First Japanese LAW Graduate

February 28th, 1877 in Commencement, Firsts, Learning

Takeo Kikuchi is the first Japanese graduate of Boston University School of Law.

First Black LAW Graduate

February 28th, 1877 in Commencement, Firsts, Learning

Emanuel Hewlett is the first black Boston University School of Law graduate and one of the first black degree recipients of a major US law school. Upon his death in 1929, the Supreme Court adjourns for the day, an honor reserved for the most respected members of the bar.

Photo courtesy of "Crisis." New York, N.Y. Crisis Publication Company. Volume 36, Page 416. [1929]

Telephone Invented

February 28th, 1876 in Firsts, Research

In the first public demonstration, the telephone transmits sound to the Boston Athenaeum from Professor Alexander Graham Bell’s University office.

LAW Three-Year Degree Established

February 28th, 1876 in Firsts, Learning

The School of Law becomes the first law school in the US to require three years of study for a degree.

First Agriculture Degrees Awarded

February 28th, 1876 in Firsts, Learning

The first degrees in agriculture are granted by Boston University to students of the Massachusetts College of Agriculture, now University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The four-year curriculum includes courses in German, French, manual labor, and freehand drawing. Boston University continues to confer these degrees until 1912.

Photo courtesy of Special Collections and Archives, W.E.B. DuBois Library, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Centennial Exhibition Award

February 27th, 1876 in Firsts, Research

Alexander Graham Bell’s work on the telephone, completed while he was on a paid sabbatical from the University’s College of Oratory, earns the prize for science at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, which recognizes Boston University’s scientific pioneering. A year later, Bell becomes the first individual to receive an exclusive patent on the telephone.

Women Admitted to MED

February 27th, 1873 in Firsts, Learning

Boston University is the first university to admit women to a medical college.

First Professor Exchange with Europe

February 27th, 1873 in Firsts, Global

Boston University is the first American university to exchange professors with European universities.

Divisions Open to Women

February 27th, 1867 in Campus, Firsts, Learning

Boston University is among the first universities in the United States to open all of its divisions  to female students.