Harvard University (Corporate Name)

Harvard is the oldest institution of higher education in the United States, established in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Harvard College was incorporated in 1650. In 1780, Harvard College became Harvard University. Harvard was named after the College’s first benefactor, the young minister John Harvard of Charlestown, who upon his death in 1638 left his library and half his estate to the institution. A statue of John Harvard stands today in front of University Hall in Harvard Yard, and is perhaps the University’s best known landmark. Harvard University has 12 degree-granting Schools in addition to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. http://www.harvard.edu/history