Named event or history
The 1789 charter, the trustees’ 1792 choice of New Hope Chapel Hill at their Hillsborough meeting, the Old East cornerstone of October 1793, and the first students of 1795.
19 indexed records are connected with this event.
Related works found in catalogs and archives across North Carolina. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it.
University Bulletins Number 189
by Walker Anderson.
William Richardson Davie (June 22, 1756 - November 5, 1820) was the tenth governor of North Carolina. He was elected for one term (December 1798 - November 1799). His governorship was cut short when President John Adams…
William Richardson Davie (June 22, 1756 - November 5, 1820) was the tenth governor of North Carolina. He was elected for one term (December 1798 - November 1799). His governorship was cut short when President John Adams…
Cornerplate or plaque, bronze, engraved by Roswell Huntington, Hillsborough, N.C., 1793. The cornerplate was originally placed with the cornerstone of Old East on October 12, 1793. Old East was the first building at UNC…
Dated events connected with this event, earliest first. See the whole chronology →
The General Assembly chartered the university on December 11, 1789. Meeting at Hillsborough in August 1792, the trustees voted to build within fifteen miles of Cyprett's Bridge, and that November their commissioners chose New Hope Chapel Hill. The Old East cornerstone was laid October 12, 1793, and the first student, Hinton James, arrived February 12, 1795.
Meeting in Fayetteville, the General Assembly adopted William R. Davie's bill chartering the University of North Carolina. The act named some forty trustees and, instead of an appropriation, gave the school escheated property and uncollected debts; the trustees later placed it in southern Orange County, where Chapel Hill grew up around it.
Part of The founding of the University and Chapel Hill, 1789–1795 · 7 events
People: William Richardson Davie
Twenty-five of the university's forty trustees gathered at Hillsborough on August 2, 1792, and on August 4 voted to build within fifteen miles of Cyprett's Bridge. The site itself was chosen later: in early November a commission chaired by Frederick Hargett toured the area and recommended New Hope Chapel Hill in southern Orange County.
People: Alexander Martin · Hugh Williamson · Richard Dobbs Spaight
William Richardson Davie and fellow trustees laid Old East’s cornerstone; October 12 is observed as University Day.
Part of The founding of the University and Chapel Hill, 1789–1795 · 7 events
People: William Richardson Davie
The University formally opened at Chapel Hill on a cold, rainy January 15, 1795, with Governor Richard Dobbs Spaight and trustees present, but no students had yet arrived. Hinton James came on February 12, and by March two professors taught 41 students; UNC was the only public university to graduate students in the eighteenth century.
Part of The founding of the University and Chapel Hill, 1789–1795 · 7 events
People: Hinton James
Hinton James became UNC’s first student on February 12, 1795.
Part of The founding of the University and Chapel Hill, 1789–1795 · 7 events
People: Hinton James
UNC students held the first recorded meeting of a Debating Society on June 3, 1795, and voted on July 2 to split in two, the new body being the Concord Society. They took the names Dialectic and Philanthropic in late August 1796 and for over a century served as debating clubs, student government and keepers of large libraries.
Part of The founding of the University and Chapel Hill, 1789–1795 · 7 events
People: Hinton James
UNC’s first graduating class included Hinton James and six other students.
Part of The founding of the University and Chapel Hill, 1789–1795 · 7 events
UNC marked 200 years since the laying of Old East's cornerstone with a Bicentennial Convocation in Kenan Stadium, where President Bill Clinton spoke to about 45,000 people. The town dedicated Michael Brown's mural of the October 12, 1793, lot auction at the Franklin Street post office.
Part of The founding of the University and Chapel Hill, 1789–1795 · 7 events
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