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Coordinates: 42°20′57.68″N 71°06′00.87″W 42.3493556, -71.1002417

Boston University

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  • Address, Directions, & Map:
    • One Sherborn Street, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
  • Telephone Numbers: 617-353-4636
  • Official Website: [1]
• History & Memorable Moments
  • Predecessor institutions and University Charter

On 24-25 April 1839 a meeting of Methodist ministers and laymen from throughout New England was held at the Old Bromfield Street Church in Boston. This meeting voted to establish a Methodist theological school. The school was established in Newbury, Vermont and was called the Newbury Biblical Institute. ^[1]

In 1847 a Congregational Society in Concord, New Hampshire, invited the Institute to relocate to Concord and made available a disused Congregational church building that was able to seat 1200 people. Other citizens of Concord covered the remodeling costs. One stipulation of the invitation was that the Institute remain in Concord for at least 20 years. The charter issued by New Hampshire for the relocated institute named it the "Methodist General Biblical Institute", but it was commonly called the "Concord Biblical Institute." ^[1]

With the agreed twenty years coming to a close, the Trustees of the Concord Biblical Institute purchased 30 acres on Aspinwall Hill in Brookline, Massachusetts as a possible relocation site. The Institute moved in 1867 to 23 Pinkney Street in Boston and received a Massachusetts Charter as the "Boston Theological Institute." ^[1]

In 1869, three Trustees of the Boston Theological Institute obtained from the Massachusetts Legislature a charter for a university to be called "Boston University." These three were successful Boston businessmen and Methodist laymen, with a history of involvement in educational enterprises and became the Founders of Boston University. They were Isaac Rich (1801-1872), Lee Claflin (1791-1871), and Jacob Sleeper (1802-1889). (Today, Boston University's three West Campus dormitories are named after them.) Lee Claflin's son, William, was then Governor of Massachusetts and signed the University Charter on 26 May 1869 after it was passed by the Legislature. ^[1]

One provision of the short charter, as reported by Kathleen Kilgore in her book, "Transformations, A History of Boston University" (see Further Reading) the Founders directed the inclusion of the following provision, unusual for its time: ^[1]

No instructor in said University shall ever be required by the Trustees to profess any particular religious opinions as a test of office, and no student shall be refused admission . . . on account of the religious opinions he may entertain; provided, nonetheless, that this section shall not apply to the theological department of said University. ^[1]

Every department of the new University was also open to all on an equal footing regardless of sex, race or (with the exception of the School of Theology) religion. ^[1]

• Early years (1870-1900)

The Boston Theological Institute was absorbed into Boston University in 1871 as the BU School of Theology. ^[1]

In January 1872 Isaac Rich died, leaving the vast bulk of his estate to a trust that would go to Boston University after ten years of growth while the University was organized. Most of this bequest consisted of real estate throughout the core of the city of Boston and was appraised at more than $1.5 million. Kilgore describes this as the largest single donation to an American college or university to that time. ^[1]

By December, the Great Boston Fire of 1872 had destroyed all but one of the buildings Rich had left to the University, and the insurance companies with which they had been insured were bankrupt. The value of his estate, when turned over to the University in 1882, was half what it had been in 1872. As a result, the University was unable to build its contemplated campus on Aspinwall Hill and the land was sold piecemeal as development sites. Street names in the area, including Claflin Road, Claflin Path, and University Road, are the only remaining evidence of University ownership in this area. ^[1]

Boston University established its facilities in buildings scattered through the less fashionable parts of Beacon Hill, and later expanded into the Boylston Street and Copley Square area before building the Charles River Campus after 1937. ^[1]

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