Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The idea of Massachusetts Institute of Technology first arose in 1846 in a letter by William Barton Rogers, the eventual founder of the institution. He proposed the founding of a polytechnic school in Boston focused on the furthering of basic scientific principles. His idea began to take root from 1859 to 1861. After the filling of Back Bay beginning in 1857, the city of Boston had a large amount of land and decided to charter some for the construction of educational facilities. On April 10, 1861, the University was founded through the approval of the charter by the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The school opened in 1865 using temporary quarters and 13 students graduated in 1868. The beginnings were delayed because of the outbreak of the Civil War. Once the university was built, it grew slowly until the 1880s when Francis Amasa Walker was elected president of the institution. Once in office he worked to build up the endowment and expand the facilities. Additionally, during his time the university surpassed the important milestone of 1,000 students. During the late 19th Century, Harvard began a series of merger attempts all of which were unsuccessful. In 1916, the university moved from Boston to Cambridge, complete with a ceremonial barge and torch. During WWI, MIT became home of the first Navy ground school for pilots. The model of ground school became integrated into the aviation training after the war. During WWII and the Cold War, the increasing role of technology in warfare was important to the development of the military industrial conflict. MIT became a center for the development of the new technologies and began receiving millions in grants from the Department of Defense. Throughout the 1960s, MIT students were involved in a variety of protests including anti-war and political issues. More recently, MIT has been a part of the globalization of education as changes have been made to the curriculum and a variety of courses have been made available online. The specific site which you are standing is called Killian court. The iconic dome you can see to the north is known as the Great Dome and was once topped by a police car as a prank. Inside the building is the president’s office and to the south is the Charles River. This site is one of the most iconic views of the prestigious university.