First Bookstore
In 1892–93 a college bookstore was established and given a room in the YMCA building.
First Building
The first (and only) Blount College building (1799) was on Gay Street, at the site of what is now the Tennessee Theatre.
First Building Funded Entirely with State Money
The 1906 addition to Estabrook Hall, which enwrapped the 1898 structure, was the first building of the university built with a state appropriation. The trowel used to lay the cornerstone at the event was so inscribed to commemorate the occasion.
First Building on the Hill
The first building on the Hill was Old College, originally called the College Building, built at a cost of $13,000. The building was completed in 1828, repaired (but without the original dome) following the Civil War, and renovated in 1909. Old College was razed in 1919 to allow construction of Ayres Hall.
First Campus Mail Service
After the Civil War, the cadets attending the university were fairly isolated. Under strict military discipline, their contacts—even with their friends in the city—were seriously restricted. In 1875–76 one of the cadets, Sgt. A. N. Jackson, turned the situation into a profitable business for himself. He established a private mail service between the university and … Continued
First Campus Site and Building
The site and building of Blount College (the original name of the University of Tennessee) was on Knoxville’s Gay Street, where the Burwell Building and Tennessee Theatre now stand. Completed and open by 1799, it was a frame structure located on the entire block—four acres of land. The trustees of the college had purchased the … Continued
First Catalog
The first catalog was published in 1838 when the institution was East Tennessee College. Joseph Estabrook was president. An online catalog archive was established in 2004.
First Catfishing Club in the United States
Marc Cooper, a marketing major, founded the nation’s first catfishing club at UT in October 2013. While UT had had a bass fishing team, none existed for the plentiful catfish in the region. The club competes in tournaments, such as the East Tennessee Catfish Anglers Tournament Series.
First Central Heating
The YMCA Building, when finished in 1891, provided the first central heating system on campus. Science Hall, completed in 1892, was next and had steam heat.
First Chairs of Excellence
Governor Lamar Alexander (later, UT president) announced on February 18, 1985, to a capacity crowd in the Shiloh Room of the university center that three Chairs of Excellence had been created at UT. The endowments for each of the three $1 million chairs received $500,000 from the state. Two chairs, one in engineering (materials science … Continued