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Northwestern University is chartered in Chicago

Northwestern University (NU) is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851, it is the oldest chartered university in Illinois.

Northwestern University (NU) is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851, it is the oldest chartered university in Illinois. Northwestern was initially affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church but later became non-sectarian. By 1900, the university was the third-largest university in the United States, after Michigan and Harvard. Northwestern became a founding member of the Big Ten Conference in 1896 and joined the Association of American Universities in 1917.

Northwestern is composed of eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools in the fields of management, law, journalism, engineering, medicine, and others.

Historical Significance

Northwestern University (NU) is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States.

Events Before

  1. Senator Henry Clay drafts the Compromise of 1850 to defuse tensions between slave states and free states over territorie

    Senator Henry Clay drafts the Compromise of 1850 to defuse tensions between slave states and free states over territories won during the Mexican–American War

  2. French writer and playwright Honoré de Balzac marries Ewelina Hańska in Berdyczów, Ukraine

    French writer and playwright Honoré de Balzac marries Ewelina Hańska in Berdyczów, Ukraine

  3. American Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman (30) weds Eleanor Boyle Ewing in Washington, D.C., until her death

    American Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman (30) weds Eleanor Boyle Ewing in Washington, D.C., until her death in 1888

  4. Poet Alfred Tennyson (40) weds Emily Sellwood (36)

    Poet Alfred Tennyson (40) weds Emily Sellwood (36)

  5. First public demonstration of ice made via refrigeration by Florida physician John Gorrie

    First public demonstration of ice made via refrigeration by Florida physician John Gorrie

Events After

  1. National debt of Britain and Ireland is £765,126,582

    National debt of Britain and Ireland is £765,126,582

  2. Fugitive slave Frederick Douglass delivers his 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?' speech to the Ladies' Anti-Sla

    Fugitive slave Frederick Douglass delivers his 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?' speech to the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, condemning the celebration as a hypocritical sham

  3. Future US President Rutherford B. Hayes (30) weds teetotaler and abolitionist Lucy Webb (21)

    Future US President Rutherford B. Hayes (30) weds teetotaler and abolitionist Lucy Webb (21)

  4. First Chinese immigrants arrive in Hawaii

    First Chinese immigrants arrive in Hawaii

  5. British recognize independence of Transvaal (in South Africa)

    British recognize independence of Transvaal (in South Africa)

More from the 1850s

birth

Alice Mary Robertson is born

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

birth

Tim Keefe is born

Tim Keefe, American athlete, known for american baseball player, was born on 1857-01-01.

City of Glasgow steamer inaugurates Philadelphia-Liverpool line

City of Glasgow steamer inaugurates Philadelphia-Liverpool line

National debt of Britain and Ireland is £765,126,582

National debt of Britain and Ireland is £765,126,582

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on January 28, 1851?
Northwestern University (NU) is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851, it is the oldest chartered university in Illinois. Northwestern was initially affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church but later became non-sectarian.
Why is Northwestern University is chartered in Chicago significant?
Northwestern University (NU) is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States.

Explore More

January 28 in HistoryYear 1851