In 1691 the Virginia Colony's House of Burgesses sent the Reverend James Blair to
England to secure a charter for a proposed college. Blair was ultimately successful,
and the College was founded on February 8, 1693, under royal charter from the English Monarchs,
William and Mary. The charter named James Blair as the College's
first President.The three original College buildings (the President's House, Brafferton, and the main building, a precursor to today's Wren
Building) were built between 1693 and 1699 upon 330
acres (1.3 km²), ten miles (16 km) north of Jamestown,
Virginia, in a placed called Middle Plantation (later renamed
Williamsburg, Virginia). Students of the College were
responsible for suggesting the Capital of the Virginia Colony be moved nearby after fire destroyed the fourth State House at
Jamestown in 1698. The House of Burgesses met at the College while the new State House was constructed at Williamsburg, and again
when it burned in 1847 until it was rebuilt in 1853.The College building also was often subject to catastrophe, being partially destroyed by fire and rebuilt three times (in
1705, 1859 and 1862) with further portions demolished and rebuilt during the late 1920s. The building now standing was named the
"Wren Building" after the prominent English architect Christopher
Wren, who once was credited with designing an earlier iteration. As an interesting point of history, the descendants of the
original ivy grown on the building has been kept in a preservation from which all ivy on the building during its many
incarnations has been planted.In 1779, William and Mary became the first U.S. college to achieve the status of University with the addition of the College of Law and School of Modern Languages. However, it retains the word
"college" in its name because the original charter specified that it always and forever be named "the College of William and Mary
in Virginia." William and Mary closed from 1881 to 1885 due to funding problems. The Commonwealth of Virginia granted the
University a formal charter during the early twentieth century, turning William and Mary into a state university, and adding the
College of Education.William and Mary is notable for several academic firsts. Under the guidance of Virginia's then Governor Thomas Jefferson, the College adopted the nation's first elective system of
study and also introduced the first student policed Honor System. In 1779, also at the
request of Jefferson, the College made Jefferson's friend and mentor, George
Wythe, the first Professor of Law in America.The Phi Beta Kappa honor society was founded at the College of
William and Mary in 1776, establishing chapters at other schools before collapsing within a
few years. The society since has been reestablished at the College. The Bishop James Madison Society, a secret
society that remains active today, was also founded there. A number of other secret societies exist at the school, including
the Flat Hat Club (FHC), the Alpha Club, the 7 Society, and the 13 Club.In 1993, William and Mary opened Tercentenary Hall to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the charter. This building would
later be renamed under a flurry of protest to McGlothlin Street Hall, in recognition of the McGlothlin and Street Families
contributions to the institution. The building currently houses the Applied Sciences department, the Geology department, and the
Computer Science department.Despite student protest and the disapproval of some alumni, Henry
Kissinger was appointed Chancellor to the college in 2001. Protest was focused on what some consider war crimes committed by Kissinger during his political career.In 2004, Timothy J. Sullivan, the 25th President of the College, resigned from his position, effective at the end of the
2004-2005 academic year. The Presidential Search Committee is currently looking for qualified candidates to fill the position at
the start of the 2005-2006 academic year.