1867 - A University is Born

April 7, 1867 - Mrs. Henry Biddle of Philadelphia contributes $1900, and Colonel W.R. Myers donates land west of Charlotte. Together, they help the Presbyterian Church establish Biddle Institute, a school to train black ministers. A Pennsylvania widow named Mrs. J.C. Smith donates $700,000 in her husband's memory in the 1920s. Then the school's name will change to honor him: Johnson C. Smith University.Biddle Hall