Can You Ace This Quiz on Historic Universities?

The University of Al-Karaouine (also spelled as Al-Quaraouiyine and Al-Qarawiyyin) in Fez, Morocco, was established in 859 CE. The school was the first degree-awarding institution in the world, making it the oldest university still in operation today. The school’s founder, a woman named Fatima al-Fihri, established the learning center as a way to give back to her community.

On June 28, 1905, Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1” played at a commencement ceremony for the first time at Yale University. Since then, the tune has become a staple at U.S. graduations of all levels, except, interestingly enough, at Yale. The song hasn’t been heard at a Yale commencement ceremony since at least 1950.

The Apollo 15 lunar mission in 1971 was monumental for the University of Michigan; the three-man crew was entirely Michigan alumni. James Irwin, Alfred Worden, and David Scott successfully landed on the moon on July 30, 1971. Wanting to give a nod to the university that brought them together, they left behind a certificate on the lunar surface, establishing the “U-M Club of the Moon.”

Located on Harvard University's campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the John Harvard statue presents three inaccurate facts. First, the statue isn’t actually John Harvard; it is of Sherman Hoar. Second, the inscription states that Harvard was founded in 1638, but it was actually 1636. The final lie on the statue is the term “founder.” That’s right — John Harvard was not the founder, but he was its first major benefactor.

The first live college sports mascot was none other than Handsome Dan, the lovable bulldog owned by a member of Yale’s class of 1892. The lasting tradition has seen 19 generations of Handsome Dan. The newest of these mascots, Handsome Dan XIX, was born on January 2, 2021. He is an Olde English Bulldogge, a breed similar to the English Bulldog, and the “nephew” of his predecessor.

What would become one of the greatest American pastimes originated when Rutgers University played New Jersey University (later renamed Princeton) on November 6, 1869. The game was held in New Brunswick, New Jersey, with a crowd of around 100 spectators. It was more like soccer, where players kicked the ball using their feet. Rutgers won the game with a score of six to four.

Established in 1088, the University of Bologna is the oldest continuously operating university in Europe. Its early studies were in canon and civil law, attracting students from all over Europe. Around 1200, more disciplines were established at the school, including medicine and philosophy, and Bologna became a model for modern universities around the world.

Johns Hopkins was founded as the nation’s first research university by Daniel Coit Gilman in 1876. The university claims 29 Nobel laureates, two Presidential Medal of Freedom winners, and one Pulitzer Prize winner, along with many other distinguished awards. Today, Johns Hopkins is the leading U.S. academic institution in total research and development spending.

The Ivy League is made up of eight of the most prestigious schools in the United States: Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania. The "Ivy League" moniker was coined in 1954, when the Division I NCAA athletic conference was formed, and originally applied to sports and athletics.

Oxford University is the world's oldest English-speaking university and has been ranked as the No. 1 university in the world by several publications throughout the years. In addition to its academic programs, it’s known for being a custodian of the English language — the Oxford English Dictionary is printed by the Oxford University Press, the second-oldest university-run press in the world.

The United States Military Academy, better known as West Point, is among the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the country. Two U.S. Presidents attended West Point: Civil War general and 18th President Ulysses S. Grant was a graduate of the class of 1843, and World War II general and 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower graduated as part of the class of 1915.