Department: Retrospect
The Celestial Dome
Thomas Jefferson envisioned the Rotunda dome room not as a library but as a planetarium for teaching astronomy.
Winter 2012
1817: The First Meeting of the Board of Visitors
View the minutes from UVA's first BOV meeting including Jefferson, Madison and Monroe.
Fall 2012
1976: A Royal Visit
On July 10, Queen Elizabeth toured the Academical Village, where 18,000 people watched her stroll down the Lawn.
Spring 2012
Fighting Fire at the University
In 1828, the Board of Visitors created the University Fire Company.
Winter 2011
1825: Old School
The University held its first classes in 1825 with a faculty of eight and 68 students.
Fall 2011
1982: The Rise and Fall of Easters
Spring 2011
1888: The Origins of Orange and Blue
For decades, the scarf that inspired the University's orange-and-blue colors appeared to have been lost.
Winter 2010
1820: Sincerely, Thomas Jefferson
A letter from TJ explains construction delays at UVA thanks to the Virginia legislature.
Fall 2010
1977: Ms. Rhodes Scholar
Catherine Burke Sweet (Col class of ’77), one of the first female Rhodes Scholars, went to England to study in the late '70s and she never moved back.
Spring 2010
The Kennedys at Virginia
In March 1958, then-Senator John F. Kennedy, his wife, Jackie, and his brothers Robert and Ted attended Law Day at UVA.
Winter 2009
July 4th: The Fourth of July Paradox
The Fourth of July is a bittersweet anniversary at the University. It marks both great achievement and sorrow; it is the birthday of a nation, but the death day of Founding Fathers.
Summer 2009
1948: Oh Baby
Spring 2009
1825–1939: The Anatomical Theatre
Thomas Jefferson designed the Anatomical Theatre in 1825.
Fall 2008
1957: Faulkner Among the “Snobs”
After Faulkner arrived on Grounds, his "observations on ‘Virginia snobs’ caused somewhat of a sensation," wrote Virginius Dabney in Mr. Jefferson’s University. "He liked the state, he said, ‘because Virginians are all snobs and I like snobs.’"
Summer 2008
1868: First Photograph of the Rotunda
Spring 2008
Bice Devices
Winter 2007
Reflections of a Centenarian
Charles E. McMurdo (Engr class of '29) recalls his years at the University.
Fall 2007
The Queen
Mrs. Alfred E. Walker, "the Queen," shaped social life at the University for 35 years.
Summer 2007
1943: The Dry Dock
Spring 2007
