The history of Brown University spans years. Founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and the third-oldest institution of higher education in New England. At its foundation, the university was the first in the U.S. to accept students regardless of their religious affiliation. Brown's medical program is the third-oldest in New England while its engineering program is the oldest in the Ivy League.
The university was one of the early doctoral-granting U.S. institutions in the late 19th century, adding masters and doctoral studies in 1887.
In 1969, Brown adopted its Open Curriculum—which has since come to define the university's approach to undergraduate education. In 1971, Brown's coordinate women's institution, Pembroke College, was fully merged into the university.
Establishment Charter
Early petitions Brown University's origin dates to 1761, when three residents of Newport, Rhode Island, drafted a petition to the colony's General Assembly:The three petitioners were Ezra Stiles, pastor of Newport's Second Congregational Church and future president of Yale University; William Ellery, Jr., future signer of the United States Declaration of Independence; and Josias Lyndon, future governor of the colony.
According to Stiles's biographer, Edmund Morgan, the young minister saw in Newport's religious diversity "an opportunity to join with Christians of other denominations in a project which would exemplify their common faith in free inquiry.... a college in which the major religious groups of the colony should unite in the pursuit of knowledge."
The editor of Stiles's papers observes, "This draft of a petition connects itself with other evidence of Dr. Stiles's project for a Collegiate Institution in Rhode Island, before the charter of what became Brown University."Dexter (1916), p. 25. There is further documentary evidence that Stiles was making plans for a college in 1762. On January 20, Chauncey Whittelsey, pastor of the First Church of New Haven, answered a letter from Stiles:
Philadelphia Baptists
The Philadelphia Association of Baptist Churches offered the impetus for establishing a college in Rhode Island—home of the mother church of their denomination. While the Baptists had established Hopewell Academy in 1756, they remained unrepresented among the colonial colleges. The Congregationalists had Harvard and Yale, the Presbyterians had the College of New Jersey and the Episcopalians had the College of William and Mary and King's College. Isaac Backus, a historian of the New England Baptists and an inaugural Trustee of Brown, wrote of the October 1762 resolution taken at Philadelphia:
Writing a charter
James Manning arrived at Newport in July 1763. There, he organized a meeting with 15 Baptist men in the home of Deputy Governor John Gardner (8 Washington Square) to discuss and publicly present his plans to organize a college.
In Newport, Manning was introduced to Stiles, who agreed to write the Charter for the college. Stiles's first draft was read to the General Assembly in August 1763 and rejected by Baptist members who worried that their denomination would be underrepresented in the College Board of Fellows. An amended charter, which secured the Baptists' control of both branches of the College's Corporation was passed by the House of Magistrates and the Upper House on March 2 and 3, 1764 in East Greenwich.Hoeveler, David J., Creating the American Mind: Intellect and Politics in the Colonial Colleges, Rowman & Littlefield, 2007, p. 191
Dismayed by this move towards sectarianism, Stiles declined a seat on the College's Corporation, writing that Baptists had seized "the whole Power and Government of the College and thus by the Immutability of the numbers establishing it a Party College." Stiles continued to work towards his vision of a non-sectarian institution after Brown's establishment, presenting in 1770, a petition for the establishment of another college in Newport.
The charter had more than sixty signatories, including the brothers John, Nicholas and Moses of the Brown family, who would later inspire the College's modern name following a gift bestowed by Nicholas Brown, Jr. The college's mission, as stated in the charter, was to prepare students "for discharging the Offices of Life with usefulness & reputation" by providing instruction "in the Vernacular and Learned Languages, and in the liberal Arts and Sciences." The charter's language has long been interpreted by the university as discouraging the founding of a business school or law school. Brown continues to be one of only two Ivy League colleges with neither a business school nor a law school, the other being Princeton.
At the time of its creation, Brown's Charter was a uniquely progressive document. Other colleges had curricular strictures against opposing doctrines, while Brown's Charter asserted, "Sectarian differences of opinions, shall not make any Part of the Public and Classical Instruction." The charter additionally "recognized more broadly and fundamentally than any other the principle of denominational cooperation." The oft-repeated statement that Brown's Charter alone prohibited a religious test for College membership is inaccurate; other college charters were similarly liberal in that particular.
In September 1764, the inaugural meeting of the Corporation—the college's governing body—was held at Newport. Governor Stephen Hopkins was chosen chancellor, former and future governor Samuel Ward vice chancellor, John Tillinghast treasurer, and Thomas Eyres secretary. The Charter stipulated that the Board of Trustees should be composed of 22 Baptists, five Quakers, five Episcopalians, and four Congregationalists. Of the 12 Fellows, eight should be Baptists—including the College president—"and the rest indifferently of any or all Denominations."
Founding The college was founded as Rhode Island College, on the site of the First Baptist Church at the corner of Main and Miller Streets in Warren, Rhode Island. James Manning was sworn in as the College's first president in 1765 and remained in the role until 1791. The College's first commencement was held in Warren in September 1769. The original church building was burned to the ground by British and Hessian soldiers in 1778; the present First Baptist Church of Warren stands on the original site.
In 1769, the erection of a building for the College was proposed, raising the question of whether Warren should serve as the College's permanent location. Among the requirements for the College's location were a place of "clear and wholesome air... where the morals of the inhabitants [were] not corrupted ... civil and religious liberty [was] encouraged ... there [were] assemblies of the different denominations" and labor and building materials were readily available. East Greenwich was proposed first but soon eclipsed by Providence, which was desired for its central location, cost of living, schoolhouses, and public library. Since wealthy Newport could likely raise more money to support the College than Providence, James Manning suggested in an anonymous letter that the Brown family contribute to the cost of erecting a building.
In 1770, the College moved to its present location in Providence. This move was protested by residents of Newport; in February 1770 William Ellery reportedly discussed the potential establishment of a rival college in Newport with Ezra Stiles.
Following its move to Providence, the College was temporarily located on the second floor of the Brick Schoolhouse. During this time, a debate ensued between Providence's East and West sides over where the College should be located.
Building a campus
After relocating to Providence, work began on establishing a permanent campus for the College, an effort that culminated in the construction of University Hall.
In 1770, John and Moses Brown purchased a four acre lot on the East Side of Providence on behalf of the school. The majority of the property fell within the bounds of the original home lot of Chad Brown, an ancestor of the Browns and one of the original proprietors of Providence Plantations. A building committee, organized by the Corporation, developed plans for the College's first purpose-built edifice, finalizing a design on February 9, 1770.
On February 17 the building committee placed a notice in the Providence Gazette soliciting donations of timber and other materials. Among the effort's benefactors were Prominent Newport merchant and slave trader Aaron Lopez. The workforce involved in the construction of the building was diverse, reflecting the ethnic and social admixture of colonial Providence's population. Slaves, free people of color, indigenous people, and white laborers—both skilled and unskilled—worked to erect the structure. Construction began on March 26, 1770; the roof of the building was raised in October of the same year 1770.
Funding
At the time of its founding, tuition at Brown was $12 a year. This amount was insufficient to cover the new college's expenses, so its trustees looked to benefactors for funding. In 1766, Rev. Morgan Edwards traveled to Europe to "solicit Benefactions for this Institution." During his year and a half stay in the British Isles, the reverend secured $4,300 in funding. Among the benefactors who contributed to this sum were Thomas Penn and Benjamin Franklin. A similar trip to the American South was later taken by Rev. Hezekiah Smith, who raised an additional $1,700.
Brown family Nicholas Brown, his son Nicholas Brown, Jr. (class of 1786), John Brown, Joseph Brown, and Moses Brown were instrumental in moving the College to Providence, constructing its first building, and securing its endowment. Joseph became a professor of natural philosophy at the College; John served as its treasurer from 1775 to 1796; and Nicholas Jr. succeeded his uncle as treasurer from 1796 to 1825.
On September 8, 1803, the Corporation voted, "That the donation of $5000 Dollars, if made to this College within one Year from the late Commencement, shall entitle the donor to name the College." The following year, the appeal was answered by College treasurer Nicholas Brown, then a Junior. In a letter dated September 6, 1804, Brown committed "a donation of Five Thousand Dollars to Rhode Island College, to remain in perpetuity as a fund for the establishment of a Professorship of Oratory and Belles Letters." In recognition of the gift, the Corporation on the same day voted, "That this College be called and known in all future time by the Name of Brown University." Over the years, the benefactions of Nicholas Brown, Jr., totaled nearly $160,000 and included funds for the building of Hope College (1821–22) and Manning Hall (1834–35).
In 1904, the John Carter Brown Library, founded on the private collection of John Carter Brown, son of Nicholas Brown, Jr., was established as an independently funded research library on Brown's campus.
The Brown family was involved in various business ventures in Rhode Island, and accrued a portion of wealth through the Triangle Trade. The family itself was divided on the issue of slavey. John Brown had unapologetically defended slavery, while Moses Brown and Nicholas Brown Jr. were fervent abolitionists. Under the tenure of President Ruth Simmons, the University in 2003 established a steering committee to investigate these ties and recommend a strategy to address them.Howell, Ricardo (2001, July). "Slavery, the Brown Family of Providence and Brown University ", Brown University News Service
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