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Significant Events

16 Pages
  • American Revolution

    William & Mary During the War Classes at William & Mary were suspended when the British army invaded Virginia in January 1781. Classes resumed in the Fall of 1782. Several students who attended the Indian School fought in the Revolutionary War.
  • Brooks Hays Lecture

    Brooks Hays, a then-former member of the U.S House of Representatives from Arkansas, gave a lecture at William & Mary in March 1959 as part of the Marshall-Wythe Symposium lecture series. Hays discussed segregation, the NAACP, and other issues related to the civil rights of African Americans.
  • Civil War (April 12, 1861 - May 9, 1865)

    The outbreak of the Civil War found Williamsburg with a population of 1600 citizens. Some sixty young men attended William & Mary. Benjamin S. Ewell, president of the College, and a West Point graduate, was elected captain of the College militia when war fever swept the campus in January 1861.
  • College closure

    The College of William & Mary was closed during the following periods:
  • Dueling

    There have been a number of duels and near duels over the course of William & Mary's history.
  • Earl Warren

    U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren visited the College of William & Mary in September 1954 to participate in the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of John Marshall.
  • Earl Warren Visit, 1954

    U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren visited William & Mary in September 1954 to participate in the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of John Marshall.
  • Fires

    There have been a number of fires on the grounds of William & Mary throughout its history. This list provides a brief chronological list of those fires.
  • Flu Pandemic of 1918

    Material in the SCRC Thomas Nelson Page Papers Austin-Twyman Papers under Series I, Subseries II, folders 101 and 115. Overton Family Papers in Box XIII, folder 43. The Virginia Gazette, available in the SCRC and in Swem Library Microforms
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt Visit, 1934

    U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited William & Mary on October 20, 1934, for ceremonies to mark the inauguration of William & Mary president John Stewart Bryan. Among other activities, he was awarded an honorary degree by William & Mary.
  • Great Depression

    The College of William & Mary During the Great Depression
  • Hurricanes

    Information about hurricanes impacting William & Mary are compiled here. This page is a stub and information is incomplete. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science is naturally always a good source of information for both the study of the impact of hurricanes as well as direct hurricane impact…
  • Prohibition

    Material in the Special Collections Research Center related to Prohibition. To search for further material, see Finding Materials in the SCRC for an introduction to the SCRC Collections Database, card catalogs, Flat Hat-William & Mary News-Alumni Gazette index, etc. Questions? Contact the SCRC…
  • Winston Churchill Visit, 1946

    Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower visited the College of William & Mary on March 8, 1946. A news story before their visit is on the front page of the March 6, 1946 Flat Hat. A story after the visit, including several photos, is on p. 8 of the March 13, 1946 Flat Hat.
  • World War I

    Despite the brevity of U.S. participation, the War had a deep impact on Williamsburg. Only a few residents and William and Mary alumni lost their lives, but hundreds of men registered for the draft and others enlisted.
  • World War II

    Related to the College of William of Mary The College of William & Mary enabled students to finish their education quicker during the war in part via a summer school program. A Navy Chaplains school was operated on campus during the war.

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A note about the contents of this site

This website contains the best available information from known sources at the time it was written. Unfortunately, many of the early original records of William & Mary were destroyed by fires, military occupation, and the normal effects of time. The information in this website is not complete, and it changes as we continue to research and uncover new sources.