Historical events

By angierojas15

  • 1635- The First Latin Grammar School

    1635 - The first Latin Grammar School (Boston Latin School) is established. Latin Grammar Schools are designed for sons of certain social classes who are destined for leadership positions in church, state, or the courts.

  • First Free School

    1635 - The first "free school" in Virginia opens. However, education in the Southern colonies is more typically provided at home by parents or tutors.

  • Harvard University

    1636 - Harvard College, the first higher education institution in what is now the United States, is established in Newton (now Cambridge), Massachusetts

  • The Massachusetts Bay School Law

    1642 - The Massachusetts Bay School Law is passed. It requires that parents ensure their children know the principles of religion and the capital laws of the commonwealth.

  • The College of William and Mary

    1693 - The College of William and Mary is established in Virginia. It is the second college to open in colonial America and has the distinction of being Thomas Jefferson's college.

  • John Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning Education

    1693 - John Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning Education is published, describing his views on educating upper class boys to be moral, rationally-thinking, and reflective "young gentlemen." His ideas regarding educating the masses are conveyed in On Working Schools, published in 1697, which focused on the importance of developing a work ethic.

  • First Publicly Supported Library

    1698 - The first publicly supported library in the U.S. is established in Charles Town, South Carolina. Two years later, the General Assembly of South Carolina passes the first public library law.

  • The Ursuline Academy of New Orleans

    1727 - The Ursuline Academy of New Orleans is founded. A Catholic school for girls sponsored by Sisters of the Order of Saint Ursula, it is "the oldest continuously operating school for girls and the oldest Catholic school in the United States."

  • English Academy

    1751 - Benjamin Franklin helps to establish the first "English Academy" in Philadelphia with a curriculum that is both classical and modern, including such courses as history, geography, navigation, surveying, and modern as well as classical languages. The academy ultimately becomes the University of Pennsylvania.

  • St. Matthew Lutheran School

    1752 - St. Matthew Lutheran School, one of the first Lutheran "parish schools" in North America, is founded in New York City by Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, after whom Muhlenberg College in Allentown Pennsylvania is named.