Tuskegee University opened on 4 July 1881 in Tuskegee, Alabama, as the Tuskegee Normal School for the training of Black teachers, with thirty students meeting in a one-room church and the 26-year-old Booker T. Washington as first principal. Combining academic study with vocational and industrial training, and with students building much of the campus themselves, it grew by Washington's death in 1915 to more than one hundred buildings and about 1,500 students, becoming a central institution of Black higher education in the United States. It took its present name in 1985.
Facts
Founded Year Ownership Type Classification
Institution Type Statistics
Enrollment Size FAQs
Why is Tuskegee University's founding dated to both February and July 1881?
The law creating the school was signed on February 12, 1881 and the school opened on July 4, 1881.
The two dates mark two different events in 1881. On February 12, 1881, Alabama Governor Rufus Willis Cobb signed the bill into law that established the Tuskegee Normal School for the training of Black teachers. The school itself then opened on July 4, 1881, in a shanty loaned by a Black church, Butler Chapel A.M.E. Zion, with Booker T. Washington as its founding principal.
Connections
Founded By
Washington was the founding principal; the Alabama legislature provided the legal charter.
Source Tuskegee University Official Site
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Located In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is located.
Sources
1. Tuskegee University Official Site
Booker T. Washington legacy page, Educating Others section
On February 12, 1881, Governor Rufus Willis Cobb signed the bill into law, establishing the Tuskegee Normal School for the training of Black teachers.
Legacy page, Alabama location
located in the State of Alabama
Legacy page, founding legislation of February 1881
The founding date was July 4, 1881, authorized by House Bill 165.
Legacy page, historical names
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute
Description, institution-kind classification
Tuskegee University opened on 4 July 1881 in Tuskegee, Alabama, as the Tuskegee Normal School for the training of Black teachers, with thirty students meeting in a one-room church and the 26-year-old Booker T.
Founded By: Booker T. Washington, Legacy page, first principal account
Dr. Booker T. Washington the first teacher and Founding Principal
In Category: Institutions and Systems, University self-description
a national, independent, and state-related institution of higher learning
View the Source2. Wikidata: Tuskegee University
- Wikidata Q1682329, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
- Wikidata Q1682329, class allow-list match (w-bbfill-education6-0927)
- Wikidata Q1682329 P2196 (number of students) (w-bbfill-education6-0927)
- Wikidata Q1682329 P2196 (number of students), CORRECTION of char-code cast defect (w-bbfill-education6-0927)
View the Source3. Tuskegee University (Wikipedia)
Lead sectionQuote, Lead section
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States.
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