Baylor University

Baylor University traces its origins to 1841 when the Union Baptist Association voted to establish a Baptist university in the Republic of Texas. On February 1, 1845, Republic of Texas President Anson Jones signed the Act of Congress officially chartering Baylor University, naming it after Judge R.E.B. Baylor, a Texas district judge and former U.S. Congressman who became the school's namesake . The university was originally established in Independence, Texas, with the Rev. James Huckins serving as its first full-time fundraiser and Sam Houston giving the first $5,000 donation .

In 1849, Baylor became the first institution in Texas and the second west of the Mississippi River to offer law instruction, with R.E.B. Baylor and Abner S. Lipscomb of the Texas Supreme Court teaching the "science of law" . The first female graduate, Mary Kavanaugh Gentry, earned her degree in 1855, though the university later separated into all-male and female institutions for several decades . During the Civil War, George Washington Baines (maternal great-grandfather of future U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson) served as president, working to sustain the university while male students enlisted in the Confederate Army .

In 1886, Baylor moved from Independence to Waco, merging with Waco University, with Rufus Columbus Burleson (Baylor's second president) leading the combined institution . The university became coeducational again around 1887. In 1903, Baylor acquired the University of Dallas Medical Department, creating the Baylor College of Medicine (which later moved to Houston in 1943 and became independent in 1969) . During World War II, Baylor participated in the V-12 Navy College Training Program .

Baylor first admitted Black students in 1964, with Robert Gilbert becoming the first Black graduate . In 1991, the board gained partial independence from the Baptist General Convention of Texas . In 2015-2016, the university faced significant controversy following an external review of its handling of sexual assault cases, leading to the firing of President Ken Starr and head football coach Art Briles . More recently, in 2021, the university released an independent historical report acknowledging past slave ownership and support for the Confederacy by its founders, including R.E.B. Baylor . Linda Livingstone became president in 2017, leading Baylor to achieve R1 research classification and expanding its global motto to include "Pro Mundo" in 2024