Timeline:

1862: Pastor Eric Norelius starts a school in his church. in Red Wing, Minn.

1862:The School reopens in East Union, and was renamed “Minnesota Elementar Skola”.

1876: School opens for first time on the hill  as Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.

1890: Commencement for the first graduating class of Gustavus. Each graduate was required to speak at commencement.

1891: The first college newspaper in print was the Hemidol. Its forerunners were handwritten and read at weekly meetings of two general societies.

1904: President Mattson cancels the 1904 football season due to budget cuts and feelings of too much emphasis on athletics.

1917: The Gustavus Alma Mater was written by John Helmer Olson ’19.

1923: The First “Women’s Football Classic” football game between the “Heavies” and the “Leans” made national news.

1962: Christ Chapel is dedicated, and Gustavus celebrates its Centennial Anniversary.

1963: Alfred Nobel Hall of Science was completed and dedicated with 26 Nobel Laureates participating in the celebration.

1965: The First Nobel Conference, titled Genetics and the Future of Man.

1967: Co-ed was completed as the first co-educational residence hall on campus; in 1983 it was renamed Norelius Hall.

1973: First planting of the Linnaeus Arboretum, which is now 135 acres.

1998: An F3 Tornado tore through St. Peter, causing $50 million in damages to the campus including 2,000 trees uprooted, 80% of the windows broken, and the Chapel’s spire toppled.

2000: C. Charles Jackson Campus Center was built.

2008: Gustavus launches new branding, “Make Your Life Count”

2011: Gustavus starts its Sesquicentennial Anniversary Celebration