Georgia charters the Medical Academy of Georgia

Background. Augusta, Georgia, is a city on the central eastern border of the state and the county seat of Richmond County. The Medical Academy of Georgia was founded in this city to address a need to train new physicians. The city's status as a significant location in Georgia provides the context for the institution's establishment.

Establishment. MCG was founded in 1828 as the Medical Academy of Georgia by the Medical Society of Augusta, with Milton Antony and Joseph Adams Eve named as founders. The purpose was to train new physicians. Later, as the Medical College of Georgia, the institution became the oldest and a founding school of Augusta University and played a role in the establishment of the American Medical Association and the standardization of medical practices; these are attributes of the later institution, not of the 1828 Academy itself.

Curriculum. The first seven students enrolled in a one-year course of lectures and clinical training hosted in the Old Medical College building. This program led to the bachelor of medicine degree. The next year, the governor signed a legislative act altering the charter of 1828 by expanding the curriculum to two years, culminating in a doctor of medicine degree.