| 1857 | Father John McElroy, S.J. purchased property in the South End of Boston for a new college. | ||
| 1860 | College building, Jesuit residence and Church of the Immaculate Conception completed. | ||
| 1863 | Gov. John A. Andrews signed the charter of Boston College, April 1. First meeting of the Boston College trustees, July 6. | ||
| 1864 | Boston College opened on September 5, with Father John Bapst, S.J. as president and Father Robert Fulton, S.J. as dean. Twenty-two students admitted. | ||
| 1877 | First Commencement. Nine students received A.B. degrees, June 28. | ||
| 1883 | The Stylus, the College literary magazine, founded. | ||
| 1895 | B.C. and Georgetown debaters held first American Jesuit intercollegiate debate at Boston College. | ||
| 1907 | Father Thomas Gasson, S.J. named president; purchased 31 acre Lawrence farm in Chestnut Hill for new campus. | ||
| 1913 | Gasson Hall completed. First graduation held at the Heights, June 18. Four classes enrolled in Gasson in September. | ||
| 1918 | Conscription and voluntary enlistment for World War I reduced the College enrollment to 125 in October, down from 671 two years earlier. | ||
| 1919 | Boston College's first major football victory, 5-3 over favored Yale at New Haven. First issue of The Heights, student weekly, November 17. | ||
| 1923 | Baseball team beat Holy Cross 4-1 before 30,000 at Braves Field, June 18. | ||
| 1924 | Summer School started. | ||
| 1925 | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences started. | ||
| 1928 | Bapst library opened, the fourth of the early Maginnis and Walsh buildings. Weston Observatory, the seismological station, founded. | ||
| 1929 | Law School opened at 11 Beacon St., Boston. Evening College started as "Boston College Intown" at 126 Newbury Street, Boston. | ||
| 1935 | Greek requirement for the A.B. degree dropped. | ||
| 1936 | Graduate School of Social Work opened at Newbury Street. | ||
| 1938 | School of Management opened at Newbury Street as the "College of Business Administration." | ||
| 1940 | Cotton Bowl vs. Clemson (3-6) first bowl game. | ||
| 1941 | Cardinal O'Connell purchased the Liggett estate, the upper campus, and gave it to the College. | ||
| 1946 | To accommodate post war enrollment, army surplus barracks became dormitories on the site of present Campion Hall; a larger office/classroom building was erected on the site of McGuinn, and a recreation building on the site of Cushing Hall. | ||
| 1947 | Construction begun on the first permanent building since the completion of Bapst in 1928, to house the College of Business Administration (occupied in September 1948). The School of Nursing opened at 126 Newbury Street. | ||
| 1949 | College acquired small reservoir (lower campus). Hockey team won national title at Colorado Springs. | ||
| 1951 | Lyons Hall was completed in July. | ||
| 1952 | The School of Education opened in September in Gasson Hall. Doctoral programs were begun in Economics, Education, and History, the beginning of increased emphasis on graduate education. | ||
| 1954 | Law School moved to St. Thomas More Hall on the Chestnut Hill campus. | ||
| 1955 | Claver, Loyola, and Xavier Halls opened, first campus residences constructed by B.C. The School of Education moved into Campion Hall. | ||
| 1957 | Graduate School of Management founded. Alumni Stadium dedicated September 21. | ||
| 1958 | Latin no longer required for the A. B. degree. The College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program and the Scholar of the College program were begun. The original gymnasium, Roberts Center, and the first hockey rink, McHugh Forum, were opened. | ||
| 1959 | The Board of Regents, advisory to the trustees and administration, was established. | ||
| 1960 | The Nursing School occupied its campus building, Cushing Hall. Three more student residences, named for the early bishops of Boston, Cheverus, Fenwick, and Fitzpatrick, were completed. | ||
| 1961 | McElroy Commons opened. | ||
| 1963 | The Boston College Centennial Convocation was addressed by President John F. Kennedy on April 20. The Self-Study of the College of Arts and Sciences led to a new core curriculum, a reduction in the course load, election of department chairmen, the establishment of Educational Policy committees, and sabbaticals. | ||
| 1964 | Carney Hall opened. Welch, Williams, and Roncalli residences were occupied. | ||
| 1966 | Higgins Hall was dedicated in November. | ||
| 1968 | The Regents joined the Jesuit trustees to form the Board of Directors, October 8. The Black Talent Program was started, precursor to AHANA Student Programs. | ||
| 1970 | Women admitted for degrees in all undergraduate colleges (Sept.). The modular residences were placed on the lower campus. Pulse, an academic/social action program, was started. The Campus School for multi-handicapped children was begun. | ||
| 1971 | The office of president of Boston College and rector of the Boston College Jesuit community were separated on January 1. Installation of Omicron Chapter, Phi Beta Kappa, April 6. | ||
| 1972 | Father J. Donald Monan succeeded Father Joyce as president, September 5. The trustees voted to eliminate the Board of Directors and to expand the Board of Trustees to include laymen, November 19. The newly structured Board of Trustees, with 35 members (13 Jesuits), elected Cornelius Owens '36 chairman. The Women's Center was established. | ||
| 1973 | The Long-Range Fiscal Planning Committee presented to the Trustees a plan for balanced budgets for the succeeding five years. | ||
| 1974 | Newton College of the Sacred Heart became part of Boston College (announced March 11). | ||
| 1975 | The Law School moved to the Newton Campus. Edmond's Hall was occupied in September. | ||
| 1976 | The New Heights Advancement Campaign to raise $21 million over five years was begun in April. By 1981 it raised more than $25 million. | ||
| 1979 | 1,000 friends of Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill gathered in Washington for a dinner attended by President Carter to establish the O'Neill Chair in American Politics, December 9. The Graduate School of Social Work established a doctoral degree program. The Recreation Complex named for Athletic Director, William J. Flynn. | ||
| 1980 | The Jesuit community endowed the Thomas I. Gasson, S.J. Chair for distinguished Jesuit scholars. | ||
| 1982 | Walsh Hall residence dedicated to former president Michael P. Walsh, S.J., October 7. | ||
| 1984 | O'Neill Library dedicated to Speaker of the House Thomas P. O'Neill, '36, October 14. Doug Flutie awarded Heisman Trophy. | ||
| 1985 | Football team defeated Houston (45-28) in the Cotton Bowl, January 1. The E. Paul Robsham, Jr. Theater Arts Center was dedicated on October 25. | ||
| 1986 | Rededication of renovated Bapst Library, dedication of Burns Library, April 22. Goals for Nineties (planning document) published. Alumni Association moved to Alumni House on the Newton Campus. St. Patrick's Day dinner in Washington honoring Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill. Speakers included President Reagan, former President Gerald Ford, and Bob Hope. $2 million was raised for B.C. scholarships. Five year $125 million Campaign for Boston College started. The dismantling of McHugh Forum was begun to make way for Conte Forum. | ||
| 1987 | The Carroll Graduate School of Management's doctoral program in finance was approved by the Trustees. The Jesuit Institute, funded by a $1.5 million gift from the Jesuit community, with a matching University subsidy, was founded to promote research on the religious and Jesuit traditions of Boston College. Father Monan established a standing Council on the Catholic and Jesuit Identity of Boston College. | ||
| 1988 | The first students enrolled in the new Nursing Ph.D. program. The Music Program became a department of the College of Arts and Sciences. Voute Hall and its companion student residence were occupied. The Museum of Art (then called the art gallery) was opened in Devlin Hall. Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, spoke at celebrations of the University's 125th anniversary, October 5 and 7. | ||
| 1989 | Congressman Silvio O. Conte '49 was present for the dedication of Conte Forum on February 18. The School of Management became the Carroll School of Management and the Carroll Graduate School of Management in honor of Wallace E. Carroll '28. Sister Thea Bowman was awarded an honorary degree and AHANA House was named for her in October. Roberts Center was razed to make room for the Merkert Chemistry Center. | ||
| 1991 | Wing added to Campion Hall, with major renovation of the original building. | ||
| 1992 | The Eugene F. Merkert Chemistry Center dedicated. The Campaign for Boston College completed, exceeding the $125 million goal by over $11 million. | ||
| 1993 | Renovated Devlin Hall welcomed as occupants the Department of Geology and Geophysics, the Department of Fine Arts, the Art Museum, and the Admission Office. The football team beat Notre Dame at South Bend, 41-39, when Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 in the country. Renovation of Fulton Hall was begun. A new core curriculum went into effect in September. The Department of Theater was established. Two new residences, 70 and 90 St. Thomas More Road, were completed and occupied. | ||
| 1994 | The graduate programs in Nursing and Education separated from the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Father Monan established a new University Academic Planning Council to map university strategies for the near future. A new dining facility was opened alongside Robsham Theater, and a garage for 900 cars was completed behind St. Mary's Hall. Ground was broken for a new Law School library on the Newton campus. The stadium seating capacity was enlarged from 32,000 to 44,500. For the second year in a row the football team defeated Notre Dame. | ||
| 1995 | Fulton Hall reopened, enlarged and transformed exteriorly to match the Gothic style of the early buildings. The university's endowment placed it among the thirty-five largest in the U.S. In its first ranking of graduate schools of education U.S.News and World Report ranked the Boston College School of Education number sixteen. The Brighton-Allston Boston College Neighborhood Center was established. | ||
| 1996 | On October 6, 1995 the trustees elected Father William P. Leahy to succeed Father J. Donald Monan as president on July 31, 1996. The Law School's new library was completed and opened on Newton campus in January. U.S. News and World Report ranked Boston College 16th among the nation's teaching universities and 37th in the national universities category. The student residence at 70 St. Thomas More Drive was named Thomas A. and Margaret A. Vanderslice Hall; the nearby residence building at 80 was named Gabelli Hall; and the Art Museum became the Charles S. and Isabella V. McMullen Museum of Art. On May 1 the university community honored retiring president Monan with a warm, joyous celebration. The University Academic Planning Council's final report, 'Advancing the Legacy: The New Millenium', was published in May. On July 31 Father Monan's 24-year presidency ended and Father William Leahy donned the mantle of president. | ||
| * References to presidents and Board of Trustee chairmen are minimized in this chronology since they are listed elsewhere in this Fact Book. | |||
| Source: University Historian | |||