Washington College, the first college chartered in the new nation, is founded to “nurse the souls of our youth up to the love of LIBERTY and KNOWLEDGE.” George Washington lends his name to this College during his lifetime and serves on its board. Founder Dr. William Smith (1727-1803), a Scottish immigrant, aims to keep “the legacy of the country’s founders alive, preserving their ideals and virtues into the distant future” with “youth of all religious denominations…freely and liberally admitted.”
Rembrandt Peale builds the first museum
Rembrandt Peale opens the first purpose-built museum in the US in August, 1814. As a fine arts gallery, it is short-lived, becoming city hall, a school for “colored” children, city water offices and now Baltimore’s Community Museum.