[7] Founded by four prominent ministers from the German Reformed Church and the Lutheran Church, in conjunction with numerous Philadelphians, the school was established as a German college whose goal was "to preserve our present republican system of government" and "to promote those improvements in the arts and sciences which alone render nations respectable, great and happy."

[13] The school's first classes were taught on July 16, 1787, with instruction taking place in both English and German, making it the first bilingual college in the United States.

[19] The school's small faculty grew in both size and status with the addition of John Williamson Nevin and another German scholar, church historian Philip Schaff.

The travelling abolitionist Jonathan Blanchard visited the town, but was unable to find a public venue and refused accommodations at the local hotel.

After being rescued by another Marshall student and a local war veteran, he returned to Kroh's house and delivered his speech to a private audience.

[21] Marshall College gained national recognition and attracted students from a large geographical area, with some coming as far away as the West Indies.

By the late 1840s, financial support and enthusiasm among the local community had virtually disappeared and the school was in danger of closing its doors permanently.

At the laying of the building's cornerstone in 1853, Henry Harbaugh, a Marshall College graduate and pastor of the Reformed Church of Lancaster noted that the city's lowest point was the prison.

[22] Franklin and Marshall College took as its motto the Latin phrase Lux et Lex, which translates in English to "Light and Law".

While legend has it that the switch was the result of an error by an engraver, it has since been suggested that the words deliberately reflect its namesakes Benjamin Franklin ("light") and John Marshall ("law").

A commemorative plaque celebrating the sesquicentennial and the signing of the United States Constitution was presented to the college by the Lancaster County Historical Society.

By 1946, enrollment had swelled to over 1,200 students (including four women in the pre-med program), causing a sudden critical shortage of faculty.

Like other academic institutions in the 1960s, Franklin and Marshall endured student protests during the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War.

In April 1961, students rioted in front of the President's house and Hensel Hall, burning effigies and college property in protest of administration policies.

[citation needed] Martin Luther King Jr. visited the campus on December 12, 1963, three weeks after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and spoke on civil rights to an overflow crowd of more than 4,000 in Mayser Center, the school's gymnasium.

[27] In 1965 Robert Mezey, a 30-year-old visiting English instructor and poet, spoke on campus against the Vietnam War, and traveled to Washington, DC to march against the conflict.

The protesters followed them to the building, blocked all doors and exits and held them hostage, declaring that they would not release the faculty members until they received an apology and immunity from punishment.

[citation needed] In 1969, Franklin and Marshall College ended its formal affiliation with the United Church of Christ, becoming a secular school.

Continuing a trend at gender exclusive schools across the country, the Board of Trustees announced on January 17, 1969, that it had voted to admit women to F&M, a decision that was supported by male students.

On March 28, 1979, the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor in nearby Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, experienced a partial meltdown, forcing the college to close briefly.

Other buildings from the decade include International House (1990), Martin Library of the Sciences (1990, currently over 61,000 volumes), and the Alumni Sports and Fitness Center (1995).

A scholarship between two Benjamin Franklin schools, this is a exclusive merit-based award for the F&M graduates applying to Penn GSE's Urban Teaching Residency (UTR) program.

In an effort to repair the system, the college administration proposed eight specific reforms to the Greek Council, which were ultimately rejected by all of the organizations.

[66] The men's basketball team has reached the NCAA Division III Final Four on five occasions (1979, 1991, 1996, 2000, 2009), appearing in the national championship game in 1991.

In 1987 the men's squash team finished 15-1 and achieved a #2 national ranking led by four time all-American Morris Clothier.

It was built in 1920 as Williamson Field, named after S. Woodrow Sponaugle, who coached football and basketball and was the athletic director at F&M for 15 years.

[74] In 1999, a company based in Verona, Italy, began producing items of clothing in a vintage 1950s collegiate-style with the words "Franklin and Marshall" on them.

[75] In 2001, Tim McGraw posed for publicity photos wearing a "Franklin Marshall Wrestling" T-shirt,[76] one of which was included in the CD booklet for his album Set This Circus Down.

[77] In 2003, the college licensed the name to the company so it could sell its products, many of which omit Franklin & Marshall's ampersand, in the United States.

Although it no longer sells its products in the United States due to poor sales, in 2010 the company pledged to donate $130,000 to the college's scholarship fund.