The University of Virginia was founded by Thomas Jefferson, who regarded it as one of his three greatest achievements and had it recorded on his tombstone. He designed its original grounds in Charlottesville, called the Academical Village, with a central Rotunda modeled on the Pantheon in Rome, flanked by pavilions and student rooms. Classes began in the middle of the 1820s. Jefferson wanted a university free from church control, where students could choose their courses and study new subjects. The institution later grew into a large public research university, and the grounds, together with Jefferson's nearby home at Monticello, were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The university also relied on enslaved labor in its early decades.
Before and after
- 18 October 1818Founding of University of Bonn
- 28 October 1818Birth of Ivan Turgenev
- 24 December 1818Birth of James Prescott Joule
- from 1819 to 1831Gran Colombia
- 25 January 1819Founding of University of Virginia
- 6 February 1819Founding of modern Singapore
- 24 May 1819Birth of Victoria
- 31 May 1819Birth of Walt Whitman
- 12 June 1819Discovery of 7P/Pons–Winnecke
More in Society, economy & sport
- from 10 June 1815 to 24 August 1866Founding of German Confederation
- 17 February 1863Founding of International Committee of the Red Cross
- 17 May 1865Founding of International Telecommunication Union
- 19 September 1893New Zealand becomes the first country where women vote
- 29 November 1899Founding of FC Barcelona
- 30 June 1908Tunguska event
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.