Vanderbilt University's founding gift from Cornelius Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt University in Nashville was founded in 1873 after shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt provided a $1 million endowment to establish the university. The endowment was intended to help heal national divisions after the Civil War by promoting education in the South, and the campus grew around central buildings such as Kirkland Hall. Vanderbilt remains a major research university on its Nashville campus with continuing historical ties to its founding gift.