The colonial colleges are nine institutions of higher education chartered in the American Colonies before the American Revolution (1775–1783). These nine have long been considered together, notably in the survey of their origins in the 1907 The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. Although today most of these institutions refer to themselves as "universities", they are called "colonial colleges" partly because, at the time of the revolution, only Penn called itself a "university". Each had assumed the power to grant academic degrees, a power in Europe only held by universities; several were offering some graduate instruction. (See college for more on American usage of that word.) The University of Cambridge is an institute of higher learning. ... In 1775, the British claimed authority over the red and pink areas on this map and Spain ruled the orange. ... John Trumbulls Declaration of Independence, showing the five-man committee in charge of drafting the Declaration in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress The American Revolution refers to the period during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen Colonies that... Year 1775 (MDCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ... A B.A. issued as a certificate A degree is any of a wide range of status levels conferred by institutions of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... College (Latin collegium) is a term most often used today to denote an educational institution. ...

The nine colonial colleges are listed below in order of foundation under the name by which they were known for the bulk of the colonial period. Also listed are the religious groups that were instrumental in each college's foundation and early history. In most cases the listed religious links, although often strong, were de facto rather than official. (At any rate, all have long since affirmed their secularity.) In addition to the religious/secular boundary, the line between state and private control was also far more blurred than today: as the distinction crystallized over time, some schools became fully independent and others part of their state's higher-education system. Colonial America refers to the area now known as the eastern United States and parts of Canada from the time of European settlement to the time of the American Revolution. ... George Jacob Holyoake (1817-1906), British writer who coined the term secularism. ... quagmire:For alternate meanings see state university (disambiguation). ... A private university is a university that is run without the control of any government entity. ...

Seven of the nine colonial colleges are part of the Ivy League athletic conference: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Columbia, Brown, and Dartmouth. (The eighth member of the Ivy League, Cornell University, was founded in 1865.) The two colonial colleges not in the Ivy League are both public universities—the College of William & Mary (in the Colonial Athletic Association) and Rutgers University, the state university of New Jersey (in the Big East Conference). For the record label, see Ivy League Records. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... “Yale” redirects here. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America. ... This article is about the private Ivy League university in Philadelphia. ... Brown University is a private university located in Providence, Rhode Island. ... Dartmouth College is a private, coeducational university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. ... For the record label, see Ivy League Records. ... Cornell University is a university located in Ithaca, New York, USA. Its two medical campuses are in New York City and Education City, Qatar. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... For the record label, see Ivy League Records. ... A public university is an institution of higher education that is funded by public means through a national or regional government. ... Wren Building with a snow-covered statue of Lord Botetourt. ... The Colonial Athletic Association, also known as the CAA, is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. ... “Rutgers” redirects here. ... The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of seventeen universities in the northeastern, southeastern and midwestern United States. ...

Harvard Yard Harvard College is the undergraduate section and oldest school of Harvard University, founded in 1636. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... A map of the Massachusetts Bay Colony Capital Charlestown, Boston History  - Established 1629  - New England Confederation 1643  - Dominion of New England 1686  - Province of Massachusetts Bay 1692  - Disestablished 1692 The Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called the Massachusetts Bay Company, for the institution that founded it) was an English settlement on... Year 1636 (MDCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1650 (MDCL) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was any person seeking purity of worship and doctrine, especially the parties that rejected the Reformation of the Church of England. ... Wren Building with a snow-covered statue of Lord Botetourt. ... A map of the Colony of Virginia. ... Events January 11 - Eruption of Mt. ... Events January 11 - Eruption of Mt. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... “Yale” redirects here. ... A map of the Connecticut, New Haven, and Saybrook colonies. ... Events January 18 - Frederick I becomes King of Prussia. ... Events January 18 - Frederick I becomes King of Prussia. ... A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was any person seeking purity of worship and doctrine, especially the parties that rejected the Reformation of the Church of England. ... Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. ... This article is about the private Ivy League university in Philadelphia. ... A map of the Province of Pennsylvania. ... Events May 31 - Friedrich II comes to power in Prussia upon the death of his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I. October 20 - Maria Theresia of Austria inherits the Habsburg hereditary dominions (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and present-day Belgium). ... 1755 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Events Adam Smith is appointed professor of logic at the University of Glasgow March 25 - For the last time, New Years Day is legally on March 25 in England and Wales. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America. ... The Province of New Jersey was an English colony that existed within the boundaries of the current U.S. state of New Jersey prior to the American Revolution. ... // Events Catharine de Ricci (born 1522) canonized. ... // Events Catharine de Ricci (born 1522) canonized. ... Year 1747 (MDCCXLVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... Columbia University is a private research university in the United States and a member of the prestigious Ivy League. ... A map of the Province of New York. ... 1754 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1754 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... Brown University is a private university located in Providence, Rhode Island. ... Providence Plantation was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Baptist minister fleeing from religious persecution in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. ... 1764 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1764 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging... “Rutgers” redirects here. ... The Province of New Jersey was an English colony that existed within the boundaries of the current U.S. state of New Jersey prior to the American Revolution. ... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1771 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Dartmouth College is a private, coeducational university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. ... A map of the Province of New Hampshire. ... 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1771 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was any person seeking purity of worship and doctrine, especially the parties that rejected the Reformation of the Church of England. ... Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. ...

Other colonial-era foundations

Several other colleges and universities can be traced to colonial-era "academies" or "schools", but are not considered Colonial Colleges because they were not chartered as formal colleges with degree-granting powers until after the formation of the United States of America in 1776.

St. ... A map of the Province of Maryland. ... The year 1696 had the earliest equinoxes and solstices for 400 years in the Gregorian calendar, because this year is a leap year and the Gregorian calendar would have behaved like the Julian calendar since March 1500 had it have been in use that long. ... 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Moravian College is a private liberal arts college located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. ... A map of the Province of Pennsylvania. ... // Events January 24 - Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... Year 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... A Moravian is a Protestant belonging to a religious movement that originated in Moravia, Czech Republic. ... The University of Delaware (UD or UDel) is the largest university in the U.S. state of Delaware. ... Delaware Colony was an English colony in North America. ... // Events February 14 - Henry Pelham becomes British Prime Minister February 21 - - The premiere in London of George Frideric Handels oratorio, Samson. ... Year 1833 (MDCCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia. ... A map of the Colony of Virginia. ... Events While in debtors prison, John Cleland writes Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure). ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The College of Charleston (C of C) is a public university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina. ... A map of the Province of Carolina. ... Battle of Chesma, by Ivan Aivazovsky. ... 1785 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... Salem College is a small, womens liberal arts college located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. ... The Province of North Carolina was originally part of the Province of Carolina, which was chartered by eight Lords Proprietors. ... Year 1772 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... A Moravian is a Protestant belonging to a religious movement that originated in Moravia, Czech Republic. ... A mermaid sits atop Dickinson Colleges Old West. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... Hampden-Sydney College is a liberal arts college for men located in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia. ... A map of the Colony of Virginia. ... Year 1775 (MDCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... Transylvania University is a private liberal arts college related by covenant to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) located in Lexington, Kentucky, with approximately 1,100 students. ... State nickname: Bluegrass State Other U.S. States Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Governor Ernie Fletcher Official languages English Area 104,749 km² (37th)  - Land 102,989 km²  - Water 1,760 km² (1. ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The insignia of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). ... See Washington University (disambiguation) for institutions with similar names. ... A map of the Province of Maryland. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The architectural centerpiece of the Union campus, the Nott Memorial, is named after the colleges president from 1804-1866, Eliphalet Nott. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... 1785 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Dutch Reformed Church or Netherlands Reformed Church (in Dutch: Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk (NHK)) is a denomination of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin. ...

Notes and references

Notes:

Note 1: The institution was founded in 1636 by a vote of the legislature of the colony to provide money for "a school or college" at Newtowne (the present Cambridge.) Nothing further was done about actually creating a school until 1638, when in his will John Harvard bequeathed money and books to the yet-uncreated college. Construction began shortly thereafter on a school that was given the name of its first benefactor.

Note 2: William & Mary sometimes asserts a connection with an attempt to found a "University of Henrico" at Henricopolis (also known as Henricus) in the Colony of Virginia, which received a charter in 1618; but only a small school for Native Americans had begun operation by 1622, when the town was destroyed in a Native American raid. A page on their website says "The College of William & Mary [...] was the first college planned for the United States. Its roots go back to the College proposed at Henrico in 1619." However, it immediately proceeds to note that "The College is second only to Harvard University in actual operation."[1] Since William & Mary describes itself as "America's second-oldest college" and gives its year of founding as 1693, it does not seem to be suggesting institutional continuity with the University of Henrico, rather, W&M is providing historical perspective. [2]. Wren Building with a snow-covered statue of Lord Botetourt. ... Henricopolis was a town in Henrico County, Virginia where in the early 17th century settlers from the young colony at Jamestown tried to start what would have been the first institution of higher education in the British colonies. ... Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska. ...

Note 3: There is some disagreement about Penn's date of founding. The University of Pennsylvania was established in 1749 as the Academy of Philadelphia (instruction began in 1751), assuming the educational mandate of the Academy and Charitable School in the Province of Pennsylvania. This was part of a 1740 project that had been planned to comprise both a church and school, though due to insufficient funding only the church was built. The church building was conveyed to the Academy of Philadelphia in 1750. Since 1899, Penn has used 1740 as its official date of founding. See also *[3], [4] (Penn) and [5] (Princeton) for carefully phrased and nuanced details. To complicate the picture, Princeton can point to the Log College operated by a Presbyterian minister in Bucks County, Pennsylvania from 1726 until 1746. Although it has been suggested that there is some connection between this school and the College of New Jersey that would enable Princeton to claim a founding date of 1726, Princeton does not officially do so and a Princeton historian says that the "facts do not warrant" such a claim.
This article is about the private Ivy League university in Philadelphia. ...

Note 4: Penn's website, like other sources, makes an important point of Penn's heritage being nonsectarian, associated with Benjamin Franklin and the Academy of Philadelphia's nonsectarian board of trustees: "The goal of Franklin's nonsectarian, practical plan would be the education of a business and governing class rather than of clergymen."[6]. Jencks and Riesman (2001) write: "The Anglicans who founded the University of Pennsylvania, however, were evidently anxious not to alienate Philadelphia's Quakers, and they made their new college officially nonsectarian." Franklin himself was a self-described "thorough Deist." Starting in 1751, the same trustees also operated a Charity School for Boys, whose curriculum combined "general principles of Christianity" with practical instruction leading toward careers in business and the "mechanical arts." [7], and thus might be described as "non-denominational Christian." The charity school was originally planned, and chartered on paper, in 1740, by followers of evangelist George Whitefield, but was not built and did not operate until the charter was assumed by the Academy of Philadelphia in 1751. Since 1895, Penn has claimed a founding date of 1740, based on the charity school's charter date and the premise that it had institutional identity with the Academy of Philadelphia. Whitefield was a firebrand Methodist associated with The Great Awakening; since the Methodists did not formally break from the Church of England until 1784, Whitefield in 1740 would be labelled Episcopalian, and in fact Brown University, emphasizing its own pioneering nonsectarianism, refers to Penn's origin as "Episcopalian"[8]). Penn is sometimes assumed to have Quaker ties (its athletic teams are called "Quakers," and the cross-registration alliance between Penn, Haverford, Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr is known as the "Quaker Consortium.") But Penn's website does not assert any formal affiliation with Quakerism, historic or otherwise, and Haverford College implicitly asserts a non-Quaker origin for Penn when it states that "Founded in 1833, Haverford is the oldest institution of higher learning with Quaker roots in North America."[9]
Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ... Deism is belief in a God or first cause based on reason, rather than on faith or revelation, and thus a form of theism in opposition to fideism. ... George Whitefield (December 16, 1714 - September 30, 1770), was a minister in the Church of England and one of the leaders of the Methodist movement. ... Great Awakenings are commonly said to be periods of religious revival in Anglo-American religious history. ... Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. ...

Note 5: Brown's website characterizes it as "the Baptist answer to Congregationalist Yale and Harvard; Presbyterian Princeton; and Episcopalian Penn and Columbia," but adds that at the time it was "the only one that welcomed students of all religious persuasions."[10] Brown's charter stated that "into this liberal and catholic institution shall never be admitted any religious tests, but on the contrary, all the members hereof shall forever enjoy full, free, absolute, and uninterrupted liberty of conscience." The charter called for twenty-two of the thirty-six trustees to be Baptists, but required that the remainder be comprised of "five Friends, four Congregationalists, and five Episcopalians"[11]

Note 6: Dartmouth College began operating during 1768 as the collegiate department of Moor's School (1754) in Columbia, Connecticut. The collegiate department was being described in writing as "Dartmouth College" by January of 1769, when the Township of Hanover, N.H. voted to offer it a grant of land. The institution received a royal charter on December 13, 1769 and its students moved from Columbia to Hanover during October of 1770. The first degrees were awarded in August of 1771. Queen's College, although granted a charter earlier, began operation during 1771, after Dartmouth College began awarding degrees.

• Jencks, Christopher; David Riesman (2001). The Academic Revolution. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-7658-0115-9.  pp. 314-5, " "The Anglicans who founded the University of Pennsylvania, however, were evidently anxious not to alienate Philadelphia's Quakers, and they made their new college officially nonsectarian."

See also

• List of oldest universities in continuous operation
• First university in the United States