
September 22, 1952: The Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health became a division of the College.
September 30, 1933: The first edition of the Alumni Gazette is published.

October

1705: College Building destroyed by Fire.
1859: John Tyler became Chancellor.
1867: Teaching began in the Brafferton Building.
1923: William & Mary purchases new athletic field.
1937: Wampo college mascot named by Beverly Boone.
1938: Alumni Gazette appears for the first time.
1988: Charlene Jackson is first African American Homecoming Queen.
October 2, 1968: Richard Nixon speaks in the Wren Building as part of a presidential campaign tour.
October 3, 1911: The first edition of the Flat Hat is published.
October 4, 2005: Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is named the 23rd Chancellor of the College.
October 7, 1978: Neil Young performs at William & Mary.
October 9, 1951: Alvin Duke Chandler becomes President.
October 10, 1975: Barksdale Field is dedicated.
October 11, 1973: Alumni House dedicated.
October 11, 1963: Groundbreaking for Swem Library.
October 11, 1980: Randolph Complex dedicated.
October 12, 1972: The Order of the White Jacket was established to recognize those who worked in food service during their years at the college.
October 13, 1869: Classes resumes after the College Building was repaired from damages received during Civil War.
October 15, 1770: Death of Lord Botetourt.
October 15, 1937: Birth of Linda Lavin.
October 16, 1911: Birth of Edward Travis first African American Law student.
October 16, 1957: The Queen of England Elizabeth II visited the college.
October 16, 1992: Timothy J. Sullivan inaugurated as President.
October 19, 1921: Julian A. C. Chandler sworn in as President.
October 20, 1934: Franklin Delano Roosevelt visits the college.
October 20, 1934: Matoaka Theatre dedicated.
October 20, 1985: Paul R. Verkuil inaugurated as President.
October 21, 1983: Muscarelle Museum of Art dedicated.
October 22, 1964: Cornerstone of Swem Library laid.
October 22, 1973: Construction on Rogers Hall began.
October 23, 1926: First Homecoming held.
October 23, 1993: Lord Botetourt replica statue dedicated.
October 25, 2001: Death of Davis Young Paschall William & Mary President.
October 29, 1705: College Building now known as the Wren Building is consumed by fire.
October 29, 1872: Birth of Julian A. C. Chandler.
October 31, 2001: W&M Keck Environmental Field Laboratory officially opened with a dedication event.

November

1781: President's House destroyed by Fire during the American Revolution.
1900: Old Gymnasium opened for use.
1974: The first volume of The Papers of John Marshall was published by the Institute of American History and Culture.
November 1, 1755: Reverend Thomas Dawson becomes President.
November 1, 1989: Busch Field is dedicated.
November 2, 1929: The first Homecoming parade.
November 6, 1981: Groundbreaking of Muscarelle Museum of Art.
November 9, 1847: Robert Saunders Jr. resigns as President.
November 10, 1894: The college's first intercollegiate football game.
November 11, 1750: F.H.C. is founded.
November 11, 1966: Tucker-Coleman Room in Swem Library is dedicated.
November 11, 1992: Thomas Jefferson statue is dedicated.
November 13, 1993: Nirvana in concert at W&M Hall.
November 15, 1963: Adair Hall is dedicated.
November 17, 1938: Mascot pony Wampo stolen from stable by a rival team.
November 18, 1927: James M. Beck presented the first of the James Gould Cutler lectures.
November 18, 2006: Ukrop Way is dedicated.
November 24, 1998: T. C. Clarke '22 bequeathed $13.5 million to the College, the largest cash bequest in the history of William & Mary.
November 27, 1926: Ewell Hall, the first Phi Beta Kappa Hall on campus, is dedicated.

December

1890: The first of the College of William & Mary publications The William & Mary College Monthly prints its first edition.
1934: Yule Log Ceremony begun.
1926: Construction begun on Co-ed Lodge on Lake Matoaka.
1963: Small Hall completed.
1991: Filipino American Student Association writes constitution.
1993: Andrew Zawacki chosen as the College's second Rhodes Scholar.
December 4, 1779: Chair of Anatomy and Medicine is created.
December 4, 1779: The college becomes a University.
December 5, 1776: Students form Phi Beta Kappa.
December 5, 1973: Morton Hall is dedicated.
December 5, 2008: Groundbreaking of Cohen Career Center.
December 14, 1799: Death of George Washington who served as Chancellor.
December 20, 1693: Land purchased for college site from Captain Thomas Ballard.
December 26, 1968: Birth of alumnus Bill Lawrence.
December 29, 1880: Birth of Earl Gregg Swem.
December 29, 1953: Fire destroys auditorium in Ewell Hall.