The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina's Committee on Education purchases a 600-acre plantation from Dr. Calvin Jones in Wake Forest, North Carolina with the intent to establish a Baptist college (Wake Forest Institute). The objective of the Institute was to enable young ministers to obtain an education at a moderate cost and to train youth in science and agriculture.

The Wake Forest Manual Labor Institute is founded. The school receives its name from the town of Wake Forest, N.C., where it is originally located. Students are required to perform 3 hours of manual labor each day in order to learn about agricultural science. It also serves the benefit of maintaining and expanding the campus, while keeping students' tuition costs low. Additional requirements for the first year of admission include a minimum age of 12, and students must provide themselves with an axe, hoe, sheets, and towels.

Two of the workers, who remain unidentified, lose their lives in a fall and are buried in the Wake Forest cemetery. The bricks are made on-site and the labor is completed by enslaved individuals belonging to Captain Berry.

After the opening of the second session of the school, Professor Armstrong addresses the students on "The Value of Polemic Societies," resulting in the division of students equally into two groups. These groups become the Euzelians and the Philomathesians, the two literary societies of Wake Forest. The societies conducted debates, provided training in diplomacy, and developed students' literary skills. Their proceedings were secret and a rivalry soon developed between the two societies.

The estate of John Blount (a planter of Edenton, NC) is donated to Wake Forest upon his death on May 13, 1836, including land and enslaved peoples. Mrs. Blount continued to use the land and the enslaved peoples continued to maintain the estate until her death in 1859. After her death, the endowment of the estate and the enslaved peoples to Wake Forest became official. On May 7, 1860, the enslaved peoples were sold by Wake Forest to individuals: "Isaac to John Thompson $525.00. Jim to John Hall $495.00. Lucy to Peter White $1,285.00. Caroline to J.H. Hall $295.00. Pompie to Joseph Maddry $1,305.00. Emma to John Thompson $580.00." The money used from the sale of the enslaved peoples was used to benefit Wake Forest. The endowment intended funding for "poor and indigent young men destined for the ministry." Please view our finding aid for our John Blount Estate Documents Collection.

Dr. Samuel Wait, a Baptist Minister, is officially named president of the college after serving as principal since the school opened. He would serve as College President until June 1845.

Wake Forest College graduates its first class in June 1839. William Tell Brooks was the first in line to receive his diploma, making him the first-ever Wake Forest graduate.

The College Hotel is completed and opened under the care of Mrs. Martha Ryan. The building could accommodate 50 guests with board, as well as accommodations for travelers' horses.

The school closes during the Civil War due to the loss of many students and some faculty due to military service. As of Fall 1861, there were only 30 enrolled students. The College made the official decision to close when they discovered Conscription laws made all but 5 students subject to military duty. According to historian G. W. Paschal, it is probable that nearly 50% of current and past Wake Forest students were enrolled in the Confederate Army.

The school reopens after the Civil War ends. In 1866, there are 67 registered students, with an increase to 85 in the following year. It is not clear how many of the students in 1866 are former soldiers, but Professor L. R. Mills recounts that there may have been more than a dozen. He states that these former soldiers would wear old brown army blankets with "N.C." in big black letters instead of a regular overcoat. (Paschal History of Wake Forest, Volume II, page 13)

The Heck-Williams Building is completed, which is used as a library and a gathering place for the Euzelian and Philomathesian literary societies. Before the building was completed, the literary societies kept their society's libraries in their halls.

Wake Forest College plays its first football game at the State Fair Grounds in Raleigh, defeating UNC 3-2. The trustees would later vote to abolish football in 1895 only to be re-established in 1908 because of popular demand.

Evabelle Simmons, the daughter of a professor, becomes Wake Forest's first female graduate. Initially, Trustees deny Simmons a diploma. They award the diploma after male students protest and faculty approve the degree. Simmons becomes a teacher at Union Female Academy in Alabama.

Wake Forest College plays in its first baseball game, defeating North Carolina 10-7 in Raleigh. It is a common custom in the early 1890s for college teams to hire professional players to round out their rosters, but it is not documented that the Wake Forest team does this.

Wake Forest College leadership establishes the School of Law and introduces the Bachelor of Law degree. Needham Y. Gulley serves as the school's first professor and dean. He offers classes as early as the fall of 1893, but no students register. In the summer of 1894, two students register, with one withdrawing after two weeks, leaving Stephen McIntyre as the only student for the first year. Twelve students enroll in the fall of 1894.

The School of Medicine is established, where a Bachelor of Science can be earned. Thirteen medical students begin their careers at Wake Forest College.

William Louis Poteat is elected the 7th president of the college. Poteat began attending Wake Forest College at only 16 years old, where he received a B.A. and M.A. He also received a Doctor of Laws from Baylor University and Duke University, as well as a Doctor of Literature from Mercer University.

Wake Forest College plays its first basketball game, defeating Trinity College (now Duke) 24-10.

Japanese student Konosuke Akiyama becomes the first Asian student graduate.

The school newspaper Old Gold & Black is launched.

The nickname "Demon Deacon" is coined by sports editor Mayon Parker of Ahoskie newspaper. WFC athletic teams were known as the Tigers in the late 1800s, followed by the Baptists in the early 1900s. Despite the coining of the Demon Deacon nickname, there would not be an official mascot until 1941.

The public announcement that the medical school would be moving to Winston-Salem is made, after the Board of Trustees of Wake Forest College and North Carolina Baptist Hospital met the previous day.

Bowman Gray School of Medicine opens in Winston-Salem and classes begin. There is a total of 75 medical students in 1941 on the new campus. 30 second-year students from the original Wake Forest campus move to Winston-Salem to continue the program, with 45 first-year students joining them. Tuition is $150 per trimester.

Porter Byrum graduates from Wake Forest's law school. Afterwards, he would fight in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, helping to liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp. Byrum would become one of Wake Forest's most generous donors, with the university's largest donation of $40 million in 2011 and a lifetime total of more than $50 million. He also created athletic, undergraduate, and law scholarships for students. The Porter B. Byrum Welcome Center was named after him in 2011.

Wake Forest College admits the first women undergraduates. 47 women join the college. While the college was interested in providing equal education for women, a major concern was that with many male students away at war, lack of income from tuition would negatively impact the college.

Nurses participate in accelerated training during WWII. 115 of 122 who applied are accepted, receive uniforms, and salaries of $15-20 a month. The hospital receives tuition reimbursement and nurses agree to remain in military or civilian nursing during WWII.

The S.S. Wake Forest Victory, a cargo ship, begins its commission and is placed into service during World War II.

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation offers Wake Forest College up to $330,000 annually in perpetuity, provided the college build a new campus 110 miles away in Winston-Salem, NC.

The WAKE radio station is officially established on the old campus. In the fall of 1946, a group of male students broadcasted popular music illegally out of a dorm room until being ordered to cease and desist by the FCC. The name was soon changed from WAKE to WFDD (Wake Forest Demon Deacons) for legal reasons.

U.S. President Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) breaks ground for the new Reynolda Campus library in Winston-Salem. Charles H. Babcock and his wife, Mary Reynolds Babcock, present the deed to the Reynolda property.

James G. Jones, part of the Lumbee Tribe, enrolls at Wake Forest College and later becomes the first Native American graduate in 1955. He later graduated from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in 1958.

Among unfounded rumors that President Tribble plans to deemphasize athletics, 500 students march on the president's home in Wake Forest, NC singing, "We'll hang Dr. Tribble up a sour apple tree." They hold signs reading, "Preston gone, Rogers gone, Tribble next," and set an effigy of Tribble on fire.

The Law School building is completed and formally dedicated in 1957. Prior to this building, the Law School had to share space with the library and the department of social science. Dean Carroll W. Weathers stated that "unless the law school had its own building on the campus in Winston-Salem, the law school was content to stay in Wake Forest." The building is renovated in 1972 and named Carswell Hall in honor of the late Guy T. Carswell (LLB '22), a prominient attorney and first president of the Wake Forest College Lawyer Alumni Association.

The new main library opens at the Reynolda Campus, Winston-Salem, NC. It takes 9 moving vans packed with 4,500 boxes of books to transfer the library collection from the old Wake Forest campus to the new building. Three service centers existed at this time: circulation, periodicals, and reserves.

Wake Forest College moves to Winston-Salem on part of the Reynolda Estate, former home of the late R.J. and Katharine Reynolds, donated by their family.

In response to student petitions, the Board of Trustees approves a resolution to allow dancing on the campus when "properly chaperoned and properly supervised." It was banned by the Baptist State Convention in 1937 because it was seen as "demoralizing" and "immoral." In 1967, all dancing restrictions would be lifted.

Four black NC A&T college students launch a sit-in movement at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, NC to protest segregation. On February 23, ten Wake Forest College students join 11 from Winston-Salem State Teachers College (now WSSU) and Mr. Carl Wesley Matthews for a sit-in at Woolworth’s lunch counter in Winston-Salem. The Wake Forest students were Linda Cohen, Linday Guy, Margaret Ann Dutton, Bill Stevens, Joe Chandler, Don Bailey, Paul Watson, Anthony-Wayland Johnson, George Wiliamson, and Jerry Wilson.

Glenn Blackburn Jr., Baptist Student Union, and others form the African Students Program (ASP) to recruit and support admission of a Ghanaian student, Ed Reynolds.

Brian Piccolo attends Wake Forest and plays for the football team. He leads the nation in rushing and scoring during his senior year in 1964 and was named Player of the Year in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He played in the NFL for the Chicago Bears from 1965-1969. In 1969 Piccolo was diagnosed with embryonal cell carcinoma and passed away in June 1970. The film Brian's Song (1971) is based on Piccolo's friendship with teammate Gale Sayers and was so popular that it was remade in 2001. In 1980, students at Wake Forest began the Brian Piccolo Cancer Fund Drive and Wake Forest also built a dormitory in his honor.

The African Student Program (ASP) brings Ed Reynolds to NC from Ghana and he enrolls at Shaw University, a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) in Raleigh, NC.

Trustees vote to end racial segregation in the undergraduate college.

Martin Luther King Jr. speaks to an audience of 2,200 in Wait Chapel via an invite from the College Union.

Jesse Meredith, M.D., performs the first hand reimplantation in the United States on patient Robert Pennell.

President Tribble's proposal for Wake Forest to gain university status is approved by the Trustees unanimously. Wake Forest College is renamed Wake Forest University.

Dr. William Quivers is the first full-time Black faculty member at the medical school. He is an assistant professor of pediatrics. He earned his B.S. from the Hampton Institute and his M.D. from Meharry Medical College.

Elizabeth Phillips and Mary Frances Robinson are the first women to become full professors and both would later go on to chair their departments in the 1970s. Dr. Phillips is a professor of Romantic poetry in the English department and earned her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Robinson is a professor of Romance languages and earned her Ph.D. from Syracuse University.

The women's dress code is relaxed from allowing skirts and dresses only to permitting slacks on campus, but not to class.

Wake Forest becomes the first in the nation to use an ultrasound to detect prostate cancer.

WFDD becomes a charter member of the National Public Radio (NPR).

56 men and 243 women move into Wake Forest's first co-ed residence hall, today known as Luter Residence Hall.

The first residential study abroad program is created at Casa Artom in Venice, Italy. In 1970 Wake Forest acquired what was once the American consulate in Venice. In 1974 the University purchased the property outright from the American government, and it was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Camillo Artom, who fled fascist Italy and became a doctor and biochemical researcher at Wake Forest’s medical school. His wife Bianca Artom taught Italian at Wake Forest, and served as the first Director of the Venice Program. Through her personal contacts in the city, Wake Forest was able to hire the famous art historian Dr. Terisio Pignatti, who taught the art history course at Casa Artom for more than thirty years.

Beth Norbrey, now Beth Hopkins, became the first Black homecoming queen. She later graduated in 1973 with cum laude honors and received a law degree from the College of William and Mary. She retired in June 2016 from the position of professor and leader of WFU School of Law's outreach efforts.

ZSR Library acquires its 500,000th volume, An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding by John Locke (London 1690) (1632-1704).

Dr. Herman Eure (Biology) and Dr. Dolly McPherson (English) become the first Black tenure-track professors. Dr. Eure is a professor of biology, specializing in Parasitology, Ichthyology, and Evolutionary Biology. Dr. McPherson is a professor of English, specializing in African American and British literature.

Eugene Worrell (Class of 1940) donates the Worrell House in London. It is a 4-story home, built in 1875 near Regent's Park. Each fall and spring semester, a group of Wake Forest students and a Resident Professor live and study together at Worrell House. Courses integrate visits to art galleries, theater performances, historical sites, and musical productions. All students take five courses that are taught at Worrell House. Three courses are taught by British professors and usually include Art History, History, and Theater. The Wake Forest Resident Professor teaches two courses from his or her discipline.

The James R. Scales Fine Arts Center is opened. It is home to the theatre, dance, music, and art departments. It houses the Charlotte and Philip Hanes Art Gallery and Brendle Recital Hall.

Dr. Maya Angelou is hired as lifelong Reynolds Professor of American Studies. Dr. Angelou is an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist, most famous for her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and her poem "On the Pulse of the Morning."

The University's restrictive dorm visitation policy is changed, allowing open visitation between the sexes in dorms on weeknights and weekends.

The University officially breaks ties with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. More than 81% of delegates at the annual meeting of the Convention voted for the break (2,689 to 249). Once approved, WFU was free to choose its trustees without interference from the Convention.

The Office of International Studies is created to provide resources and support for students and faculty to foster global citizenry, while creating a stronger international culture and perspective at Wake Forest.

President Thomas K. Hearn, Jr. announces during the Spring Commencement ceremony that the $7 million addition to the ZSR Library is named the Edwin Graves Wilson Wing in honor of the University’s provost. Dr. Wilson was most pleased that the library is named in his honor because it represents the heart of the University: “I can’t think of anything else that would please me more than that announcement as far as my name is concerned.”

Benson University Center is opened, named for Clifton L. Benson Sr, a benefactor to the university. The 5-story building houses university events and student activities, a movie theater, Shorty's restaurant, a food court, an art gallery, multi-purpose meetings rooms, a meditation room, and administrative and student organizational offices.

Students draft a constitution for GALA, the “Gay and Lesbian Association," later named GALBA (Gay and Lesbian Bisexual Awareness) and GSSA (Gay-Straight Student Alliance).

Tim Duncan attends Wake Forest, studying psychology and playing for the basketball team as power forward/center. Despite being sought out for the NBA draft after his very first year, Duncan attended Wake for all four years and won the Naismith College Player of the Year award, the USBWA College Player of the Year award, and the John Wooden award in his final year. When he graduated, he entered the 1997 NBA draft as the number one pick. He played for the San Antonio Spurs from 1997-2016.

The Worrell Professional Center for Law and Management opens. It is named for alumnus, trustee, and benefactor Eugene Worrell (Class of 1940) and his wife Anne Worrell, also a benefactor. This building houses the Babcock Graduate School of Management and the Wake Forest School of Law.

University Senate passes a resolution to include sexual orientation in the non-discrimination clause.

The library officially removes the card catalog system. The 2,400 drawer paper catalog is recycled.

The Islam Awareness Organization is chartered. The group's goal is to educate the Wake Forest community about Islam and the beliefs of Muslims. The first group members were Megan Rief, Kaci Starbuck, Joseph Golden, Al-Husein Madhany, Zaher Silk, Tarique Zahir, Abdul Guice, Qais Sedki, Hilal Hibri, Tommy Mitchell, Mohammad Coovadia, Mansur, and Andrew Tapp.

GSSA (Gay-Straight Student Alliance) issues a press release calling Trustees to honor Wake Forest non-discrimination policy by allowing same-sex commitment ceremonies in Wait Chapel. Susan Parker and Wendy Scott’s Covenant ceremony are members of the Wake Forest Baptist Church but are denied the request to hold their wedding ceremony in the Baptist chapel at the university. The controversy became larger when the university's radio station WFDD was urged not to report on the events other than repeating the university's official statement.

Susan Parker and Wendy Scott’s Covenant ceremony is the first same-sex union held in Wait Chapel. Parker and Scott are members of the Wake Forest Baptist Church but were originally denied the request to hold their wedding ceremony in the Baptist chapel at the university. The controversy became larger when the university's radio station WFDD was urged not to report on the events other than repeating the university's official statement.

A nationally televised presidential debate between George W. Bush and Al Gore is held in Wait Chapel.

Wake Forest University enters into an affiliation with the Reynolda House Museum of American Art. The University would now elect its Board of Trustees, but the museum would remain independent and self-governing.

Wake Forest University admissions policy changes to become test-score optional and applicants are no longer required to submit SAT or ACT scores for admissions consideration.

Starbucks opens at ZSR and is awarded Starbucks Store of the Year for design. Following the opening of Starbucks, attendance in the Library immediately increased by more than 10% and the gate count increased by 36%.

The Magnolia Scholars program at Wake Forest University is established with Dr. Nate French as the first director. The program supports students who are the first in their family to attend college. The goal is to ensure that each participant, a first generation student, graduates from Wake Forest as well as experiences both academic success and individual fulfillment. The inaugural class of 2013 included Caucasians, African Americans, Native Americans, and Asians, as well as a wide representation of religious backgrounds, such as Protestantism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Islam.

The Bridge opens in ZSR Library, providing information technology services for the campus.

Khalid Griggs, Imam of the Community Mosque of Winston-Salem, is named the first Muslim chaplain.

The Z. Smith Reynolds Library receives the ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award (2011). Sponsored by ACRL and YBP Library Services, the award recognizes the staff of a college, university, or community college library for programs that deliver exemplary services and resources to further the educational mission of the institution.

The LGBTQ center is opened and Dr. Angela Mazaris is named founding director. The Center provides support and advocacy to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning students, faculty and staff, plus campus education related to issues of gender identity and sexual orientation.

The first ever Humans versus Zombies (HvZ) event is hosted in ZSR Library. The event is an instant success; 80 students attended and it has been a semesterly tradition since.

Wake Forest Biotech Place, a world-class research building, opens in Piedmont Triad Research Park, another milestone in development of the pioneering downtown park.

Wake Forest University opens the Women’s Center. The Women's Center's goal is to support women and promote gender equity at Wake Forest. The Center advocates for staff, faculty, and students. The Women's Center moved to a new space in Benson Center in 2016.

Farrell Hall opens, which now houses the School of Business. Farrell Hall was made possible by contributions from Mike and Mary Farrell in 2011. Mr. and Mrs. Farrell are parents of alumnus Michael Edward Farrell ('10).

The Campus Kitchen at Wake Forest opens in their permanent campus space in Kitchin Hall, which reuses an average of 600 pounds of prepared but unserved food per month to feed the underserved.

WFUBMC scientists use a 3D printer to print live tissue that can be used to repair injuries.

Arnold Palmer, a beloved Wake Forest golfer, passes away. He attended Wake Forest from 1947-1950, when he left school to join the U.S. Coast Guard. Palmer won many prestigious awards and tournaments in golf and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004.

The Wake Forest University debate team wins the national championship in intercollegiate debating at the 2023 National Debate Tournament. Wake Forest juniors Iyana Trotman and Tajaih Robinson defeated the University of Michigan in the final round. At the time, Trotman was the youngest Black student to ever win the National Debate Tournament, the third Black woman and the sixth woman ever to win the NDT Championship. This is the third time a WFU team has won the top title. The first victory was in 1997 and the second was in 2008.