Colonel Samuel H. Lockett was a Virginia native who grew up in Alabama. He graduated from Howard College (now Samford University) at age 16 and went on to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1859, where he graduated second in his class. During the Civil War, he served as an engineer with … Continued

Director and actor Joshua Logan directed Rip Van Winkle at the Clarence Brown Theatre in winter quarter 1976. Anthony Quayle played Rip. The performance by the Clarence Brown Company was funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Tennessee Arts Commission. Following the Knoxville run, the production moved to Washington for … Continued

In April 1986 President Edward J. Boling announced adoption of an official UT Logo, a “T” of which the shape of the state of Tennessee forms the top. Ted Williams, a 1955 UT graduate who worked for UT publications from 1964 to 1999, designed it. This followed the shared trademark compromise with the University of … Continued

In the 1902 Clemson game, A. H. “Toots” Douglas, captain of the team, kicked from his five to the Clemson twenty, and the ball bounced to the Clemson five, a boot of 100 yards on the 110-yard field. (This feat is also reported as having been a punt from his goal line to Clemson’s two-yard … Continued

The legislature adopted the concept of longevity pay in 1979. The initial program, which did not include faculty, provided $30 per year for each year of service up to 15, with eligibility being state employment for three years prior to receiving the longevity allocation.

In 1953 UT was notified that it was the recipient of a bequest from the late Joseph E. Lopez, a New York insurance executive who graduated from UT in 1882. The gift, 7/100ths of the Lopez estate, amounted to approximately $200,000. Lopez made the gift in honor of his father-in-law, Col. S. H. Lockett, who … Continued

At its first meeting of April 7, 1808, the new Board of Trustees of East Tennessee College retained the services of Samuel Carrick as president and sole faculty member of the institution and discussed the unsuccessful attempts to collect from squatters on land granted to the college as part of the Compact of 1806. It … Continued

In his 1810 response to the request of the Trustees of East Tennessee College that he assist in selling tickets for the lottery approved by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1809, Thomas Jefferson indicated that he had “made it a rule never to engage in a lottery or any other adventure of mere chance” and … Continued

The Love United Gospel Choir, a UT student organization, started in 1977 as the John 23rd Singers, and they were based at St. John Baptist Church in Alcoa. Love United Gospel Choir helps keep alive gospel music in the African American tradition while being a proponent of the university’s Ready for the World initiative, which … Continued

Begun in 1992 by the Graduate Students’ Association, this annual run/walk raises money for and awareness of the UT Libraries. In its first year, the race raised $1,800 for periodicals.