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University of Wisconsin Is Founded
Wisconsin's constitution declares that the state shall have a public university. Wisconsin's first govenor, Nelson Dewey, signed the act that formally created the university. -
North Hall Constructed
North Hall was the first building built on campus and it was used for men's dormitories and classrooms. -
Bascom Hall Opens
Bascom Hall was opened as the first building solely used for instruction. It was known as the Main edifice, University Hall and now Bascom Hall. -
National Land Grant
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act which established the country's land grant universities. -
Women First Admitted
Women were admitted to the university for the first time during the Civil War. Belle Case La Follette was the first woman graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1885. -
Science Hall Constructed
The Science Hall that resembles the current building was rebuilt after a fire in 1887. It was the first building in the country to be built of masonary material (non-wood). -
Birth of the Cardinal
One of the oldest independent college newspapers in the U.S. begins publishing. The Daily Cardinal has been nominated a handful of times as the best college newspaper in region six, nationally. -
Abe Lincoln Memorial Created
The Lincoln memorial was erected on Bascom Hill to pay homage to the president's role in establishing land grant universities. It is the only duplicate of the original cast. The original sits in Kentucky, Lincoln's birth place. It has become tradition to rub Lincoln's foot before exams and to sit in his lap after graduating. -
Vietman Protests
Dow Chemical, the sole producer of napalm gas, visits the University of Wisconsin-Madison to recruit graduate students. They are welcomed by 3,000 protesting students who clash violently with police on Bascom Hill. -
Pink Flamingos First Appear On Bascom Hill
Members of the Pail and Shovel Party celebrated their political win in Associated Students of Madison by covering Bascom Hill with flamingos. The party was a joke among several friends who ran on the platform of promising to flood Camp Randall for naval battles. The party is also responsible for the replica of the statue of liberty being placed on Lake Mendota during the winter. -
President Obama Visits Madison
President Barrack Obama held a re-election rally. 30,000 people cramed onto Bascom Hill to hear the president speak. Wisconsin was a key swing state in the 2012 presidential election.
