[2] It was founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg and expanded to include a campus in Durban in 1931.

[2] The Council of the University of Natal voted on 31 May 2002 to offer the post of Vice-Chancellor and University Principal to world-renowned medical scientist and former Medical Research Council President - Professor Malegapuru Makgoba who assumed office on the 1 September 2002.

A number of South African statutes regulating the South African maritime industry were drafted by Professor Hilton Staniland at the above Institute, including the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1 of 1986 and the Wreck and Salvage Act 94 of 1996.

[4] Under apartheid, the Howard College Campus, in Durban, was known for the activism of its staff and students against government-imposed racial segregation.

The main science block on the Howard College campus, completed in the early 1980s, was a pivotal location for biological research and game conservation for the province.

The Howard College campus had a number of onsite residences, named after prominent South Africans including John Bews, Ernest Jansen, Louis Botha and Mabel Palmer.