History
The school was founded in 1939, and was originally named Egerton Farm School. It was established by a large land grant of 740 acres (3 km²) by Lord Maurice Egerton of Tatton. The school's original purpose was to prepare white European youth for careers in agriculture.
By 1955, the name had changed to Egerton Agricultural College. A one-year certificate course and a two-year diploma course in agriculture were offered. In 1958, Lord Egerton donated another 1,100 acres (4.5 km²) of land.
Soon afterward, the college opened its doors to people of all races from Kenya and other African countries. The first African principal, Dr. William Odongo Omamo, was appointed in 1966.
In 1979, with support from the Government of Kenya and USAID, the college expanded yet again, becoming part of the University of Nairobi system.
In 1987, the college was recognized as a chartered public university.
Read more about this topic: Egerton University
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Man watches his history on the screen with apathy and an occasional passing flicker of horror or indignation.”
—Conor Cruise O’Brien (b. 1917)
“Let it suffice that in the light of these two facts, namely, that the mind is One, and that nature is its correlative, history is to be read and written.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The awareness that health is dependent upon habits that we control makes us the first generation in history that to a large extent determines its own destiny.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)