Dartmouth College

Eleazar Wheelock, the founder of Dartmouth College, was born in Windham, Connecticut in 1711. He graduated from Yale, became a preacher, and was deeply influenced by the Great Awakening, a religious revival in New England.

Eleazar Wheelock founded Moor's Indian Charity School in 1755 to train Native Americans as Christian missionaries. The school later evolved into Dartmouth College.

In 1764, Eleazar Wheelock sent his former pupil, Samson Occom, to England to raise funds for the school. Occom's successful preaching efforts, along with Reverend Nathaniel Whitaker, resulted in collecting approximately eleven-thousand pounds, despite the strained relations between England and the Colonies.

Due to Wheelock's failure to adequately care for Occom's family and the planned change of location, Occom decided to separate from Wheelock in 1768.

Dartmouth College was founded in 1769 in Hanover, New Hampshire. It is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution.

Dartmouth College was founded by Eleazar Wheelock in Hanover, New Hampshire. It was established to educate Native Americans in Christian theology and the English way of life, but later evolved to primarily train Congregationalist ministers.

Dartmouth College has produced a Class every year since its establishment, making it the only American college to do so despite disruptions from conflicts like the Revolution and the War of 1812.

Dartmouth College granted its first degrees in 1771, marking an important milestone in its history as an institution of higher learning.

In 1774, Dartmouth College founder Eleazar Wheelock returned from a brief recovery period to find that students had been frequenting a tavern on campus and engaging in revelry. He promptly expelled six students for their behavior, setting a tradition of administrators trying to control drinking at the College.

In August 1776, local physician Dr. Laban Gates inoculated a student for smallpox without consulting local authorities, causing controversy. Despite initial accusations of endangering the community, the student did not contract the disease.

In 1777, eight students at Dartmouth College claimed to have been in contact with smallpox, leading to a dispute between the town and the College on how to isolate and care for the infected students, causing division and scandal.

Upon the death of his father, Eleazar Wheelock, in 1779, John Wheelock, at the age of twenty-five, was designated as the successor and became the president of Dartmouth College. Despite initial doubts about his qualifications, he eventually gained approval from the trustees due to his willingness to serve without salary.

Samuel Kirkland, an early advisor to Eleazar Wheelock, left Dartmouth College due to personal disputes and founded Hamilton-Oneida Academy in Oneida County, New York. This academy aimed to educate the Oneida people and later evolved into Hamilton College.

In 1801, Dartmouth alumnus Daniel Webster passionately defended the college's original charter in the landmark Supreme Court case. His eloquent defense highlighted the importance of preserving the autonomy of educational institutions.

In 1815, after facing opposition and alienating students and trustees with his fervent governance, John Wheelock was impeached from his position as the president of Dartmouth College. The trustees elected Reverend Francis Brown as his successor.

In 1816, amidst a controversy over governance, New Hampshire Democrats, led by Governor William Plumer, changed the name of Dartmouth College to 'Dartmouth University' through the state legislature. This action also increased the number of trustees and created a board of overseers with veto power, effectively transforming Dartmouth from a private college to a state university.

In 1818, Daniel Webster testified in the Dartmouth v. Woodward case, where he argued that New Hampshire's actions against Dartmouth College were unconstitutional. His four-hour oration during the case is considered one of the most memorable in U.S. history.

In February of 1819, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Dartmouth College trustees in a landmark case. Chief Justice Marshall emphasized the importance of the decision, extending federal power over state authority and protecting the charter rights of private colleges.

Nathan Lord, who served as the president of Dartmouth College for thirty-five years, resigned from his position in 1863 due to backlash against his open endorsement of slavery.

Under the tenure of Reverend Asa Dodge Smith, the Thayer School of Engineering was established at Dartmouth College, complementing the previous annexation of the Chandler Scientific School.

The tradition of Dartmouth Night and Homecoming dates back to 1888, where alumni return to join students in a celebration of autumn. They participate in a colorful parade and gather around a bonfire on the Green.

The Association of Alumni engaged in a legal battle with the administration over a governance contract dating back to an 1891 agreement between the Board of Trustees and the alumni body, resulting in a tarnished reputation for the then-president of Dartmouth College.

In 1893, Reverend William Jewett Tucker became the president of Dartmouth College, aiming to modernize the institution. He initiated significant changes, including the construction of over twenty buildings, the establishment of a steam plant, and the expansion and secularization of the curriculum.

In 1909, Ernest Fox Nichols took over as president of Dartmouth College, succeeding Reverend William Jewett Tucker. Nichols continued the process of secularization at Dartmouth and was known for founding the Dartmouth Outing Club and Winter Carnival, which later gained fame as the 'Mardi Gras of the North.'

Ernest Martin Hopkins was appointed as president of Dartmouth College in 1916. He is remembered for his personal involvement in student affairs, loyalty to Dartmouth, and emphasis on teaching over research.

Since 1924, 147 Dartmouth-affiliated athletes have competed in the winter Olympics, making it the most in the Ivy League. In the 2018 Winter Olympics, Dartmouth added a 10th silver medal to its collection of 13 gold and six bronze medals, placing the College 21st in the all-time medal count if it were a country.

In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited Dartmouth College and was impressed by its picturesque 269-acre campus on the banks of the Connecticut River. He remarked that the college's setting embodied what a college should look like.

The Dartmouth workshop held in 1956 is considered the founding event of artificial intelligence as a field.

In 1964, Dartmouth College developed the BASIC programming language, which played a significant role in the history of computing and information technology.

In 1970, Dartmouth reaffirmed its commitment to Native students by establishing one of the first Native American programs in the country.

In 1971, Dartmouth College negotiated a recreation lease with the Brown Company for 10,600 acres of the Academy Grant, excluding the Abbott Brook watershed area. This lease arrangement continued even after the Brown Company was sold to James River Corporation.

In 1972, Dartmouth College admitted women for the first time in its history, marking a significant milestone in the institution's long-standing tradition of being an all-male college.

Phillip Hanlon, a member of the Class of 1977, was appointed as the eighteenth president of Dartmouth College. He pledged to implement new policies to address high-risk behaviors and promote experiential learning on campus.

Dartmouth College purchased 197 acres in the Hellgate area in 1984 with a generous gift from George and Pat Stoddard, ensuring the protection of a unique and beautiful area for the Dartmouth community.

The Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College opened in 1985. It houses a diverse collection of artworks from various regions and time periods.

James Wright proposed the 'Student Life Initiative' in 1999, aiming to abolish single-sex Greek houses at Dartmouth College. The initiative faced strong opposition from students and alumni and was eventually withdrawn before implementation.

T.J. Rodgers, one of the petition candidates critical of Dartmouth's direction, was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2004, marking a significant shift in leadership.

In 2009, President Kim's appointment at Dartmouth College marked the beginning of a more conciliatory era in the institution's politics. During his first two years, he focused on balancing the College's budget and reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies through administrative restructuring.

On July 1, 2012, President Kim resigned from Dartmouth College, leaving the institution in the hands of Provost Carol Folt. Kim's departure followed a year of scandals and controversies, prompting criticism of his leadership style.

Despite being entirely self-coached, the Dartmouth Fencing Team achieved victory in the USACFC club national championship in 2014.

In 2017, Dartmouth was recognized for leading the Ivy League in Nature's innovation index, which is awarded for the highest number of scientific papers resulting in patents.