HISTORY & MISSION Home > About Us > History & Mission MENU SEARCH NEWS & EVENTS APPLY VISIT SEE PROGRAMS About Us University Leadership Office of the President Office of the Provost History & Mission Gilman's Inaugural Address Notable Alumni Hopkins in the Community Hopkins Around the World News from Johns Hopkins Academics Schools & Divisions Admissions & Aid Research & Faculty Campus Life The university takes its name from 19th-century Maryland philanthropist Johns Hopkins, an entrepreneur with Quaker roots who believed in improving public health and education in Baltimore and beyond. Previously adopted accounts portray Johns Hopkins as an early abolitionist whose father had freed the family’s enslaved people in the early 1800s, but recently discovered records offer strong evidence that Johns Hopkins held enslaved people in his home until at least the mid-1800s. Additional information about the university’s investigation of this history is available on the Hopkins Retrospective website. Mr. Hopkins, one of 11 children, made his fortune in the wholesale business and by investing in emerging industries, notably the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, of which he became a director in 1847. In his will, he set aside $7 million to establish a hospital and affiliated training colleges, an orphanage, and a university. At the time, it was the largest philanthropic bequest in U.S. history. Johns Hopkins University opened in 1876 with the inauguration of our first president, Daniel Coit Gilman. He guided the opening of the university and other institutions, including the university press, the hospital, and the schools of nursing and medicine. The original academic building on the Homewood campus, Gilman Hall, is named in his honor. “Our simple aim is to make scholars, strong, bright, useful, and true,” Gilman said in his inaugural address. In the speech, he defined the model of the American research university, now emulated around the globe. The mission he described then remains the university’s mission today: To educate its students and cultivate their capacity for lifelong learning, to foster independent and original research, and to bring the benefits of discovery to the world. Or, summed up in a simple but powerful restatement of Gilman’s own words: “Knowledge for the world.” Hopkins Retrospective An ongoing effort to expand our understanding of the history of Johns Hopkins and weave that history into the university experience Learn more: The Baltimore Sun‘s 1873 obituary for Johns Hopkins Heather Michaelson Tech coordinator, Shriver Hall Embrace the “s”–it’s not a typo. Johns is our founder’s first name (he was named after his great-grandmother, Margaret Johns). Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland 410-516-8000 © 2021 Johns Hopkins University. All rights reserved. About Us Academics Schools & Divisions Admissions & Aid Research & Faculty Campus Life Contact the University University Policies and Statements Privacy Statement Title IX Information and Resources Higher Education Act Disclosures Clery Disclosure Accessibility Emergency Contact Information