College of William and Mary

The College of William and Mary in Virginia is a public, liberal-arts university located in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 and named in honor of King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest university in the United States (Harvard, founded in 1638, is the oldest). At the request of the House of Burgesses and the Reverend Dr. James Blair, the commissary (or representative) of the Church of England in Virginia, it was founded in the Virginia Colony in 1693 by royal charter issued by the monarchs of England.

History

The rich history of William and Mary's founding begins in the seventeenth century. A school of higher education had long been a goal of the colonists. Another effort earlier, at Henricus, had died with the entire comunity in the Indian Massacre of 1622.

Related Topics:
Henricus - Indian Massacre of 1622

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In 1691 the Virginia Colony's House of Burgesses sent the colony's top religious leader, Reverend Dr. James Blair, to England to secure a charter to establish "a certain Place of Universal Study...to be supported and maintained, in all time coming." Blair journeyed to London, and began his campaign. With support from his friends, Henry Compton, the Bishop of London, and John Tillotson, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury, he was ultimately successful.

Related Topics:
1691 - Virginia Colony - House of Burgesses - Reverend Dr. James Blair - England - Charter - Henry Compton - Bishop of London - John Tillotson - Archbishop of Canterbury

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The College was founded on February 8, 1693, under Royal Charter. Established in honor of King William III and Queen Mary II, it became one of the original Colonial colleges. The college was to consist of three schools: a grammar school for boys about twelve to fifteen years of age; the philosophy school, in which students would pursue advanced study of moral philosophy (logic, rhetoric, ethics) and natural philosophy (physics, metaphysics, and mathematics); and the divinity school, where young men who had completed their studies in the philosophy school could be prepared for ordination in the Church of England. The charter also named Dr. Blair as the College's first President (a lifetime appointment), and he served for 50 years, until his death in 1743.

Related Topics:
February 8 - 1693 - King William III - Queen Mary II - Colonial colleges - Church of England - 1743

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When Dr. Blair returned to the colony, the college was given a seat in the House of Burgesses and was supported by taxation of a penny per pound on tobacco exported from Maryland and Virginia. The new school opened in temporary buildings in 1694, while the original "College Building", a precursor to today's Wren Building, was built between 1693 and 1699 upon 330 picturesque acres (1.3 km²), ten miles (16 km) north of Jamestown, Virginia, in a place called Middle Plantation (later renamed Williamsburg, Virginia). Middle Plantation was a stronghold so-named because it was located on high ground equidistant on the Virginia Peninsula between the York River and the James River. During contingencies at Jamestown, leaders of the government had periodically used Middle Plantation as an alternative meeting place.

Related Topics:
Tobacco - Maryland - Wren Building - 1693 - 1699 - Jamestown, Virginia - Middle Plantation - Williamsburg, Virginia - Virginia Peninsula - York River - James River

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In Colonial times, building fires were a frequent hazard. Students of the College were responsible for suggesting the Capital of the Virginia Colony be permanently relocated nearby after fire destroyed the fourth State House at Jamestown in 1698. The House of Burgesses met in the College Edifice until 1704 while the new State House was constructed at Williamsburg. During yet another contingency, the legislators returned to the W&M building again where they met from 1747 until 1753 while a sixth State House was constructed after the fifth one was also destroyed by fire. (The current Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond is the eighth).

Related Topics:
Jamestown - 1698 - 1704 - Virginia State Capitol - Richmond

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The College building also was often subject to mishap, being partially destroyed by fire and rebuilt three times (in 1705, 1859 and 1862) with further portions demolished and rebuilt during the late 1920s. Today's "Wren Building" is anything but Colonial or in continuous use, but the resolute spirit of the College is such that the building now standing was named the "Wren Building" after the prominent English architect Sir Christopher Wren, who once was mistakenly credited with designing an earlier iteration.

Related Topics:
1705 - 1859 - 1862 - Sir Christopher Wren

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The Wren Building was the first major structure to be restored in the early 20th century when the Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin and John D. Rockefeller Jr. undertook the massive project which created today's Colonial Williamsburg. (As an interesting point of history, the descendants of the original ivy grown on the Wren Building have been kept in a preservation from which all ivy on the building during its many incarnations has been planted). Two other buildings make up the much-revered "old campus": the Brafferton (originally housing an Indian school), built in 1723, and the President's House, added in 1732.

Related Topics:
W.A.R. Goodwin - John D. Rockefeller Jr. - Colonial Williamsburg - Ivy - 1723 - 1732

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Although William & Mary (along with the Colonies) severed formal ties to Great Britain in 1776, its regal history is a distinct point of pride at the College; prior Chancellors include British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. The College is the only American institution of higher learning with a pre-Revolutionary coat of arms, issued in 1694 by the College of Heralds in England.

Related Topics:
1776 - Margaret Thatcher - Coat of arms - 1694 - College of Heralds

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William and Mary was occupied during portions of the American Civil War (1861-1865). The Battle of Williamsburg was fought nearby during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. After the Civil War, it closed in 1882 due to financial strains; the College had invested in some Confederate bonds. However, in 1888, the Commonwealth of Virginia reopened William and Mary and began to expand it, later taking over the property of the colonial institution by an act of the General Assembly. In 1918, William and Mary was one of the first universities in Virginia to become coeducational.

Related Topics:
American Civil War - Battle of Williamsburg - Peninsula Campaign - 1862 - Confederate - 1888 - 1918 - Coeducational

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