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Gainesville lobbies for the new University of Florida
by offering land, money and an agreement to "furnish
water to the university without charge." When the
telegraph office in Gainesville announces the good news
to the waiting crowd, a noisy celebration begins with
ringing church bells, a parade and exploding firecrackers.
The Gainesville campus opens for registration on Sept.
24, 1906. Classes begin two days later for the 102 students
enrolled.
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1909 » Murphree
Becomes President
Albert A. Murphree, former president of West Florida Seminary
(now FSU), is appointed second president of the University
of Florida. Murphree organizes the colleges of Arts &
Sciences, Agriculture, Law and Engineering, and establishes
the Graduate School. He prides himself on knowing every
student by name. |
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1910 » Orange
And Blue Chosen As Official Colors
UF acquires its colors from the two schools that united
to form the new school. The University of Florida at Lake
City had school colors of blue and white and East Florida
Seminary in Gainesville had orange and black. |
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1911 » Alligator
Chosen As UF Mascot
Every player on the football team is a Floridian and it is
the only squad in Gator football history to finish a season
undefeated. A local vendor places an order for school
banners and chooses the alligator as an emblem. The team
travels to South Carolina where it ties USC and upsets
Clemson. The team returns home with a name. Several explanations
are given for the name, but most point to the team's captain,
Neal "Bo Gator" Storter. |
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1912 » Florida
Alligator Is Published
The Florida Alligator begins publication as the first
regularly issued student newspaper. It begins as a weekly
and for many years will be printed on Saturday night in
Anderson Hall. |
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1918 » World
War I
The university serves as a base for 400 soldiers. The
students are displaced to local boarding houses as sentries
guard the gates and dormitories on campus. In October,
an epidemic of Spanish influenza strikes the soldiers
and students. One-third of the students grow seriously
ill and several die. |
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1925 » First
Woman Enrolls
The Legislature rules that women of a "mature age"
be allowed to enroll during regular semesters in UF programs
that are unavailable at Florida State College for Women.
Before this, only the summer semester was co-educational
to accommodate teachers. The first woman to enroll is
Lassie Goodbread-Black in the College
of Agriculture. |
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| « 1853 - 1905 |
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