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Kansas State University: A Brief Chronology

1858	Bluemont Central College Association chartered by Territory of Kansas (Feb. 09)
1859	Cornerstone of Bluemont Central College building laid (May 10)
1860	Bluemont Central College opened (Jan. 09)
1862	Morrill Act signed by President Lincoln (July 02)
1863	Joseph Denison elected first president Provisions of Morrill Act accepted by State of Kansas (Feb. 03) Act passed transferring Bluemont Central College to State of Kansas (Feb. 16) Kansas State Agricultural College opened with 52 students; 26 men and 26 women (Sept. 02)
1867	First graduating class of 5 students: 2 men and 3 women
1868	First Farmers' Institute held
1871	155 acres of the present campus purchased for college farm First master's degree granted
1873	John A. Anderson became second president First building erected on present campus, Farm Machinery Hall (demolished 1963)
1874	First Alumni Association meeting held
1875	College instruction transferred to present campus Engineering Shops erected (oldest remaining building on campus)
1876	Chemical laboratory erected (now Holtz Hall)
1879	North wing of Anderson Hall erected (central portion 1882, south wing 1884) George T. Fairchild became third president
1883	Bluemont Central College building razed
1887	Hatch Act approved for support of agricultural experiment stations
1894	Library and Agricultural Science Hall completed (named Fairchild Hall in 1902) Provision made for heating campus buildings by steam Electric lighting introduced on campus
1896	Royal Purple chosen as the school color by two representatives from each class
1897	Thomas E. Will became fourth president
1898	Domestic Science building completed, the first building in the U.S. built for the sole purpose of teaching home economics (named Kedzie Hall in 1902) Four year curricula adopted in areas of agriculture, engineering, household economics and general
1899	George Washington Owens, first black graduate Ernest R. Nichols became fifth president
1900	Enrollment, 1,321 Agriculture Hall erected (now Holton Hall)
1901	Minnie M. Howell, first female black graduate First agricultural experiment station established at Ft. Hays
1902	Denison Hall built for chemistry, physics and electrical engineering (burned 1934)
1904	Architecture curriculum added Beginning of summer sessions Structure now known Art Building erected Old auditorium built (burned 1965)
1905	Four year curriculum in veterinary medicine offered
1906	Garden City Branch Experiment Station established
1907	Dickens Hall erected for horticulture
1908	Curriculum in civil engineering added Council of Deans created Calvin Hall erected for home economics Veterinary Hall erected (now Leasure Hall)
1909	Henry J. Waters became sixth president
1910	All curricula revised; class periods changed from 60 to 50 minutes Engineering Experiment Station established
1911	Four year curriculum in industrial journalism provided Nichols Gym completed Tribune Branch Experiment Station established
1912	Divisions of Agriculture, Engineering, Home Economics, General Science and Extension organized
1913	Colby Branch Experiment Station established East wing of Waters Hall erected State educational institutions placed under State Board of Administration
1914	Smith Lever Act for Cooperative Extension Service approved
1917	All state institutions placed under single Board of Administration Calendar changed from three term to semester plan Curriculum in flour-mill engineering adopted
1918	William M. Jardine became seventh president Six wooden buildings erected for students' army training corps
1919	Division of Veterinary Medicine organized Graduate Council created
1920	Four year curriculum in music offered
1921	Royal Purple was officially approved by the faculty as the school color "K" constructed on Prospect Hill
1922	Thompson Hall erected
1923	President's house built Veterinary clinics building erected (now Burt Hall) West wing of Waters Hall erected West wing of Memorial Stadium erected (east wing, 1924)
1924	Broadcasting station KSAC formally created Curriculum in chemical engineering adopted
1925	Curriculum in architectural engineering adopted Francis D. Farrell became eighth president State Board of Administration became State Board of Regents
1926	Van Zile Hall completed, residence hall for women
1927	Library building completed (named Farrell Library in 1955; name changed to Hale after 1997 expansion)
1928	First female veterinary medical student, Helen Richt Power Plant erected
1929	Fred A. Shannon, history department, received Pulitzer Prize
1930	"S" added to Prospect Hill
1931	Curriculum in commerce offered Division of Graduate Study created by Regents KSAC became Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science (KSC) [09 Mar 1931]
1932	Curriculum in veterinary medicine extended to five years
1933	Curriculum in milling industry replaced flour-mill engineering Dairy barn erected First PhD granted by K-State (chemistry)
1935	Kansas law passed requiring male students to take 2 years of military training
1936	Curriculum in industrial arts authorized
1939	Physical Science Building completed (now Willard Hall)
1942	"Divisions" of graduate work, agriculture, engineering and architecture, home economics and veterinary medicine changed to "schools" Division of General Science became School of Arts and Sciences
1943	Milton S. Eisenhower became ninth president, first alumnus and native Kansan to be president
1944	First mid-year commencement held in January K-State Endowment Association established No smoking rule on campus abolished First female student body president, Ethelinda Parrish (Amos)
1945	Institute of Citizenship created
1947	Kansas Agricultural Council on Education and Research established
1948	First television station in Kansas at K-State
1949	Artificial insemination project established
1950	Curriculum in undergraduate and graduate elementary education provided Enrollment 6,867 James A. McCain took office as the tenth president
1951	Ahearn Fieldhouse completed (first basketball game Dec. 09, 1950) Faculty Senate established Tenure system for faculty adopted
1953	Education department received full accreditation by American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
1955	Putnam scholarship program established
1956	K-State signed contract with U.S. government to provide assistance to India Original section of K-State Union constructed Regents authorized KSC to offer BA in humanities and social sciences
1959	KSC became Kansas State University of Agriculture and Applied Science [27 Mar 1959] Dept. of Business Administration moved into Calvin Hall; College of Home Economics moved to Justin Hall
1960	First PhD program in humanities was initiated in English department First permanent residence hall for men opened (Goodnow Hall)
1962	Business administration departments became School of Commerce
1963	KSU Centennial K-State began assisting Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria through Agency for International Development School of Education established School of Commerce became College of Commerce
1964	College of Architecture and Design established from School of Engineering
1965	Old Auditorium burned School of Education became College of Education ROTC became optional
1966	Alfred M. Landon delivered the first Landon Lecture
1967	Kansas 1949 loyalty oath declared unconstitutional
1968	Football stadium constructed Nichols Gym burned Rev. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy spoke on campus the year they were assassinated University for Man held its first classes
1969	Veryl Switzer hired as director of minority and cultural affairs
1970	New auditorium completed (named for President McCain, 1975) College of Commerce became the College of Business Administration
1975	Duane C. Acker became the eleventh president First black student body president elected, Bernard Franklin
1977	International Student Center dedicated
1978	Veterinary Medical complex completed
1980	First Provost employed (Owen J. Koeppe) International Trade Institute established
1981	Bluemont and Throckmorton Halls completed
1983	Durland Hall (Phase II) dedicated
1985	Reconstruction of Nichols Hall completed
1986	Jon Wefald selected as the twelfth president
1987	Fall enrollment, 18,048 $2.6 million in scholarships awarded to 2,396 students
1988	Bramlage Coliseum & Chemistry/Biochemistry building completed
1990	Vanier Football Complex
1991	Bob Dole Hall - Regents Educational Communication Center completed KSU Foundation and KSU Alumni move to the Foundation Center (old Farm Bureau building) Kansas College of Technology-Salina becomes Kansas State University-Salina campus
1994	Merrill Hall - Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center completed Galichia Institute for Gerontology and Family Studies completed
1995	Chester E. Peters Recreation Complex - Addition completed Football Indoor Practice Field completed
1996	Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art completed
1997	Hale Library expansion completed Rathbone Hall Harbin Hall (K-State Salina)
1999	KSU Stadium National Gas Machinery Lab
2000	Fiedler Hall KSU Student Union Renovation
2001	Chandler Institute for Child and Family Studies Hoeflin Early Childhood Education Center - Addition and Renovation

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University Archives, Richard L. D. & Marjorie J. Morse Dept. of Special Collections, K-State Libraries.