Encyclopedia
Central College
A look at Jefferson's early efforts to create a public university, which he initially referred to as Central College.
University of Virginia (UVA)
Articles about Jefferson's founding and design for the University of Virginia written by Monticello researchers and scholars.
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![Peter Maverick's engraving of John Neilson's plan drawing of the academical village of the University of Virginia, including the rotunda, pavilions, student rooms, gardens, and serpentine garden walls.]()
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![Peter Maverick's engraving of John Neilson's plan drawing of the academical village of the University of Virginia, including the rotunda, pavilions, student rooms, gardens, and serpentine garden walls.]()
EncyclopediaChoosing the University Site
Explore the considerations Jefferson made when selecting a site for the University of Virginia.
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![Elevation drawing by John Neilson of the University of Virginia's Rotunda show the wings and two of the Pavilions.]()
EncyclopediaConstruction of the University, 1817-1826
Learn about the construction of the University of Virginia and Jefferson's vision for it.
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![National Gallery of Scotland/Public Domian]()
Dugald Stewart
Dugald Stewart was a Scottish philosopher and mathematician whom Thomas Jefferson met and socialized with frequently while living in Paris.
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Edgar Allan Poe
Did Thomas Jefferson know Edgar Allan Poe while he was a student at the University of Virginia in 1826? Read this summary of historical documents to learn more.
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![Bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson stands in front of the Rotunda of the University of Virginia.]()
EncyclopediaEstablishment of the University of Virginia
Learn more about the creation of the University of Virginia, which Thomas Jefferson considered one his three greatest achievements.
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![University of Virginia]()
Francis Walker Gilmer
Francis Walker Gilmer, the son of Jefferson's close friend George Gilmer, was a lawyer who traveled to England to recruit professors for the University of Virginia; appointed as the first Chair of Law at UVA, he died before taking the position.
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![Peter Maverick's engraving of John Neilson's plan drawing of the academical village of the University of Virginia, including the rotunda, pavilions, student rooms, gardens, and serpentine garden walls.]()
EncyclopediaFunding the University of Virginia
A brief history of how Thomas Jefferson and fellow collaborators obtained funds for the creation of the University of Virginia.
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![Elevation drawing by John Neilson of the University of Virginia's Rotunda show the wings and two of the Pavilions.]()
EncyclopediaGenesis of the University of Virginia
Read about the very beginnings of the University of Virginia, which Thomas Jefferson first devised after failed attempts to revise the Constitution of the College of William and Mary.
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![Peter Maverick's engraving of John Neilson's plan drawing of the academical village of the University of Virginia, including the rotunda, pavilions, student rooms, gardens, and serpentine garden walls.]()
EncyclopediaJefferson's Plan for an Academical Village
A look at the development of the Academical Village of student housing and faculty pavilions designed by Thomas Jefferson to enclose the Lawn of the University of Virginia.
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![Daguerreotype photo of John Hartwell Cocke in 1850, courtesy Special Collections, University of Virginia]()
John Hartwell Cocke
John Hartwell Cocke of Bremo Plantation in Fluvanna County, VA, was a close associate of Thomas Jefferson, an ally in the creation of the University of Virginia, and shared his botanical interests.
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![Elevation drawing by John Neilson of the University of Virginia's Rotunda show the wings and two of the Pavilions.]()
EncyclopediaTimeline of the Founding of the University of Virginia
Significant dates and events in the creation of the University of Virginia, which Thomas Jefferson considered one of his greatest achievements.
