History of Harvard University

Harvard University was founded in 1636 in New Towne, a settlement itself founded six years earlier in colonial-era Massachusetts Bay Colony, one of the original Thirteen Colonies. In 1638, New Towne was renamed Cambridge, in honor of Cambridge, England, where many of the Colony's settlers had attended the University of Cambridge. In 1639 the school was given the name Harvard College after its first major benefactor, clergyman John Harvard. Harvard University is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.

In the late 18th century, as Harvard began granting graduate and doctorate-level degrees, it began to be called Harvard University, with Harvard College referring exclusively to its undergraduate program. The stature of the university grew nationally and ultimately globally as a dozen graduate and professional schools were formed to augment the nucleus of the undergraduate College. The university's historically influential schools include its schools of medicine (1782), law (1817), business (1908), and Graduate Arts and Sciences (1890).

For centuries, Harvard graduates dominated Massachusetts' clerical and civil ranks. Since the late 19th century, Harvard has been one of the most prestigious schools in the world, with the largest library system and financial endowment.