page_title: University of Notre Dame
section_title: Early history
hierarchical_section_title: University of Notre Dame / History / Early history
caption_attribution_description: English: The Main Building, Golden Dome, at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana.
context_page_description: The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. It was founded in 1842 by Edward Sorin. The main campus covers 1,261 acres in a suburban setting; it contains a number of recognizable landmarks, such as the Golden Dome, the Word of Life mural, Notre Dame Stadium, and the Basilica.
  Notre Dame has been recognized as one of the top universities in the United States, in particular for its undergraduate education. The university is organized into seven school and colleges. The School of Architecture is known for teaching New Classical Architecture and for awarding the annual Driehaus Architecture Prize. The university offers over 50 yearlong study programs abroad and over 15 summer programs. Notre Dame's graduate program has more than 50 master, doctoral and professional degree programs offered by the six schools, including the Notre Dame Law School and an MD–PhD program offered in combination with the Indiana University School of Medicine. It maintains a system of libraries, cultural venues, artistic and scientific museums, including the Hesburgh Library and the Snite Museum of Art.
context_section_description: The college awarded its first degrees in 1849. The university was expanded to accommodate more students and faculty. With each new president, new academic programs were offered and new buildings built to accommodate them. The original Main Building built by Sorin just after he arrived was replaced with a larger one in 1865, which housed the university's administration, classrooms, and dormitories. Under William Corby's first administration, enrollment at Notre Dame increased to more than 500 students. In 1869 he opened the law school, which offered a two-year course of study, and in 1871 he began construction of Sacred Heart Church, today the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame. Two years later Auguste Lemonnier started a library in the Main Building; by 1879 it had reached 10,000 volumes.
  This Main Building and the library collection were destroyed by a fire in April 1879; school closed immediately and students were sent home. The university founder, Sorin, and the president at the time, William Corby, immediately planned for the rebuilding of the structure that had housed virtually the entire university. Construction was started on May 17, and by the incredible zeal of administrators and workers, the building was completed before the fall semester of 1879. The library collection was also rebuilt and stayed housed in the new Main Building for years afterward.
  Around the time of the fire, Washington Hall was built; it hosted plays and musical acts put on by the school. By 1880, a science program was established, and a Science Hall (today LaFortune Student Center) was built in 1883. The hall housed multiple classrooms and science labs needed for early research at the university.
caption: The current Main Building, built after the great fire of 1879
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