FORMAL OPENING OF FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE, COLLEGE, IN THE CITY OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, JUNE 7, 1853. by Hayes, A.L.; Nevin, J.W.; & Potter, Alonzo - 1853

Printed by Order of the Trustees (by Jno. H, Pearsol, Saturday Evening Express Office, Lancaster, PA: ., 1853 pp. 44. 220 mm. Original colored printed wraps, with ads. Good. Franklin College was chartered in 1787, in Lancaster, PA on the site of a former brewery. It was named for Benjamin Franklin, who donated L200 to the new institution. Founded by four prominent ministers from the German Reformed Church and the Lutheran Church, in conjunction with numerous Philadelphians, the school was established as a German college whose goal was "to preserve our present republican system of government," and "to promote those improvements in the arts and sciences which alone render nations respectable, great and happy." Its first trustees included five signers of the Declaration of Independence, two members of the Constitutional Convention and seven officers of the Revolutionary War. The school's first courses were taught on July 16, 1787, with instruction taking place in both English and German, making it the first bilingual college in the United States. Franklin College was also America's first coeducational institution, with its first class of students composed of 78 men and 36 women. Among the latter was Richea Gratz, the first Jewish female college student in the United States. However, the coed policy was soon abandoned and it would take 182 years before women were again permitted to enroll in the school. In 1853 it merged with Marshall College of Mercersburg, PA. James Buchanan was named president of the first Franklin & Marshall board of trustees. S&S/AI 10602. PA72 Rt. Soft cover. Very Good.