Gustavus Adolphus College

Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college founded in 1862 by Eric Norelius and was originally named Minnesota Elementar Skola. In 1865 on the 1,000th year anniversary of the death of St. Ansgar, "the Apostle of the North," the college was renamed and incorporated as St. Ansgar's Academy. In May of 1873, the college was again renamed and reincorporated as Gustavus Adolphus Literary and Theological Institute in honor of King Gustavus Adolphus the Great of Sweden. On October 16, 1876, it opened as Gustavus Adolphus College in its new location in St. Peter, Minnesota. Gustavus is the oldest of several Lutheran colleges in Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Disasters

• On January 8, 1970, the Auditorium was completely gutted by a fire.
• In March 29, 1998, the College's campus was hit by a mile-wide F3 tornado that broke 80 percent of the windows, leveled nearly 2,000 trees, toppled the chapel's spire, and caused more than $50 million in damages.