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. Feel free to browse this wiki to find more of these stories and consult any of the several books to use for College history research.

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 17, 1930: Glider Club officially organized.
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.