History
Temple University was created in 1884 to serve the growing need for educational opportunity in Philadelphia. In the early decades of the 20th century, Temple’s expanding academic programs attracted students from across the Philadelphia region. In the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, Temple opened campuses in Rome and Japan and greatly expanded its research enterprise. Today, Temple is a national center of excellence in teaching and research, a global institution with thriving international programs and a university with a continuing commitment to community service.
1880s: Prominent Philadelphia lawyer, writer, orator and minister Russell Conwell begins tutoring young men in the evenings after work; Conwell named first president of non-sectarian Temple College. Learn More >
1890s: Women enroll in the college and are among first to receive bachelor’s degrees; Conwell acquires a hospital; Law School (now the Beasley School of Law) established; football and basketball programs created. Learn More >
1900s: Philadelphia Dental College (now the Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry) and the related Garretson and Samaritan hospitals merge with Temple College to form Temple University; College of Liberal Arts, School of Pharmacy and School of Medicine — the first co-educational medical college in Pennsylvania to award the MD degree to women — established. Learn More >
1910s: First state appropriation granted; forerunners to Fox School of Business and College of Education established; Department of Radiology Chair W. Edward Chamberlain designs first image amplifier used in fluoroscopy. Learn More >
1920s: With Conwell's death, Charles Ezra Beury named Temple’s second president; a General Alumni Association organized. Learn More >
1930s: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt attends dedication of first library building; Tyler School of Art established; Temple football team plays in first Sugar Bowl; Men’s basketball team wins first National Invitation Tournament. Learn More >
1940s: Temple first in Philadelphia region to offer master of science degree in business at night; School of Medicine professors develop electrokymograph, used in detection of heart disease, and perform first minimally invasive brain surgery using 3-dimensional technology. Learn More >
1950s: Temple acquires Ambler Campus by merging its existing Ambler Junior College with Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women; President Truman dedicates Chapel of Four Chaplains in the Baptist Temple; Temple Professor Harry Shay develops a new treatment for leukemia called Thio-TEPA. Learn More >
1960s: Temple becomes a “state-related” university; forerunners to Boyer College of Music and Dance, School of Podiatric Medicine and College of Health Professions established; School of Communications and Theater, School of Social Administration and Temple University Rome founded. Learn More >
1970s: Temple University Center City opens; College of Engineering established; WRTI creates first radio service for the deaf. Learn More >
1980s: Temple University Japan, the first non-Japanese university to operate in that country, established; Temple University Hospital surgeons perform world’s fifth implantation of an artificial heart and first heart transplant in Greater Philadelphia; iconic Temple “T” graphic created by a Tyler School of Art student. Learn More >
1990s: The only accredited master of trial advocacy program in the United States established; College of Science and Technology and School of Tourism and Hospitality Management founded; Master of Laws program for Chinese students in Beijing becomes first and only foreign law degree-granting program in China. Learn More >
2000s: Temple reaches 10,000 students living on or near Main Campus and Health Sciences Center; Access to Excellence: The 125th Anniversary Campaign for Temple launches; Temple celebrates its 125th anniversary. Learn More >