Spelman College is established in Atlanta, Georgia

Background. Spelman College is a private, historically Black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It began as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, founded in 1881. The institution is a founding member of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium, though this affiliation occurred later in 1929. The college's early development was characterized by its origins in a church basement and its transition from a seminary to a degree-granting institution.

Founding and Early Leadership. The Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary was established on April 11, 1881, in the basement of Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta. The founders were Sophia B. Packard and Harriet E. Giles, teachers from the Oread Institute in Massachusetts. Packard was appointed as Spelman's first president in 1888 after the charter was granted. Packard died in 1891, and Giles then served as president until her own death in 1909. In its early years the school was a diploma-granting institution; it later awarded its first college degrees in 1901, after the period covered here.

Philanthropic Support and Renaming. In 1882, the founders returned to Massachusetts to seek funding, connecting with businessman John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller visited the school in April 1884. In 1884, the school was renamed Spelman Seminary in honor of Laura Spelman Rockefeller and her parents. Rockefeller donated funds for Rockefeller Hall, the oldest building on campus, which was built in 1886.