History of Princeton University

The history of Princeton University spans 271 years since it was founded in 1746. Princeton University has produced many notable scholars and scientists, including several Nobel laureates, most recently economist Angus Deaton.

Princeton University was founded at Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 1746 as the College of New Jersey.

New Light Presbyterians founded the College of New Jersey, later Princeton University, in 1746 in order to train ministers dedicated to their views. The college was the educational and religious capital of Scotch-Irish America. By 1808, loss of confidence in the college within the Presbyterian Church led to the establishment in 1812 of the separate Princeton Theological Seminary, but deep Presbyterian influence at the college continued through the 1910s. The Province of New Jersey granted a charter on October 22, 1746 for “the Education of Youth in the Learned Languages and in the Liberal Arts and Sciences”. The charter was unique in the colonies, for it specified that “any Person of any religious Denomination whatsoever” might attend. The College’s enrollment totaled 10 young men, who met for classes in the Reverend Jonathan Dickinson's parlor in Elizabeth. Dickinson soon died and was replaced by Aaron Burr, Sr., pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Newark, New Jersey. The College moved to Newark in the fall of 1747, where in 1748 a class of six men became the first to graduate.

In 1756, the College moved to its new quarters to Nassau Hall, in Princeton, New Jersey. Nassau Hall, named to honor King William III, Prince of Orange, of the House of Nassau, was one of the largest buildings in the colonies. For nearly half a century it housed the entire College—classrooms, dormitories, library, chapel, dining room, and kitchen. During the American Revolution it survived occupation by soldiers from both sides and today bears a cannonball scar from the Battle of Princeton (January 3, 1777). The federal government recognized the historical significance of “Old Nassau” by awarding it national landmark status and by issuing an orange and black commemorative three-cent stamp in celebration of its 1956 bicentennial.

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