Editing Clemson University (section)

==History==
===Beginnings===
[[File:Fort Hill 1887.jpg|thumb|[[Fort Hill (Clemson, South Carolina)|Fort Hill]], photographed in 1887, was the home of [[John C. Calhoun]] and later [[Thomas Green Clemson]] and is at the center of the university campus.]]

[[Thomas Green Clemson]], the university's founder, came to the foothills of South Carolina in 1838, when he married [[Anna Maria Calhoun]], daughter of [[John C. Calhoun]], the South Carolina politician and seventh [[Vice President of the United States|U.S. Vice President]].<ref name="History of Clemson">{{cite web|title=History |url=http://www.clemson.edu/about/history/ |publisher=Clemson University|access-date=3 November 2011}}</ref> Through the Calhoun family, Clemson became an owner of enslaved persons on the family plantation that was to become the heart of the future university.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.clemson.edu/about/history/bios/thomas-g-clemson.html | title=Thomas Green Clemson &#124; Clemson University, South Carolina }}</ref>  When Clemson died on April 6, 1888, he bequeathed the [[Fort Hill (Clemson University, South Carolina)|Fort Hill]] plantation and most of his estate, which he inherited from his wife, in his will to be used to establish a college that would teach scientific agriculture and the mechanical arts to South Carolinians.<ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.clemson.edu/TGC200/the-will.htm |website=Thomas Green Clemson 200 |title=The Will |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923012204/http://www.clemson.edu/TGC200/the-will.htm |archive-date=September 23, 2016 |publisher=Clemson University |access-date=17 September 2011}}</ref> His decision was largely influenced by the future [[Governor of South Carolina|South Carolina Governor]] [[Benjamin Tillman]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kantrowitz |first=Stephen David |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41528409|title=Ben Tillman & the Reconstruction of White Supremacy |date=2000|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|isbn=0-8078-2530-1|location=Chapel Hill|oclc=41528409}}</ref> Tillman lobbied the [[South Carolina General Assembly]] to create the school as an agricultural institution for the state, and the resolution passed by only one vote.

In his will, Clemson explicitly stated he wanted the school to be modeled after what is now [[Mississippi State University]]: "This institution, I desire, to be under the control and management of a board of trustees, a part of whom are hereinafter appointed, and to be modeled after the Agricultural College of Mississippi as far as practicable."<ref>{{cite web|title=The Will of Thomas Green Clemson |url=http://www.clemson.edu/about/history/tgc-will.html |website=Clemson University }}</ref>

===Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina===
[[File:CU Godfrey Hall Aug2010.jpg|thumb|left|Godfrey Hall, constructed in 1897, formerly housed the Textile Department.]]

In November 1889, South Carolina Governor [[John Peter Richardson III]] signed the bill, thus establishing the Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina. As a result, federal funds for agricultural education from the [[Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act]] and the [[Hatch Act of 1887]] were transferred from [[University of South Carolina|South Carolina College]] (today, the [[University of South Carolina]]) to Clemson.<ref name="History of Clemson"/> Construction of the college began with Hardin Hall in 1890 and then main classroom buildings in 1891. Convict laborers, some as young as 13 years old, built many of the original buildings on campus.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Thomas|first=Rhondda Robinson|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1142013050|title=Call my name, Clemson: documenting the Black experience in an American university community|others=University of Iowa Press|date=November 2, 2020|isbn=978-1-60938-741-9|location=Iowa City|oclc=1142013050}}</ref> Henry Aubrey Strode became the first president of Clemson from 1890 to 1893. Edwin Craighead succeeded Strode in 1893. Clemson Agricultural College formally opened in July 1893 with an initial enrollment of 446. The common curriculum of the first incoming students was English, history, botany, mathematics, physics, and agriculture. Until 1955, the college was also an all-white male [[Military academy|military school]].

[[File:Cadets on Bowman Field (Oconeean 1904).png|thumb|Corps of Cadets at Clemson College in 1904]]
[[File:Snow at Clemson College (Taps 1914).png|thumb|Snow at Clemson College, 1914]]

On May 22, 1894, the main building [[Tillman Hall at Clemson University|(Tillman Hall)]] was destroyed by a fire, which consumed the library, classrooms, and offices. Tillman Hall was rebuilt in 1894 and is still standing today. The first graduating class of Clemson was in 1896, and they had degrees in mechanical-electrical engineering and agriculture. Clemson's first football team began in 1896, led by trainer [[Walter Riggs]]. Henry Hartzog, a graduate of [[The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina]], became president of Clemson in 1897. Hartzog created a textile department in 1898. Clemson became the first Southern school to train textile specialists. Hartzog expanded the curriculum with more industrialization skills such as foundry work, agriculture studies, and mechanics. In 1902, a large student walkout over the use of rigid military discipline escalated tensions between students and faculty, forcing Hartzog to resign. Patrick Mell succeeded Hartzog from 1902 to 1910.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Riley|first1=Helene|title=Clemson University|publisher=Arcadia Publishing}}</ref>

Following the resignation of Mell in 1910, former Clemson Tigers football coach [[Walter Riggs]] became president of Clemson from 1910 to 1924.<ref>{{cite web|title=Walter M. Riggs Presidential Records Series.0017 |url=http://media.clemson.edu/library/special_collections/findingaids/archives/Series0017Riggs.html|access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref> The Holtzendorff Hall, originally the Holzendorff YMCA, was built in 1914 designed by Rudolph E. Lee of the first graduating class of Clemson in 1896. In 1915, [[Riggs Field]] was dedicated after Walter Riggs and is the [[Clemson Tigers men's soccer]] home field. During [[World War I]], enrollment in Clemson declined. In 1917, Clemson formed a [[Reserve Officers' Training Corps]], and in 1918, a Student Army Training Corps was formed. Effects of World War I made Clemson hire the first female faculty due to faculty changes.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lusk|first1=Brock|title=Tigers in the Trenches: A Study of Clemson in the Great War |url=http://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3114&context=all_theses&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fsearch%3FPC%3DU157%26q%3Dclemson%2Buniversity%2Bduring%2Bworld%2Bwar%2Bii%26first%3D11%26FORM%3DPORE#search=%22clemson%20university%20during%20world%20war%20ii%22|access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref> Riggs accepted a six-month army educational commission in 1919 overseas in France leaving Samuel Earle as acting president. On March 10, 1920, a large walkout occurred protesting unfair "prison camp" style military discipline. The 1920 walkout led to the creation of a Department of Student Affairs. On January 22, 1924, Riggs died on a business trip to [[Washington, D.C.]], leaving Earle the acting president. In October 1924, another walkout of around 500 students occurred when Earle rejected their demands for better food, the dismissal of mess officer Harcombe, and the reinstatement of their senior class president. The 1924 walkout resulted in 23 students being dismissed and 112 suspended.

[[File:ClemsonMemlStadium06.jpg|thumb|right|Clemson Memorial Stadium in 2006]]

On April 1, 1925, a fire destroyed the interior of the agricultural building and its many research projects and an agricultural museum. The exterior of the building survived, leading to the construction of Sikes Hall to hold the library from Tillman Hall. On May 27, 1926, Mechanical Hall was destroyed in a fire. Present-day Freeman Hall, built in 1926, was the reconstructed shop building. In 1928 Riggs Hall was established in honor of [[Walter Riggs]].<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Department |url=https://www.clemson.edu/cecas/departments/ece/about/history.html|access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref> President Enoch Sikes increased student enrollment by over 1,000 students and expanded the degree programs with an addition of the first graduate degree. The Department of Arts and Sciences was formed in 1926 with the addition of modern language programs. Programs at Clemson were reorganized into six schools of agriculture, chemistry, engineering, general science, textiles, and vocational studies. In 1927, Clemson received accreditation from the Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges of the Southern States.

During [[The Great Depression]], student enrollment and income declined. [[The New Deal]] brought needed construction to the campus under the [[Works Progress Administration]] with new dormitories to relieve the housing shortages. Long Hall, Sirrine Hall, and 29,625 acres of privately owned farmland were acquired by Clemson through federal funding. Agricultural engineers of Clemson diversified with the Clemson Agricultural Extension to educate farmers on soil conservation and crop storage techniques during The Great Depression. Robert Poole became the first Clemson alumnus to be president in 1940. On September 19, 1942, [[Memorial Stadium (Clemson)|Memorial Stadium]] was formally opened as the new stadium for the [[Clemson Tigers football]] team previously played on [[Riggs Field]] since 1915.<ref>{{cite web|title=Memorial Stadium |url=http://www.collegegridirons.com/acc/MemorialStadium.htm |website=collegegridirons.com |access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], more than 6,500 students were sent overseas to the military. As a result of the Clemson ROTC, around 5,850 were commissioned officers. The class of 1943 had a historical low of 343 graduates.<ref>{{cite web|title=Military History at Clemson|url=https://www.clemson.edu/business/departments/air-rotc/about/index.html|website=clemson.edu|access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref> By the end of the war, 376 Clemson students had been killed in it.

===Becoming civilian and coeducational and desegregated===
In 1955, Clemson underwent a major restructuring and was transformed into a "civilian" status for students. It began admitting white women; the university was still segregated.<ref>{{cite web|title=Clemson University Board of Trustees Manual |url=http://media.clemson.edu/bot/manual.pdf|website=clemson.edu|access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref>

In 1963, the school admitted its first African-American student, [[Harvey Gantt]], who later was elected as mayor of [[Charlotte, North Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clemson.edu/oir/factBook/Historical%20Enrollment/Integration.htm |title=Harvey Gantt and the Desegregation of Clemson University; an Online version of an exhibit presented by the library in conjunction with "Integration With Dignity: A Celebration of 40 Years" on January 28, 2003 |access-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-date=October 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014163659/http://www.clemson.edu/oir/factBook/Historical%20Enrollment/Integration.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Clemson University===
In 1964, the college was renamed Clemson University as the state legislature formally recognized the school's expanded academic offerings and research pursuits.<ref name="History">{{cite web |title=The History of Clemson University |url=http://www.clemson.edu/about/history.html |access-date=June 20, 2007}}</ref> The university manages the nearby {{Convert|17,500|acre|ha|adj=on}} [[Clemson Experimental Forest]] that is used for research, education, and recreation.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

In 2015, students protested against [[Tillman Hall at Clemson University|Tillman Hall]] being named for [[Ben Tillman]]. Tillman was a South Carolina Governor and United States Senator and was a white supremacist during the [[Reconstruction era]] as well as a member of the [[Red Shirts (United States)|Red Shirts]] and a known associate of the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. The board of trustees voted against renaming the building.<ref>{{cite news|title=UNC students demand new name for building honoring a KKK leader|first=Susan|last=Svrluga |date=March 26, 2015 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/03/26/unc-students-demand-new-name-for-building-honoring-a-kkk-leader/}}</ref> In the summer of 2020, following the [[murder of George Floyd]], the trustees petitioned the state legislature to remove [[Ben Tillman]]'s name from the building and restoring the original name ("Old Main"), at the same time it renamed the honors program, which had been named for [[John C. Calhoun]]. {{As of|2025|04}}, no changes have been made toward renaming the building.<ref name=Connolly/>