The University of Chicago was founded by John D. Rockefeller in 1892. It was one of the first universities in the Midwest, and its first president, William Rainey Harper, put forth the mission of combining an English-style undergraduate college with a German-style graduate research institution. He introduced a number of radical innovations to the university system, like the four-quarter system, equal opportunities for women and minorities, and courses in the liberal arts for adults, to name a few. Most importantly, he envisioned an institution primarily devoted to graduate studies.
When classes started in October of 1892, the University boasted a strong faculty, including eight former presidents of other colleges and universities. Currently, there are approximately 6,000 undergraduates and 10,000 graduate and professional students attending the University of Chicago.
Since then, seventy-three Nobel Prize recipients have been University of Chicago students, researchers, or faculty members, including fifteen in chemistry. Twelve faculty members have received the prestigious National Medal of Science (including two in Chemistry). The many discoveries made by these scholars and their colleagues include the first self-sustaining, nuclear chain reaction, Carbon-14 dating, discovery of the atmosphere's jet stream, REM sleep, establishment of the first bloodbank, and the nation's first living donor liver transplant.
Perhaps one can see why John D. Rockefeller said of the University of Chicago: "It is the best investment I ever made."
See Also:
An Introduction to the University
University of Chicago History and Traditions