1751
Franklin’s group of 24 trustees open the Academy of Philadelphia and Charity School of Philadelphia.
Penn’s History
Penn dates its founding to 1740, when a plan emerged to build a Philadelphia charity school that would double as a house of worship. After construction was underway, however, the cost was seen to be much greater than the available resources, and the project went unfinished for a decade.
College Hall (built 1871-1872, Thomas Webb Richards, architect), exterior, ca. 1890
Franklin’s Vision
In 1749, Benjamin Franklin—printer, inventor, and future founding father of the United States—published his famous essay, “Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth,” circulated it among Philadelphia’s leading citizens, and organized 24 trustees to form an institution of higher education based on his proposals.
Franklin’s educational aims, to train young people for leadership in business, government, and public service, were innovative for the time—laying the foundation for the modern-day liberal arts education. The resulting Philadelphia-based institution would evolve over more than 250 years, blossoming into the University of Pennsylvania as it exists today: a world-class research university renowned for leading advancements across fields, including business, government, medicine, technology, liberal arts, and public service.
Key dates and milestones pivotal to Penn’s early history
1755
Franklin and trustees secure a charter for the College of Philadelphia, to be led by Provost William Smith.
1757
The College graduates its first class.
1765
The institution establishes the first medical school in the American colonies.
1779
Penn becomes first American institution of higher education to be named a university.
1779
Pennsylvania acquires the College of Philadelphia, transforming the College into the University of the State of Pennsylvania and creating both America’s first state school and university.
1791
The University of Pennsylvania earns its current name when the school is made private, once the revolutionary fervor subsides.
1802
The University expands to another campus, moving to the President’s House on Ninth and Chestnut Streets.
1872
Trustees build a new campus in West Philadelphia, where it remains today.
1876
Penn admits women for the first time. (Shown: Left to right- Gertrude Pierce Klein Easby, Anna Lockhart Flanigen, and Mary Thorn Lewis Gannett in chemistry labs)
1879
Penn admits its first students of color. (Shown: Nathan Francis Mossell)
1882
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was founded, with women being admitted since its inception.
1872
Trustees build a new campus in West Philadelphia, where it remains today.
Beyond challenging the educational conventions of the day, Franklin pushed boundaries that moved science and society forward and helped shape America’s very nationhood:
- Member of the Second Continental Congress
- Drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution
- Played a pivotal role in recruiting French aid for the Americans during the Revolutionary War
- Signed the Treaty of Paris, officially ending the conflict with the British Empire
- Asserted that knowledge is an asset that requires practical application to be of value
- Made numerous groundbreaking inventions, ranging from bifocals and the lightning rod to the iron furnace stove and odometer
- Helped launch the country’s first subscription library (1731) and first hospital (1751)
Additional details on Penn’s heritage, including Franklin’s enduring impact on the University, can be found in “A Brief History of the University of Pennsylvania” and “Penn in the 18th Century” at the University Archives & Records Center.
Campus Traditions
The University has a wide range of campus traditions—including Hey Day, toast throwing, Ivy Day, and the Penn Relays—informed by its unique and storied history.
Hey Day
During the annual Hey Day celebration, third-year undergraduates gather on High Rise Field for a picnic, don straw “skimmers” and canes, and walk along Locust Walk to College Hall to mark their rise to senior status.
Ivy Day
Since 1873, Ivy Day involves each graduating class installing their unique Ivy Stone in a meaningful place on campus. Fourth-years are recognized for leadership and service, with the Senior Honor Awards—including the Spoon, Bowl, Cane, and Spade—being among the oldest traditions at Penn.
Penn Relays
The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895, at Franklin Field. Historically, the event has been credited with popularizing the running of relay races.
Toast Throwing
After the third quarter of Penn football games, the crowd unites in singing “Drink a Highball”—a nod to the University’s unofficial cocktail, the Pennsylvanian—and as the last line is sung, fans send toast hurling through the air onto the sidelines.
Franklin's Influence & the Modern University
To this day, Penn’s 299-acre West Philadelphia campus reflects its rich heritage—a heritage closely bound with the birth of the United States—boasting more than 180 buildings and many notable landmarks, including the nation’s first student union and first double-decker college football stadium.
The 190 research centers and institutes on campus also reflect the University’s innovative, civic-minded, and pragmatic creator: More than 250 years after Ben Franklin broke new ground in founding Penn, its faculty, students, and alumni continue to make breakthroughs in research, scholarship, and education. Its many subsequent “firsts” include the world’s first collegiate business school (Wharton, 1881); the world’s first electronic, large-scale, general-purpose digital computer (ENIAC, 1946); and the first woman president of an Ivy League institution (Judith Rodin, inaugurated in 1994). Rodin was succeeded by Amy Gutmann, inaugurated in 2004, and then M. Elizabeth "Liz" Magill, inaugurated in 2022. Penn’s current President, J. Larry Jameson, started his term in 2025.
From campus walkways engraved with Franklin’s words of wisdom to the University’s most important strategic initiatives such as the Penn Integrates Knowledge Professorships, the President’s Engagement Prizes, and the President’s Innovation Prizes, Penn continues to educate and inspire future leaders to move our now-global society forward—all while steeped in a rich tapestry of campus traditions that bind Penn students and alumni together across generations.
University Archives & Records Center
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3401 Market Street, Suite 210
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 898-7024
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