December 18, 1820

The University of Alabama was established on Dec. 18, 1820, through an act of the Alabama Legislature. Tuscaloosa was chosen as the site for the new university on Dec. 29, 1827. The state purchased land for the campus outside the city limits of Tuscaloosa the next spring, and the school opened three years later in April 1831, with four faculty members and 94 students. Today, the school in Tuscaloosa is considered the flagship campus of the University of Alabama System, which also includes the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). It offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 200 fields of study, and consistently is listed among the nation’s top public universities. The school is one of the state’s two largest universities.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

The campus of the University of Alabama, c. 1859. Photograph features the Quad, with the Rotunda at center and dormitories in the background. These buildings were destroyed by the Union army under the command of Brigadier General John T. Croxton on April 4, 1865. (University of Alabama Libraries: William Stanley Hoole Special Collections Library, Wikipedia)

Gorgas House Museum at the University of Alabama, 1934. (Photograph by W.N. Manning, HABS, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

Tuomey Hall, University of Alabama. 1907. (Alabama Department of Archives and History, Wikipedia)

President’s House at the University of Alabama, April 3, 1934. (Photograph by W.N. Manning, HABS, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

The Round House, which stands on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, is one of only four pre-Civil War buildings that stand on the grounds. Formerly a guard house, it is now a memorial to the university’s honor societies. It is also known as Jason’s Shrine, after The Jasons, a men’s honor society at UA. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of The George F. Landegger Collection of Alabama Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

Denny Chimes is a bell tower on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa. It was named for former President George Hutcheson Denny, who oversaw a broad expansion of the university during the early 20th century, including its football team. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of The George F. Landegger Collection of Alabama Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

Clark Hall, University of Alabama, 2010. (The George F. Landegger Collection of Alabama Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, named for former University of Alabama president George Denny and legendary football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, is the home of the UA Crimson Tide football team. It was constructed in 1929 as Denny Stadium, and in 1975 the state Legislature renamed it to honor Bryant. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Paul W. Bryant Museum, University of Alabama)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.