Happy 155th, Penn State!

The year was 1855. The date was Feb. 22.

It’s unlikely then-Gov. James Pollock had visions of THON, Beaver Stadium and the Creamery when he signed the charter for the school that would become Penn State. Actually, he might have envisioned the Creamery.

The Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society encouraged the development of the school to further scientific agricultural research.

Now, 155 years later, the school remains true to its mission of agricultural research, though it has since added dozens of other majors and countless specific areas of study. It includes 15 colleges and more campuses. It also enrolls more than 40,000 students and stretches across the Commonwealth.

Happy birthday, Penn State. You don’t look a day over 150.

Five years ago, the school celebrated its sesquicentennial birthday in style, from the beginning of July until the end of November. You can see the list of all of the events here: https://sesquicentennial.psu.edu/sesquicalendar.html

The school also compiled a gallery of photos from Penn State’s history. These can be seen here: https://sesquicentennial.psu.edu/pix/archive.html