On This Day
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First US state university opens, the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a coeducational public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a coeducational public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. It is one of three schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States. The first public institution of higher education in North Carolina, the school opened on February 12, 1795.

Until the 1970s, the university was simply known as the University of North Carolina. After the other state universities were combined into a single public university system, called the University of North Carolina, the original institution was given the new name of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Historical Significance

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a coeducational public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States.

Events Before

  1. Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, revolutionizing the cotton industry in the southern US states [1]

    Eli Whitney Jr. (December 8, 1765 – January 8, 1825) was an American inventor, widely known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution that shaped...

  2. Naval Act of 1794 is signed by President George Washington, authorizing the building of six frigates and establishing a

    Naval Act of 1794 is signed by President George Washington, authorizing the building of six frigates and establishing a permanent US Navy

  3. Battle of Fleurus: Major victory by forces of the First French Republic under General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan over the Coa

    Battle of Fleurus: Major victory by forces of the First French Republic under General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan over the Coalition Army (Great Britain, Hanover, Dutch Republic, and Habsburgs) with the first use of a reconnaissance balloon

  4. French Revolutionary figure Maximilien Robespierre and 22 other leaders of "the Terror" are guillotined to thunderous ch

    French Revolutionary figure Maximilien Robespierre and 22 other leaders of "the Terror" are guillotined to thunderous cheers in Paris

  5. 4th US President James Madison (43) weds Dolley Madison (26) in Jefferson County, West Virginia

    4th US President James Madison (43) weds Dolley Madison (26) in Jefferson County, West Virginia

Events After

  1. Napoléon Bonaparte is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French Army in Italy

    The Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1801) were a series of conflicts fought principally in Northern Italy between the French Revolutionary Army and a Coalition of Austria,…

  2. Napoléon Bonaparte (26) marries his first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais (32), changing her name from Rose

    Napoléon Bonaparte (26) marries his first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais (32), changing her name from Rose

  3. English country doctor Edward Jenner administers his revolutionary cowpox-based vaccine for smallpox in Berkeley, Glouce

    English country doctor Edward Jenner administers his revolutionary cowpox-based vaccine for smallpox in Berkeley, Gloucestershire

  4. Armand-Gaston Camus becomes chairman of the Council of 500

    Armand-Gaston Camus becomes chairman of the Council of 500

  5. The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York

    York was a town and the second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the old city of Toronto (1834–1998).

More from the 1790s

Albany replaces New York City as the capital of New York

Albany ( AWL-bə-nee) is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York. It is also the county seat of, and the most populous city in, Albany County.

Russia appoints first Jewish censor to censor Hebrew books

Russia appoints first Jewish censor to censor Hebrew books

First US President George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address

The 1790 State of the Union Address was the inaugural State of the Union address, delivered by President George Washington to the United States Congress on January 8, 1790, at the Senate Chamber of…

French King Louis XVI sentenced to death by the National Convention during the French Revolution

Louis XVI was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on February 12, 1795?
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a coeducational public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. It is one of three schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States. The first public institution of higher education in North Carolina, the school opened on February 12, 1795.
Why is First US state university opens, the University of North Carolina, in Chapel ... significant?
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a coeducational public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States.

Explore More

February 12 in HistoryYear 1795