1821: A University is born
The oldest university in Montreal, McGill was founded in 1821 from a generous bequest by James McGill, a prominent Scottish merchant.
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1829: McGill's first classes are held
Eight years after it was officially established, "McGill College" began holding classes in conjunction with the Montreal Medical Institution.
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1833: The first McGill degree is awarded
Four years after classes began, McGill awarded its first degree – and Canada's first ever medical degree – to William Leslie Logie. Logie was McGill's only graduate that year.
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1839: Building a Montreal landmark
The college quickly outgrew James McGill's country home, and construction on the Arts Building began 10 years after its founding. The Arts Building, with its cupola and flag pole, has become the signature of McGill's downtown campus, and one of Montreal's most recognizable landmarks.
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1855-1893: Flourishing under William Dawson
Through his 38 years as Principal, Sir John William Dawson reinvented McGill as a university to rival the world's finest, even personally funding the beautification effort that created the stunning campus we enjoy today.
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1866: Canada's first francophone Prime Minister
Canada’s first francophone prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, BCL'1866, made great strides toward unifying Canadians of different stripes – French and English, Catholic and Protestant – during a period when religion, culture and other debates threatened to tear the fledgling country apart. In 15 years as prime minister and 45 years as a Member of Parliament, Laurier helped establish Canada as a major player on the world stage and ushered in an era of unprecedented growth and prosperity.
McGill is a place of learning, but hard work needn’t come at the expense of hard play, and McGillians certainly exercise more than just their minds. A home to exceptional student teams and an alma mater to many star athletes and coaches, McGill has also played a key role in the creation of three pillars of sport.
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The forgotten war memorial and the campus that never was
Over the years, architects have proposed a variety of plans for McGill’s lower Downtown Campus, including an imposing tower on the Redpath Library. Here's a small selection of big ideas from McGill’s earliest days that never made it off the drawing board: the McGill that might have been.
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