History of the University of Missouri

MU was founded in 1839 as part of the Geyer Act to establish a state land-grant university, the first west of the Mississippi River.

Academic Hall was occupied by Union troops, the president's house was used by Federal officers and the normal school, forerunner to the College of Education, became an army hospital.

In 1890 one alumnus suggested the university's newly formed football team be called the "Tigers" out of respect for those who fought to defend Columbia.

The most dramatic change occurred in 1870 when the School of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts was established as part of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts which gave the college an endowment of 330,000 acres (133,546.26 ha; 515.62 sq mi) of federal land to "teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life.

On January 9, 1892, Academic Hall, the institution's main building, fell victim to a disastrous fire rumored to have been caused by the first electric light bulb west of the Mississippi River.

But as a token of gratitude, Sedalia received the rights to host the Missouri State Fair in exchange.

After World War II universities around the country grew at an extraordinary pace and MU was no exception.

The name stuck and now is commonly used interchangeably among students, alumni and the residents of Columbia with the newer initials, MU.

One of the students, Lloyd L. Gaines, brought his case to the United States Supreme Court.

Today the Columbia campus ranks number one among institutions in the Association of American Universities for growth in federally funded research over the last ten years.

In 1978, Barbara Uehling became MU's third chancellor and the first woman to lead a major state university in the country.

Following the 2015 University of Missouri protests, the chancellor and System president resigned, amid racial complaints by students.

Prior to the formation of the system in 1963, the Columbia campus and its offshoot in Rolla were led directly by the president and the position of chancellor did not exist.