The History of Clemson University

With the name Clemson on everyone’s lips, we wanted to share a little about the history of the university. Thomas Green Clemson was born in Philadelphia and educated in Europe. At the age of 31, Clemson married Anna Maria Calhoun, the daughter of John C. Calhoun. Outliving his wife and four children, Clemson established in his will a land-grant institution that would be called “The Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina” on the property of his estate of Fort Hill in the Pendleton area. Following Thomas Green Clemson’s death in 1888, at the age of 80, the school was founded in 1889. Formally opening its doors as a military school in 1893, the college had just 446 students enrolled. It was not until 1955 that the institution was open for civilian students. In 1964, the agricultural college was renamed Clemson University to reflect the varied academic studies and research that had been integrated in the school. Today, Clemson is a thriving college with over 80 majors to study and more than 17,000 undergraduate students!