1821: A University is born
The oldest university in Montreal, Â鶹AV was founded in 1821 from a generous bequest byÌýJames Â鶹AV, a prominent Scottish merchant.
The oldest university in Montreal, Â鶹AV was founded in 1821 from a generous bequest byÌýJames Â鶹AV, a prominent Scottish merchant.
Eight years after it was officially established, "Â鶹AV College" began holding classes in conjunction with the Montreal Medical Institution.
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Four years after classes began, Â鶹AV awarded its first degree –Ìýand Canada's first ever medical degree –Ìýto William Leslie Logie. ÌýLogie was Â鶹AV's only graduate that year.
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The college quickly outgrew James Â鶹AV's country home, and construction on the Arts Building began 10 years after its founding. ÌýThe Arts Building, with its cupola and flag pole, has become the signature of Â鶹AV's downtown campus, and one of Montreal's most recognizable landmarks.
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Through his 38 years as Principal, Sir John William Dawson reinvented Â鶹AV as a university to rival the world's finest, even personally funding the beautification effort that created the stunning campus we enjoy today.
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°ä²¹²Ô²¹»å²¹â€™s first francophone prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, BCL'1866, made great strides toward unifying Canadians of different stripes – French and English, Catholic and Protestant – during a period when religion, culture and other debates threatened to tear the fledgling country apart. In 15 years as prime minister and 45 years as a Member of Parliament, Laurier helped establish Canada as a major player on the world stage and ushered in an era of unprecedented growth and prosperity.
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Â鶹AV is a place of learning, but hard work needn’t come at the expense of hard play, and Â鶹AVians certainly exercise more than just their minds. A home to exceptional student teams and an alma mater to many star athletes and coaches, Â鶹AV has also played a key role in the creation of three pillars of sport.
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Over the years, architects have proposed a variety of plans for Â鶹AV’s lower Downtown Campus, including an imposing tower on the Redpath Library. Here's a small selection of big ideas from Â鶹AV’s earliest days that never made it off the drawing board: the Â鶹AV that might have been.
Next: 1876–1918 »
› Pioneering women launch a new era at Â鶹AV
› Rutherford becomes the father of nuclear physics
› A Â鶹AVian pens "O Canada."