[6] By the end of April, the governor of the United States Army Lucius D. Clay gave the order to legally examine the formation of a new university in the western sectors of Berlin.

On 19 June 1948, the "preparatory committee for establishing a free university" consisting of politicians, professors, administrative staff members and students, met.

With a manifesto titled "Request for establishing a free university in Berlin", the committee appealed to the public for support.

The municipal authorities of Berlin granted the foundation of a free university and requested the opening for the coming 1948/49 winter semester.

The by-law achieved prominence under its alias "the Berlin model": The university was founded as a statutory corporation (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts) and was not directly subjected to the state, as it was controlled by a supervisory board consisting of six representatives of the state of Berlin, three representatives of the university and students.

The actual foundation took place on 4 December 1948 in the Titania Palace, the film theater with the biggest hall available in the western sectors of Berlin.

On 26 June 1963, the same day he delivered his Ich bin ein Berliner speech at Rathaus Schöneberg, John F. Kennedy was awarded honorary citizen status by the Free University and gave a ceremonial speech in front of the Henry Ford building, in which he addressed the future of Berlin and Germany under the consideration of the motto of the FU.

[6] His brother, Robert F. Kennedy visited the university in 1962[9] for the first time and in June 1964 for receiving his honorary degree from the Department of Philosophy.

Significant issues included better living standards and education at the university, the Vietnam War, the presence of former Nazi Party members in the government as epitomized by the Globke affair, and continuing institutional authoritarianism.

After the assassination of student Benno Ohnesorg and the attempt on the life of Rudi Dutschke, protests quickly escalated to violence throughout Germany.

Shortly thereafter, the senate of Berlin decided to drastically reduce enrollment until 2003, the number of students shrank to 43,885 in the winter term of 2002/03.

[12] Based on its founding tradition, the Free University of Berlin seal to this day bears the Latin terms for Truth, Justice, and Liberty.

Academic activity in Dahlem was supported by Friedrich Althoff, Ministerial Director in the Prussian Ministry of Culture, who initially proposed the foundation of a "German Oxford".

The Free University of Berlin central campus consists of building ensembles within walking distance of each other (about 1.5 km radius).

The largest single complex of university buildings is the Rost- und Silberlaube, which translates roughly to the "Rust and Silver Lodges".

This complex consists of a series of interlinked structures corresponding to either a deep bronze (hence, "rust") or shiny white ("silver") hue, surrounding a variety of leafy courtyards.

With 43 ha and around 22,000 species of plants, FU's Berlin Botanical Garden in nearby Lichterfelde West is one of the largest of its kind.

The stations Dahlem Dorf and Freie Universität (Thielplatz) connect the university to the Berlin U-Bahn system's U3 line.

Between 1959 and 1969, the "Steglitz Clinic", located in Lichterfelde West about 3 km southeast of Dahlem, was built with large financial supports of the United States.

Free University of Berlin operates on a semester calendar where the winter term begins on 1 October and ends on 31 March.

Besides the core subject(s), all students are required to complete a series of courses related to general professional skills (ABV).

The fees for the semester ticket is defined by a contract with the local transportation company, the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg and allows students to move freely in the ABC zones of Berlin.

Over the course of one week, international renowned scientists and Nobel laureates come together and discuss current problems in all fields of studies.

[44] In the German "ExcellenceRanking" of the CHE (Center for Higher Education Development) in 2013, Free University of Berlin ranks top in the fields of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Political science.

Today, Free University of Berlin has established over 400 partnerships in five continents, many of them as part of the European ERASMUS program.

[49] The Free University of Berlin operates foreign branch offices in New York City, Brussels, Moscow, Beijing, Cairo, São Paulo, and New Delhi.

In April 2005, the Free University of Berlin, in conjunction with Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU Munich), opened a joint representative office in New York.

The UC System maintains an office at the Free University of Berlin to attend to the needs of exchange students from the California campuses.

The Office of Global Programs of Columbia University in New York administers the Berlin Consortium for German Studies.

Alumni of the Free University of Berlin include several scientists, philosophers and politicians, amongst them five Nobel Prize winners and 15 Leibniz laureates.