On This Day

Michigan State University established

Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States.

Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the country. After the introduction of the Morrill Act in 1862, the state designated the college a land-grant institution in 1863, making it the first of the land-grant colleges in the United States. The college became coeducational in 1870.

Historical Significance

Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States.

Events Before

  1. Alice Mary Robertson is born

    Alice Mary Robertson, American politician, known for american politician, was born on 1854-01-02.

  2. Presbyterian minister John Miller Dickey and his wife, Sarah Emlen Cresson, found Ashmun Institute, a historically Black

    Presbyterian minister John Miller Dickey and his wife, Sarah Emlen Cresson, found Ashmun Institute, a historically Black college later known as Lincoln University, in Hinsonville, Pennsylvania

  3. Republican Party is formally organized in Ripon, Wisconsin

    The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is one of the two major political parties in the United States.

  4. Great Britain and France declare war on Russia, expanding the Crimean War

    The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of…

  5. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (23) weds Elisabeth, Duchess of Bavaria (16) at the Augustinerkirche, Vienna

    Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (23) weds Elisabeth, Duchess of Bavaria (16) at the Augustinerkirche, Vienna

Events After

  1. Colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the first piece of legislation, the Electoral Act of 1856, anywhere in the world pr

    Colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the first piece of legislation, the Electoral Act of 1856, anywhere in the world providing for elections by way of a secret ballot

  2. Republican Party holds its first national meeting in Pittsburgh

    Republican Party holds its first national meeting in Pittsburgh

  3. The Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia sign the Treaty of Paris endin

    The Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia sign the Treaty of Paris ending the Crimean War

  4. American industrialist and firearms manufacturer Samuel Colt (41) weds American philanthropist Elizabeth Hart Jarvis (29

    American industrialist and firearms manufacturer Samuel Colt (41) weds American philanthropist Elizabeth Hart Jarvis (29) at Christ Episcopal Church in Middleton, Connecticut, until his death in 1862

  5. Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa, and head west for Salt Lake City, Utah, carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled han

    Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa, and head west for Salt Lake City, Utah, carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts

More from the 1850s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on February 12, 1855?
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the country. After the introduction of the Morrill Act in 1862, the state designated the college a land-grant institution in 1863, making it the first of the land-grant colleges in the United States.
Why is Michigan State University established significant?
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States.

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