The New International Encyclopædia/Washington University

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY. An unsectarian institution at Saint Louis, Mo., chartered in 1853 as Eliot Seminary, in honor of Rev. William G. Eliot, of Saint Louis, in deference to whose wishes, however, the name was changed to Washington Institute. Its first educational work under the charter was the opening of an evening school for boys, the O'Fallon Polytechnic Institute. In 1857 the title of Washington University was assumed, and the first college degrees were granted in 1862. A Law School was organized in 1867, the School of Engineering and Architecture in 1870, the School of Fine Arts in 1879, and the School of Botany in 1885. The Saint Louis Medical College, founded in 1842, became a department of the university in 1891, the Missouri Dental College in 1892, and the Missouri Medical College in 1899. The university now consists of these departments, with the addition of Smith Academy, a preparatory school for boys; Mary Institute, a school for girls, organized in 1859; and the Manual Training School, organized in 1879. Students are admitted to the undergraduate department on examination or certificate from an accredited school. The college confers the degree of bachelor of arts and the School of Engineering that of bachelor of science. The professional degrees of civil, mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineer, and architect are given only after three or more years of successful practice. The master's degree in art and science and the degree of doctor of philosophy are also conferred. In 1894 a tract of land just outside the city limits was purchased as a new site for the university, and gifts made by citizens of Saint Louis made it possible to begin building at once. Ten buildings had been erected by 1902 and it was expected that the new site would be occupied in September of that year, but the leasing of the grounds and buildings to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition postponed the removal of the university until after the close of the Exposition. In 1903 the faculty numbered 196 and the student enrollment 2219; of these 241 were in the undergraduate department, 521 in the professional schools, 338 in the school of fine arts, and 1120 in the preparatory schools. The library contained 23,000 volumes. The value of the grounds and buildings was estimated in 1903 at $2,250,000, and the total value of the college property at $7,401,451. The endowment was $4,730,485, and the income $223,365.