History of Ohio State University
The Ohio State University was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university in accordance with the Morrill Act of 1862 under the name of Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The school was originally situated within a farming community located on the northern edge of Columbus, and was intended to matriculate students of various agricultural and mechanical disciplines. The university opened its doors to 24 students on September 18, 1873. In 1878, the first class of six men graduated. The first woman graduated the following year. In 1900, in light of its expanded focus, the college permanently changed its name to the now-familiar "The Ohio State University". Ohio State began accepting graduate students in the 1880s, with the university awarding its first master's and doctoral degrees in 1886 and 1890 respectively. 1891 saw the founding of Ohio State's law school. Presently, the university has reached the ranking of becoming a "Public Ivy", as well as receiving high rankings and awards from many institutions, including "U.S. News", Academic Ranking of World Universities.
Capital University
Capital University was founded on June 3, 1830, as the "Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio" in nearby Canton, Ohio, 40 years before what would become The Ohio State University, securing its title as the oldest university in Central Ohio. It was renamed as Capital University on March 2, 1850, when the seminary was reformed as the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary of Columbus, Ohio, (ELTS), (and occasionally still known by the misnomer of "Capital Seminary") when the denomination was renamed as the Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States and grew into a nationwide church body. In 1930, the Joint Synod was merged with two other smaller German language groups, the Iowa Synod (formed 1854) and the Buffalo Synod (founded 1845) into a major nationwide grouping entitled the American Lutheran Church (ALC), headquartered in Columbus. The ALC existed only three decades, until 1960, when it in turn participated in a larger merger with several other groups of Lutherans in the Norwegian, Danish and Swedish traditions and was renamed The American Lutheran Church. The second ALC lasted until the formation of the current Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 1988, with offices in Chicago, Illinois.