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When the University of Georgia was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly on January 27, 1785, Georgia became the first state to charter a state-supported university. In 1784 the General Assembly had set aside 40,000 acres of land to endow a college or seminary of learning.

At the first meeting of the board of trustees, held in Augusta on February 13, 1786, Abraham Baldwin was selected president of the university. A native of Connecticut and a graduate of Yale University, Baldwin - who had come to Georgia in 1784 - drafted the charter adopted by the General Assembly.

The university was actually established in 1801 when a committee of the board of trustees selected a land site. John Milledge, later a governor of the state, purchased and gave to the board of trustees the chosen tract of 633 acres on the banks of the Oconee River in northeast Georgia.

Josiah Meigs was named president of the university and work was begun on the first building, originally called Franklin College in honor of Benjamin Franklin and now known as Old College. The university graduated its first class in 1804. The curriculum of traditional classical studies was broadened in 1843 to include courses in law, and again in 1872 when the university received federal funds for instruction in agriculture and mechanical arts.

Seventeen colleges and schools, with auxiliary divisions, carry on the university's programs of teaching, research, and service. These colleges and schools and the dates of their establishment as separate administrative units are: Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, 1801; College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, 1859; School of Law, 1859; College of Pharmacy, 1903; D. B. Daniel B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, 1906; College of Education, 1908; Graduate School, 1910; C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business, 1912; Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, 1915; College of Family and Consumer Sciences, 1933; College of Veterinary Medicine, 1946; School of Social Work, 1964; College of Environment and Design, 1969; School of Public and International Affairs, 2001; the College of Public Health, 2005, the Odum School of Ecology, 2007 and the College of Engineering, 2012. The Division of General Extension, now the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center & Hotel, was incorporated into the university in 1947.

In 1931 the General Assembly of Georgia placed all state-supported institutions of higher education, including UGA, under the jurisdiction of a single board. This organization, known as the University System of Georgia, is governed by the board of regents. The board of regents' executive officer, the chancellor, exercises a general supervisory control over all institutions of the University System, with each institution having its own executive officers and faculty.

The photos and a majority of the text above were reproduced from F.N. Boney's book, A Pictorial History of the University of Georgia, 1984, University of Georgia Press
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When the University of Georgia was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly on January 27, 1785, Georgia became the first state to charter a state-supported university. In 1784 the General Assembly had set aside 40,000 acres of land to endow a college or seminary of learning.

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Founded on January 27, 1785, Athens, GA

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He was a leader of the Lower Towns, the Creek who were adapting European-American ways and tools to incorporate into their culture.

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University Of Georgia

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Chartered by the Georgia General Assembly Jan. 27, 1785, in Savannah, The University of Georgia is America's first state-chartered university and the birthplace of the American system of public higher education.

Two men who were leaders of the early University of Georgia also signed the United States Constitution. Abraham Baldwin, who wrote UGA's charter and was the institution's first president, and William Few, a member of the Board of Trustees, signed the Constitution on behalf of Georgia at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1787.

Jere W. Morehead (JD '80) is the University of Georgia's 22nd president, taking office on July 1, 2013.

The Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication administers the Peabody Awards program, often cited as the most prestigious award in electronic media. The Peabody archives, housed at UGA, contain some of the best radio and television programs produced in the last six decades.

The Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology, the first stand-alone academic school in the world devoted specifically to the study of ecology, began operation at UGA on July 1, 2007. Named for the late UGA professor who pioneered the modern study of ecology.

Among public universities, the University of Georgia is one of the nation's top three producers of Rhodes Scholars over the past two decades. UGA is also home to hundreds of major scholarship winners, including:

24 Rhodes Scholars

7 Gates Cambridge Scholars

7 Marshall Scholars

53 Goldwater Scholars

20 Truman Scholars

16 Udall Scholars

37 Boren Scholars

112 Fulbright Student Scholars

3 Schwarzman Scholars

3 Mitchell Scholars

The University of Georgia continues to be one of the best values in public higher education in the nation. Top value and low debt at graduation earned UGA 12th-place status on Kiplinger Magazine's 2018 list of 100 best values among public colleges and universities.

The Richard B. Russell Special Collections Libraries is a 115,000-square-foot facility housing the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and the Peabody Awards Collection.

The Georgia Museum of Art, located on the University's campus, is the official state museum of art.

Bernard Ramsey (BS '37), who died in July of 1996, was UGA's most generous benefactor. His contributions to the University totaled nearly $45 million, including an $18.8 million bequest. The Bernard B. and Eugenia A. Ramsey Student Physical Activities Center is named for Mr. Ramsey and his late wife.

The Terry College of Business is named for alumnus C. Herman Terry, who died in June 1998, and his wife Mary Virginia Terry. Mr. and Mrs. Terry provided a $6 million gift that allowed the college to establish an endowment that supports outstanding business college faculty members and provides scholarships for top business students.

The university's Small Business Development Center was established in 1977 as one of the first such programs in the country. The program annually provides hundreds of small businesses and prospective entrepreneurs with counseling, management training, continuing education, alumni networking and advocacy.

In addition to its status as a land-grant institution, the university is one of 30 institutions in the U.S. to be designated a Sea Grant College. The University in 1980 became the 15th institution to attain Sea Grant status - a recognition of excellence in marine research, education and advisory services.

Public Service and Outreach is central to the University's mission, spearheading UGA's extensive outreach efforts through the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, the Archway Partnership, the Small Business Development Center, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, the Center for Continuing Education & Hotel, the Office of Service-Learning and UGA Marine Extension/Georgia Sea Grant, reaching all 159 counties and more than 500 cities.

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Chartered by the Georgia General Assembly Jan. 27, 1785, in Savannah, The University of Georgia is America's first state-chartered university and the birthplace of the American system of public higher education. Two men who were leaders of the early University of Georgia also signed the United States Constitution.

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The impact of the cotton gin and railroads on Georgia

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analyze the events that led to the removal of the Creeks and Cherokees including the roles of Alexander McGillivray, William McIntosh, Sequoyah, John Ross, the Dahlonega Gold Rush, Worcester v. Georgia, Andrew Jackson, John Marshall, and the Trail of tear

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In 1809 Sequoyah made a syllabary (alphabet) for the Cherokee Nation. It was the first written language for the Cherokee.