University of Notre Dame Founded - Timeline Event
Founder
Father Edward Sorin
Time Period
1842
Description
In 1842, French priest Edward Sorin and other members of the Congregation of the Holy Cross obtained 524 acres of land located adjacent to South Bend, Indiana from the Bishop of Vincennes in order to establish a Catholic academic institution in two years. Father Sorin named his school University of Notre Dame du Lac, based on the French translation for "The University of Our Lady of the Lake." Modeled after European secondary schools, it originally combined secondary and collegiate education, as well as religious training. Because it was reserved for male students only at the time, females would attend the Sisters of the Holy Cross (est. 1844) near Notre Dame.
Today, Notre Dame enrolls more than 12,000 students and is renowned for its excellent academics, accomplished athletic programs, and famous architecture (e.g., Basillica of the Sacred Heart and Main Building with Golden Dome).
Today, Notre Dame enrolls more than 12,000 students and is renowned for its excellent academics, accomplished athletic programs, and famous architecture (e.g., Basillica of the Sacred Heart and Main Building with Golden Dome).
Interactive Timeline(s)
Browse Related Timeline Entries
Religious Groups
Catholicism (Western Liturgical Family): Other ARDA LinksCatholicism (Western Liturgical Family): Religious Family Tree
Photographs
Main Building's golden dome, University of Notre Dame- Library of Congress, LC-DIG-highsm-18705
Edward Sorin portrait- Wikimedia Commons
University of Notre Dame- Internet Archive- from Catalogue of the University of Notre Dame 1903-1904
University of Notre Dame, first college building- Internet Archive- from A Brief History of the University of Notre Dame Du Lac, Indiana from 1842 to 1892 by the University of Notre Dame
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Basilica of the Sacred Heart- Wikimedia Commons- photo by Know1one1 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Book/Journal Source(s)
McBrien, Richard, 1995. The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism New York: HarperCollins.Web Source(s)
https://www.nd.edu/about/history/Notre Dame's Official Website
Web Page Contributor
Benjamin T. GurrentzAffliated with: Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. in Sociology
