William Woodbridge, presiding judge Augustus B. Woodward of the Territorial Supreme Court, and judge John Griffin. In 1821, by a new enactment, the university itself was created as a "body politic and corporate", maintaining its corporate status through various modifications to its charter. The term "Catholepistemiad," a neologism derived from a blend of Greek and Latin roots, can be loosely translated as "School of Universal Knowledge". This corporation was modeled after the Imperial University of France, an entity established by Napoleon I a decade prior, and included an array of schools and libraries under a single administration, with the authority to establish additional schools across the territory. It wasn't until Michigan became a state in 1837 that the corporation focused solely on higher education.
Promptly after the Territory of Michigan's formation in 1805, prominent citizens acknowledged the need for a college. In 1806, Gabriel Richard, who presided over several schools in the Town of Detroit, first …
