Middlebury College Charter
- When
- 1800
- Where
- Middlebury, Vermont
- Episodes
- 2
In November 1800 the Vermont General Assembly granted Middlebury College its founding charter, an outgrowth of the Addison County Grammar School founded in 1797. The charter made Middlebury the first operating college or university in Vermont, with Jeremiah Atwater as its first president.
Episodes
- First Classes Under the Charter
Jeremiah Atwater, the college's first president, began classes a few days after the charter, making Middlebury the first operating college or university in Vermont.
- Charter Granted by the Vermont General Assembly
The Vermont General Assembly granted Middlebury College its founding charter on November 1, 1800, as an outgrowth of the Addison County Grammar School.
Background and detail
Background. Middlebury College traces its charter to an outgrowth of the Addison County Grammar School, which had been founded three years earlier, in 1797. The institution was founded by Congregationalists and located in Middlebury, Vermont, a town in the United States.
Granting of the Charter. Middlebury received its founding charter on November 1, 1800. The charter was granted by the Vermont General Assembly, establishing the college as an outgrowth of the Addison County Grammar School. The founding charter date of November 1, 1800 is the date recorded in the source material for the college's establishment.
Immediate Aftermath. Following the charter, the college's first president, Jeremiah Atwater, began classes a few days later, making Middlebury the first operating college or university in Vermont. The first commencement followed in August 1802, at which one student, Aaron Petty, graduated.
People involved
- Vermont General Assembly · Granting authority for the charter
- Jeremiah Atwater · First president of Middlebury College
- Aaron Petty · First graduate at the first commencement
Sources
- Middlebury College Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-24
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.