The George Washington University (GW, GWU, or George Washington) is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on February 9, 1821, as The Columbian College in the District of Columbia.
Baptist missionary and leading minister Luther Rice raised funds to purchase a site for a college to educate citizens in Washington, D.C. A large building was constructed on College Hill, which is now known as Meridian Hill, and on February 9, 1821, President James Monroe approved the congressional charter creating the non-denominational Columbian College in the District of Columbia. The first commencement in 1824 was considered an important event for the young city of Washington, D.C.. In attendance were President Monroe, John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, Marquis de Lafayette, and other dignitaries. During the Civil War, most students left to join the Confederacy and the college's buildings were used as a hospital and barracks. Walt Whitman was among many of the volunteers to work on the campus. Following the war, in 1873, Columbian College became the Columbian University and moved to an urban downtown location centered on 15th and H streets, NW.
In 1904, Columbian University changed its name to The George Washington University in an agreement with the George Washington Memorial Association to build a campus building in honor of the first U.S. president. Neither the university nor the association were able to raise enough money for the proposed building, however, but the name stuck. The university relocated its principal operations to the D.C. neighborhood of Foggy Bottom in 1912.
The George Washington University, like much of Washington, D.C., traces many of its origins back to the Freemasons. The Bible that the presidents of the university use to swear an oath on upon inauguration is the Bible of Freemason George Washington. Freemasonry symbols are prominently displayed throughout the campus including the foundation stones of many of the university buildings.