University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Act to provide instruction to Massachusetts citizens in "agricultural, mechanical, and military arts." Accordingly, the university was initially named the Massachusetts Agricultural College. In 1867, the college had yet to admit any students and had not completed any buildings but had been through two presidents. That same year, William S. Clark was appointed president of the college and professor of botany. He appointed a faculty, coordinated the completion of construction, and, in the fall of 1867, welcomed the first class of approximately 50 students. Clark became the first president to serve long-term after the school's opening. Of the school's founding figures, there are a traditional "founding four" – Clark, Levi Stockbridge, Charles Goessmann, and Henry Hill Goodell.The original buildings consisted of Old South College, North College, the Chemistry Laboratory, the Boarding House, the Botanic Museum, and the Durfee Plant House.
The fledgling college grew under the leadership of President Henry Hill Goodell. …