Episode 2 of 3

Presidential Appointment

When: 1891
Where: University of Chicago
Part of: University of Chicago holds its first classes

William Rainey Harper was selected by John D. Rockefeller to organize the university and became its first president in 1891.

Rockefeller selected thirty-five-year-old Harper to assist in organizing the University of Chicago. Shortly thereafter, Harper was selected as the university's first president, serving from 1891 to 1906. He assumed the office on July 1, 1891.

Sources

William Rainey Harper Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-03
University of Chicago Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-06

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.