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A series of images from the UAB Archives

A Chronological History of
the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
and its Predecessor Institutions and Organizations, 1831-

(Please contact the UAB Archives for additional information.)

Copyright: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.


The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) traces its roots to the 1859 founding of the Medical College of Alabama and the 1936 opening of the Birmingham Extension Center of the University of Alabama. In 1945 the Medical College of Alabama was moved from Tuscaloosa and the University's Medical Center was founded in Birmingham. In 1954 the Extension Center was moved to a newly constructed facility adjacent to the Medical Center, bringing together for the first time the University's two academic components in Birmingham.  Later, in November of 1966, the Extension Center and the Medical Center were administratively merged to form the "University of Alabama in Birmingham," an organizational component of the University of Alabama (in Tuscaloosa). In 1969 UAB became an independent institution, one of the autonomous universities within the newly created three-campus University of Alabama System.

Today, UAB is a comprehensive urban university with a nationally recognized academic health center. UAB is the only public, four-year degree granting university in the state's largest metropolitan area. UAB is the largest research institution in the state of Alabama and is the largest single employer in the state.

A comprehensive chronology of the history of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and its predecessor entities is found below.  Underlined and bolded items in this list may be selected to see portraits or photographs about the specific person or event.

Chronology last updated 18 September 2024

1900: When opened for the fall term, the Department of Pharmacy at the Medical College of Alabama had two female students working toward a PhG degree: Lela M. Semler and Esther Turner Colston.

October 28, 1901: Ullman School opened. The building is one of the oldest structures remaining on the UAB campus.

April 8, 1902: Esther Turner Colston received a PhG degree from the pharmacy program of the Medical College of Alabama in Mobile.

July 12, 1902: Cornerstones were laid for the Birmingham Medical College and the Hillman Hospital.

1902: Dr. John W. Abercrombie became president of The University of Alabama and served until 1911.

1902: A one-story addition to the main building, housing the chemical laboratory, was completed at the Medical College of Alabama.

July 15, 1903: Hillman Hospital was dedicated.

February 28, 1905: Hillman Hospital Training School for Nurses graduated its first class. Elizabeth Hale of Birmingham was the program's first graduate.

April 9, 1906: The graduating class at the Medical College of Alabama included international student Tawfik Lutaif of Syria.

October 8, 1906: Dr. Rhett Goode became the third dean of the Medical College of Alabama.

January 1907: The Board of Lady Managers transferred the deed of the hospital land to the Jefferson County Board of Revenue for the purpose of operating the Hillman Hospital.

March 4, 1907: The Alabama Legislature amended the charter of the Medical College of Alabama (in Mobile) to definitely incorporate with and place the school under the control of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. The legislation appropriated $45,000 to the school for repairs, renovations, improvements, and purchases and $5,000.00 annually for maintenance of facilities.

March 6, 1907: The Mobile medical school dissolved its own board of trustees, and The University of Alabama Board of Trustees gained sole control over the Mobile program. The school was officially renamed as the University of Alabama School of Medicine.

1908: A laboratory for comparative anatomy, a one-story wooden structure, was constructed on the property of the Medical College of Alabama, just north of the main medical building.

1908: At the start of the academic year in the fall, the Birmingham Dental College had one female faculty member, Dr. Meta Tudor Halley, an 1892 graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery.

 

Mervyn H. Sterne Library

917 13th St S
Birmingham, AL

(205) 934-6364

Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences

1700 University Blvd
Birmingham, AL

(205) 975-4821

Reynolds-Finley Historical Library

1700 University Blvd - 3rd Floor
Birmingham, AL

(205) 934-4475

Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences

1700 University Blvd - 3rd Floor
Birmingham, AL

(205) 934-4475

Lister Hill Library at University Hospital

615 18th Street S - P235 West Pavilion
Birmingham, AL

(205) 934-2275

801 Building

801 5th Ave South
Room 1111
Birmingham, AL

(205) 934-5432

J. Ellis Sparks Medical Library

301 Governors Drive SE - 3rd Floor
Huntsville, AL 35801

(256) 551-4405

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