This Day in the History of the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

William Hayes Ackland died in Washington, DC. His will directed that an art museum be constructed at a southern university for the benefit of the people of the South. Duke University was named as the original recipient, but it refused the bequest because Ackland wanted to be interred in the museum and the stipulation that the funds be managed by trustees in Washington, D.C. After nine years of litigation over the will, the Ackland Trust and resultant Ackland Art Museum were awarded to the University--one of the other schools previously considered by Mr. Ackland.