Lingnan University was founded as Canton Christian College in Guangzhou, China as a Non-Denominational Christian university by Andrew P. Happer of the American Presbyterian (North) Council in 1889. The school changed location several times over the years. In 1900, the school relocated to Macau due to the Boxer Rebellion. The school moved back to Guangzhou and built a permanent campus at the Haizhu District in 1904. The university moved to Hong Kong for the first time in 1938 after Guangzhou fell to the Japanese military. The university stayed in Hong Kong for 4 years before moving to Shaoguan after Hong Kong's capitulation to the Japanese forces. After World War II concluded, Lingnan University moved back to its permanent campus at Haizhu.