University City in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
1749
A Revolutionary Institution
| | Founded by Benjamin Franklin | |
As to their studies, it would be well if they could be taught every thing that is useful and every thing that is ornamental. But art is long and their time is short. It is therefore proposed that they learn those things that are likely to be most useful and most ornamental. Regard being had to the several professions for which they are intended.
Benjamin Franklin, Proposal Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania, 1749
1740 Edmund Wooley, the architect of Independence Hall is commissioned to build a church and school that will be acquired in 1750 for Benjamin Franklin's Academy.
1749 Franklin organizes the Academy, to be followed by a college for advanced study, where practical and theoretical studies are combined to train leaders for the modern world.
1755 Franklin obtains a charter for the College of Philadelphia, the first secular institution of higher learning in British North America. Its curriculum is a revolutionary mix of modern and classical languages with geography, the natural sciences, and philosophy.
1757 The first graduating class includes Francis Hopkinson, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Hugh Williamson, a member of the Constitutional Convention.
1765 The trustees
this page online
Erected by University of Pennsylvania.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Education • Government & Politics • Science & Medicine • War, US Revolutionary. In addition, it is included in the Signers of the Declaration of Independence series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1749.
Location. 39° 57.073′ N, 75° 11.594′ W. Marker is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It is in University City. It can be reached from Spruce Street west of South 34th Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3417 Spruce St, Philadelphia PA 19104, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 1896 (here, next to this marker); 1946 (within shouting distance of this marker); Benjamin Franklin (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Wistar Institute of Anatomy & Biology (about 600 feet away); Hilary Koprowski, M.D. (about 600 feet away); Benjamin Franklin in 1723 (about 600 feet
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 17, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 382 times since then and 59 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 17, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
