On October 9, 1701, Connecticut’s General Court approved “An Act for Liberty to Erect a Collegiate School,” establishing an institution intended to prepare young men for public employment in both church and civil life. The school was founded through the efforts of Congregationalist ministers and, after its earliest instruction in Killingworth, found an early home in Saybrook.
In 1716, the trustees voted to move the Collegiate School to New Haven. Two years later, it was renamed Yale College in honor of Elihu Yale, the wealthy merchant and philanthropist whose gifts of books and goods helped support the young institution.
That 1701 charter marked the beginning of the institution that would become Yale University. Over the centuries, Yale developed far beyond its original religious mission into a leading center of higher education, research, and cultural life, educating generations of influential figures in public affairs, scholarship, science, and the arts. The charter remains a foundational moment in the history of American higher education, and its legacy endures in Yale’s long tradition of learning, leadership, and intellectual inquiry.
