The history of Michigan State University (MSU) dates to 1855, when the Michigan Legislature established the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan. As the first agricultural college in the United States, the school served as a prototype for future Land Grant institutions under the Morrill Act. The school's first class graduated in 1861. That same year, the Michigan Legislature approved a plan to allow the school to adopt a four-year curriculum and grant degrees comparable to those of rival University of Michigan. In 1870, the College became co-educational and expanded its curriculum beyond agriculture into a broad array of coursework commencing with home economics for women students. The school established "Farmers' Institutes" as a means of reaching out to the state's agricultural community; the program gradually became the MSU Extension Services. After World War II, the college gained admission to the Big Ten Conference and grew to become one of the largest educational institutions in the United States. In its centennial year of 1955, the state officially made the school a university and the current name was adopted in 1964 after Michigan voters adopted a new constitution.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Michigan_State_University
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1533:
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Conquistador Francisco Pizarro executed the last independent Inca Emperor Atahualpa in Cajamarca. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atahualpa
1786:
Led by Daniel Shays, disgruntled farmers in Western Massachusetts, US, angered by high tax burdens and disenfranchisement, started Shays' Rebellion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shays%27_Rebellion
1831:
Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction, leading to the formation of Faraday's law of induction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday%27s_law_of_induction
1916:
The United States Congress passed the Philippine Autonomy Act, the first formal and official declaration of the US commitment to grant independence to the Philippines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Law_(Philippines)
1949:
The Soviet Union successfully conducted its first nuclear weapons test, exploding the 22-kiloton RDS-1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDS-1
1991:
Italian businessman Libero Grassi was killed by the Sicilian Mafia after taking a public stand against their extortion demands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libero_Grassi
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
skyclad: (Wicca) Naked outdoors. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/skyclad
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
An act of goodness is of itself an act of happiness. No reward coming after the event can compare with the sweet reward that went with it. --Maurice Maeterlinck https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maurice_Maeterlinck