Look Who it Was Random video

Archive: UW Timeline: University of Washington Founded 1861

1,049 views · Published 13 April 2012 · 1:01 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: UW Video · 2012 · Education

Watch on YouTube

Seattle pioneers Arthur Denny, Edward Lander and Charles Terry endowed the first ten acres of land to found the Territorial University of Washington in 1861, making downtown Seattle home to the first public university in the state. The University of Washington opened its doors to its first class of 30 students, taught by instructor ASA Mercer, on November 4th 1861. The University was relocated to its present-day campus on Lake Washington in the newly constructed Denny Hall, and by the 1970s, enrollment doubled from roughly 16,000 to 34,000 students. Today the University of Washington is one of the oldest public University's on the West Coast, and is the largest in the Pacific Northwest with over 40,000 students enrolled.
The University of Washington is committed to ensuring digital accessibility in our services, programs, and activities. If you encounter accessibility barriers using videos found on this channel, please contact UW Video at uwvideo [at] uw [dot] edu.

More from this channel