A quite brief essay appearing today at History News Network declares William and Mary "the first university in what would later become the United States." The authors are Thomas J. McSweeney, the Robert and Elizabeth Scott Research Professor of Law at William & Mary, and two law students, Katharine Ello and Elsbeth O’Brien. Concerning the charter that Rev. James Blair secured in 1693 for "The College of William & Mary in Virginia," they report that they "recently made the discovery that this charter awarded William & Mary the status of a university, a fact that has been hidden behind an overly literal English translation of the Latin." 
https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/179063
(With my own half century of family ties to William and Mary, this adds a dimension to my puzzlement about calling a university a college.) 


______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
https://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html

This list is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).