Editing Iowa State University (section)

== History ==
[[File:Campus_of_Iowa_State_University_83.jpg|thumb|[[Campanile (Iowa State University)|The Campanile]] and lawn]]

In 1856, the [[Iowa General Assembly]] enacted legislation to establish the Iowa Agricultural College and [[Model farm|Model Farm]].  This institution (now Iowa State University) was officially established on March 22, 1858, by the General Assembly. [[Story County, Iowa|Story County]] was chosen as the location on June 21, 1859, beating proposals from [[Johnson County, Iowa|Johnson]], [[Kossuth County, Iowa|Kossuth]], [[Marshall County, Iowa|Marshall]] and [[Polk County, Iowa|Polk]] counties. The original farm of {{convert|648|acre|km2}} was purchased at a cost of $5,379.<ref name="of Iowa State Time Line, 1858–1874">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/timeline-1858.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513215211/http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/timeline-1858.html|url-status=dead|title=History of Iowa State Time Line, 1858-1874.|archivedate=May 13, 2009}}</ref>

Iowa was the first state in the nation to accept the provisions of the [[Morrill Act of 1862]].<ref name="of Iowa State Time Line, 1858–1874"/><ref name=Pres>{{cite web |title=Sesquicentennial Message from President |url=http://www.public.iastate.edu/~isu150/president.shtml |publisher=Iowa State University |access-date=September 8, 2011 |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111104234/http://www.public.iastate.edu/~isu150/president.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> The state subsequently designated Iowa State as the [[land-grant college]] on March 29, 1864.<ref name=point/><ref name=Pres/> Iowa State University is one of four universities that claims to be the first [[land-grant institution]] in the United States, the others being [[Kansas State University]], [[Michigan State University]], and the [[Pennsylvania State University]]. 

From the start, Iowa Agricultural College focused on the ideals that higher education should be accessible to all and that the university should teach liberal and practical subjects. These ideals are integral to the land-grant university.<ref name="of Iowa State Time Line, 1858–1874"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/time.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607144835/http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/time.html|url-status=dead|title=History of Iowa State|archivedate=June 7, 2011}}</ref>

The institution has been coeducational since the first class admitted in 1868. Formal admissions began the following year, and the first graduating class of 1872 consisted of 24 men and two women.<ref name="of Iowa State Time Line, 1858–1874"/>

The Farm House, the first building on the Iowa State campus, was completed in 1861 before the campus was occupied by students or classrooms. It became the home of the superintendent of the Model Farm and in later years, the deans of Agriculture, including [[Seaman A. Knapp|Seaman Knapp]] and [[James Wilson (Secretary of Agriculture)|James "Tama Jim" Wilson]]. Iowa State's first president, [[Adonijah Welch]], briefly stayed at the Farm House and penned his inaugural speech in a second floor bedroom.<ref name="of Iowa State Time Line, 1858–1874"/>

The Iowa Experiment Station was one of the university's prominent features.  Practical courses of instruction were taught, including one designed to give a general training for the career of a farmer.  Courses in [[mechanical engineering|mechanical]], [[civil engineering|civil]], [[electrical engineering|electrical]], and [[mining engineering]] were also part of the curriculum.

In 1870, President Welch and I. P. Roberts, professor of agriculture,<ref>Isaac Phillips Roberts (1916) [https://archive.org/details/autobiographyoff00robe/page/152 Autobiography of a Farm Boy] via [[Internet Archive]]</ref> held three-day farmers' institutes at [[Cedar Falls, Iowa|Cedar Falls]], [[Council Bluffs, Iowa|Council Bluffs]], [[Washington, Iowa|Washington]], and [[Muscatine, Iowa|Muscatine]].  These became the earliest institutes held off-campus by a land grant institution and were the forerunners of 20th century extension.

In 1872, the first courses were given in domestic economy (home economics, family and consumer sciences) and were taught by Mary B. Welch, the president's wife. Iowa State became the first land grant university to offer training in domestic economy for college credit.<ref name="of Iowa State Time Line, 1858–1874"/>

In 1879, the School of Veterinary Science was organized, becoming the first state veterinary college in the United States. This was originally a two-year course leading to a diploma.  The veterinary course of study contained classes in zoology, botany, anatomy of domestic animals, veterinary obstetrics, and sanitary science.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/timeline-1875.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410221627/http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/timeline-1875.html|url-status=dead|title=History of Iowa State Time Line, 1875-1899.|archivedate=April 10, 2009}}</ref>

[[File:Campus_of_Iowa_State_University_54.jpg|thumb|[[Beardshear Hall]]]]
[[File:Campus_of_Iowa_State_University_40.jpg|thumb|Curtiss Hall]]
[[File:Campus_of_Iowa_State_University_23.jpg|thumb|Marston Hall]]

[[William Miller Beardshear]] was appointed President of Iowa State in 1891. During his tenure, Iowa Agricultural College truly came of age.  Beardshear developed new agricultural programs and was instrumental in hiring premier faculty members such as Anson Marston, Louis B. Spinney, J.B. Weems, Perry G. Holden, and Maria Roberts.  He also expanded the university administration, and added Morrill Hall (1891), the Campanile (1899), Old Botany (now Carrie Chapman Catt Hall) (1892), and Margaret Hall (1895) to the campus, all of which stand today except for Margaret Hall, which was destroyed by a fire in 1938.<ref name="History of Campus Buildings at Iowa State University - Margaret Hall">{{cite web|url=https://historicexhibits.lib.iastate.edu/buildings/margaret.html|title=History of Campus Buildings at Iowa State University - Margaret Hall|publisher=Iowa State University Special Collections and University Archives|access-date=November 15, 2022|archive-date=May 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525072005/https://historicexhibits.lib.iastate.edu/buildings/margaret.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  In his honor, Iowa State named its central administrative building (Central Building) after Beardshear in 1925.<ref name="of Iowa State Time Line, 1900–1924">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/timeline-1900.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607152738/http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/timeline-1900.html|url-status=dead|title=History of Iowa State Time Line, 1900-1924|archivedate=June 7, 2011}}</ref>  In 1898, reflecting the school's growth during his tenure, it was renamed Iowa State College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts, or Iowa State for short.

Today, Beardshear Hall holds the offices of the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Registrar, Provost, and student financial aid.  Catt Hall is named after alumna and famed [[suffragette]] [[Carrie Chapman Catt]], and is the home of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

In 1912, Iowa State had its first Homecoming celebration.  The idea was first proposed by Professor Samuel Beyer, the college's "patron saint of athletics", who suggested that Iowa State inaugurate a celebration for alumni during the annual football game against rival University of Iowa. Iowa State's new president, Raymond A. Pearson, liked the idea and issued a special invitation to alumni two weeks prior to the event: "We need you, we must have you. Come and see what a school you have made in Iowa State College. Find a way." In October 2012 Iowa State marked its 100th Homecoming with a "[[Cy the Cardinal|CYtennial]]" Celebration.<ref name="History of Iowa State Homecoming">{{cite web|url=http://www.isualum.org/index.cfm?nodeID=49029&audienceID=1|title=History of Iowa State Homecoming|publisher=Iowa State University Alumni Association Website|access-date=December 3, 2012|archive-date=November 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114192749/http://www.isualum.org/index.cfm?nodeID=49029&audienceID=1|url-status=live}}</ref>

Iowa State celebrated its first [[VEISHEA]] on May 11–13, 1922. Wallace McKee (class of 1922) served as the first chairman of the Central Committee and Frank D. Paine (professor of electrical engineering) chose the name, based on the first letters of Iowa State's colleges: Veterinary Medicine, Engineering, Industrial Science, Home Economics, and Agriculture.  VEISHEA grew to become the largest student-run festival in the nation.<ref name="of Iowa State Time Line, 1900–1924"/>

The Statistical Laboratory was established in 1933, with [[George W. Snedecor]], professor of mathematics, as the first director.  It was and is the first research and consulting institute of its kind in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/timeline-1925.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607152803/http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/timeline-1925.html|url-status=dead|title=History of Iowa State Time Line, 1925-1949.|archivedate=June 7, 2011}}</ref>

While attempting to develop a faster method of computation, mathematics and physics professor [[John Vincent Atanasoff]] conceptualized the basic tenets of what would become the world's first electronic [[digital computer]], the [[Atanasoff–Berry Computer]] (ABC), during a drive to [[Illinois]] in 1937. These included the use of a binary system of arithmetic, the separation of computer and memory functions, and regenerative drum memory, among others. The 1939 prototype was constructed with graduate student [[Clifford Berry]] in the basement of the Physics Building.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.cs.iastate.edu/jva/jva-archive.shtml|title=John Vincent Atanasoff and the Birth of Electronic Digital Computing|work=iastate.edu|access-date=June 28, 2010|archive-date=May 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502031523/http://www.cs.iastate.edu/jva/jva-archive.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], Iowa State was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the [[V-12 Navy College Training Program]] which offered students a path to a Navy commission.<ref name="iowastate-v-12">{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.iastate.edu/command/history.html |title=ISU Naval ROTC - Unit History |publisher=[[Ames, Iowa]]: Iowa State University |access-date=September 28, 2011 |year=2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111230108/http://www.navy.iastate.edu/command/history.html |archive-date=January 11, 2012 }}</ref>

On July 4, 1959, the college was officially renamed Iowa State University of Science and Technology.  However, the short-form name "Iowa State University" is used even in official documents, such as diplomas. Official names given to the university's divisions were the College of Agriculture, College of Engineering, College of Home Economics, College of Sciences and Humanities, and College of Veterinary Medicine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/timeline-1950.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607152747/http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/timeline-1950.html|url-status=dead|title=History of Iowa State Time Line, 1950-1974.|archivedate=June 7, 2011}}</ref>

Iowa State's eight colleges today offer more than 100 undergraduate majors and 200 fields of study leading to graduate and professional degrees.  The academic program at ISU includes a liberal arts education and research in the biological and physical sciences. The focus on technology has led directly to many research patents and inventions including the first binary computer, the [[Atanasoff–Berry Computer|ABC]], [[Maytag blue cheese]], and the round hay baler.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/history.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609104317/http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/history.html|url-status=dead|title=Iowa State University History website|archivedate=June 9, 2010}}</ref>

Located on a {{convert|2,000|acre|km2|abbr=on}} campus, the university has grown considerably from its roots as an agricultural college and model farm and is recognized internationally today for its comprehensive research programs. It continues to grow and set a new record for enrollment in the fall of 2015 with 36,001 students.<ref>{{cite web|title = Iowa State University enrollment is 36,001 - News Service - Iowa State University|url = http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2015/09/09/fall15enrollment|website = www.news.iastate.edu|access-date = September 10, 2015|archive-date = September 11, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150911091815/http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2015/09/09/fall15enrollment|url-status = live}}</ref>

=== Manhattan Project ===
Iowa State played a role in the development of the [[atomic bomb]] during [[World War II]] as part of the [[Manhattan Project]], a research and development program begun in 1942 under the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/ames-connection-manhattan-project/article_c0c96914-29ac-11e9-ade1-bbef93fd6bea.html|title=Story of Ames connection to the Manhattan Project retold|last=Hamann|first=Jordan|website=Iowa State Daily|language=en|access-date=August 26, 2019|archive-date=August 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826202527/http://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/ames-connection-manhattan-project/article_c0c96914-29ac-11e9-ade1-bbef93fd6bea.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The process to produce large quantities of high-purity uranium metal became known as the [[Ames process]].  One-third of the uranium metal used in the world's first controlled nuclear chain reaction was produced at Iowa State under the direction of [[Frank Spedding]] and [[Harley A. Wilhelm|Harley Wilhelm]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ameslab.gov/overview/history.html |title=Ames Lab History |access-date=June 28, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527110253/http://www.ameslab.gov/overview/history.html |archive-date=May 27, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/patents?id=RlpaAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html|title=Patent US2830894 - Production of uranium|work=google.com|access-date=July 31, 2012|archive-date=February 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201073051/http://www.google.com/patents?id=RlpaAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Ames Project]] received the [[Army-Navy "E" Award|Army/Navy E Award]] for Excellence in Production on October 12, 1945, for its work with metallic uranium as a vital war material.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.atomicheritage.org/location/ames-ia|title=Ames, IA|website=Atomic Heritage Foundation|language=en|access-date=January 31, 2020|archive-date=January 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131192343/https://www.atomicheritage.org/location/ames-ia|url-status=live}}</ref> Today, ISU is the only university in the United States that has a [[U.S. Department of Energy]] research laboratory physically located on its campus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ameslab.gov/index.php/about-ames-laboratory|title=About|website=Ames Laboratory Website|access-date=March 5, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802055337/https://www.ameslab.gov/index.php/about-ames-laboratory|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Atanasoff–Berry Computer ===
[[Image:Atanasoff-Berry Computer at Durhum Center.jpg|thumb|[[Atanasoff–Berry Computer]] replica on 1st floor of Durham Center, Iowa State University]]
Iowa State is the birthplace of the first electronic digital computer, starting the world's computer technology revolution.  Invented by mathematics and physics professor [[John Atanasoff]] and engineering graduate student [[Clifford Berry]] during 1937–42, the [[Atanasoff–Berry Computer]] pioneered important elements of modern computing.<ref name="auto"/>

On October 19, 1973, U.S. [[Federal Judge]] [[Earl R. Larson]] signed his decision following a lengthy court trial which declared the [[ENIAC]] patent of Mauchly and Eckert invalid and named Atanasoff the [[inventor]] of the electronic digital computer—the Atanasoff–Berry Computer or the ABC.<ref name="auto"/>

An ABC Team consisting of Ames Laboratory and Iowa State engineers, technicians, researchers and students unveiled a working replica of the Atanasoff–Berry Computer in 1997 which can be seen on display on campus in the Durham Computation Center.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/timeline-1975.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607152755/http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/exhibits/150/template/timeline-1975.html|url-status=dead|title=History of Iowa State Time Line, 1975-2008. Iowa State University Website|archivedate=June 7, 2011}}</ref>