University of Dundee

present United College. Finally, agreement was reached that what was needed was expansion of the sciences and professions, rather than the arts at St Andrews.
A donation of £120,000 for the creation of an institution of higher education in Dundee was made by Miss Mary Ann Baxter of Balgavies, a notable lady of the city and heir to the fortune of William Baxter of Balgavies. In this endeavour, she was assisted by her relative, John Boyd Baxter, an alumnus of St Andrews and Procurator Fiscal of Forfarshire who also contributed nearly £20,000. In order to craft the institution and its principles, it was to be established first as an independent university college, with a view from its very inception towards incorporation into the University of St Andrews.
In 1881, the ideals of the proposed new college were laid down, suggesting the establishment of an institute for "promoting the education of persons of both sexes and the study of Science, Literature and the Fine Arts". The university currently identifies 1881 as the year of its foundation, as University College's endowment was dated 31 December 1881, but the year 1880, when the announcement of Mary Ann Baxter's funding was made, as well as the years 1882 and 1883 have also been cited as their foundation year by the institution in the past.
No religious oaths were to be required of members. Later that year, "University College, Dundee" was established as an academic institution and the first principal, Sir William Peterson, was elected in late 1882. When opened in 1883, it comprised five faculties: Maths and Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Engineering and Drawing, English Language and Literature and Modern History, and Philosophy. The University College had no power to award degrees and for some years some students were prepared for external examinations of the University of London. By 1894, the faculties offered at the college remained essentially scientific in outlook, with three academics - including the principal, William Peterson - giving instruction in classics, …