Welcome to Harvard

   Established in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Harvard was named after its first benefactor, John Harvard, of Charlestown, Massachusetts. Upon his death in 1638, the young minister left his library and half his estate to the new College. In 1639, in recognition of John Harvard's bequest, the Great and General Court ordered "that the colledge agreed upon formerly to bee built at Cambridg shalbee called Harvard Colledge."
   Founded 16 years after the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, the College has grown from 9 students with a single Master into a University with an enrollment of more than 18,000 degree candidates.