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

Chartered in 1789, the University officially opened for operation. The University became the first state university in the nation to enroll students, and it was the only public university to graduate students in the eighteenth century. See This Month in North Carolina History, January 1795: The University of North Carolina.

The Board of Trustees adopted bylaws, which were written by Samuel Eusebius McCorkle, a Presbyterian minister and educator from Rowan County, for the new University.

Hinton James arrived on the newly opened campus of the University. According to legend, James walked from his home in New Hanover County (now Pender County), becoming the first student to enroll at the first public university in the country. The southernmost dormitory on campus was named in his honor.

The Debating Society was formed. One month later the student organization split, with the second group calling itself the "Concord Society." These two bodies were the precursors of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies (sometimes called "Di-Phi"), which are the oldest student organizations at the University.

The first academic term of the University concluded on this day.

The month-old Debating Society divided, forming two distinct orgnizations, the Debating Society and the Concord Society. The names, however, did not sound distinguished enough, so approximately one year later they were renamed as the Dialectic Society and the Philanthropic Society, their classical equivalents.