GENERAL HISTORY:
The first mention of a public university in Texas can be traced to the 1827 constitution for the Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas. Although an article promised to establish public education in the arts and sciences, no action was ever taken by the Mexican government. After Texas gained its independence from Mexico in 1836, the Congress of Texas adopted the Constitution of the Republic, which included a provision to establish public education in republic, including two universities or colleges. On January 26, 1839, Congress agreed to eventually set aside fifty leagues of land towards the effort; in addition, forty acres in the new capital of Austin were reserved and designated "College Hill".In 1845, Texas was annexed into the United States. The state legislature passed the Act of 1858, which set aside $100,000 in United States bonds towards construction. In addition, the legislature designated land, previously reserved for the encouragement of railroad construction, toward the universities' fifty leagues. However, Texas's secession from the Union and the American Civil War prevented further action on these plans.After the war, the Texas Constitution of 1866 mandated that the state establish a university "at an early day." The passing of the Morrill Act in 1862 facilitated the creation of Texas A&M University, which was established in 1871 as the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas. During the construction of Texas A&M, the Texas Constitution of 1876 called for the creation of a "university of the first class," The University of Texas. It revoked the endowment of the railroad lands of the Act of 1858 but appropriated one million acres (4000 km²) in West Texas. In 1883, another two million were granted, with income from the sale of land and grazing rights going to The University of Texas and Texas A&M.In 1881, Austin was chosen as the site of the main university, and Galveston was designated the location of the medical department. On the original "College Hill," an official ceremony began construction on what is now referred to as the old Main Building in late 1882. The university opened its doors on September 15, 1883.The old Victorian-Gothic Main Building served as the central point of the campus's forty acre site, and was used for nearly all purposes. However, by the 1930s, discussions rose about the need for new library space, and the Main Building was razed in 1934 over the objections of many students and faculty. The modern-day tower and Main Building were constructed in its place.Constitutional restrictions against funding building construction hampered expansion. However, the funds generated by oil discovered on university-owned grounds in 1923 were put towards its general endowment fund. This extra revenue allowed the university to pay down its debt, and pass bond in 1931 and 1947, funding the necessary expansion after the enrollment spike following World War II. The university built 19 permanent structures between 1950 and 1965, when it was given the right of eminent domain. With this power, the university purchased additional properties surrounding the original forty acres.On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman, an architectural engineering major at the university, barricaded himself in the observation deck of the tower of the Main Building with a sniper rifle and various other weapons. In a 96-minute stand-off, Whitman killed 15 people and wounded many more. Following the incident, the observation deck was closed until 1968 and closed again in 1975 following a series of suicide jumps. In 1998, after the installation of security and safety measures, the observation deck reopened to the public.