Forty students report for class at Texas's first public college

Five years after the Texas Legislature set aside Morrill Act land-grant funds for the state's first public college, the campus near Bryan finally had students to teach. The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas had scheduled opening day for October 2, 1876, but only six young men arrived on 2,416 acres donated by Brazos County. The college held off two days for enrollment to catch up, and on October 4, six faculty members began teaching forty students in classical studies, languages, and mathematics. Despite its name, the school originally taught no agriculture or engineering courses…