The Charter, The Transfer, and the Acts of 1888 and 1906

The Royal Charter is the founding document of the College of William and Mary, issued on 8 February 1693. It gives the purpose of the new College as well as listing the original Board of Visitors. The original Charter given to the College of William and Mary was lost some time around the Revolutionary War, likely while the College was being used as a military hospital. Currently, the Special Collections Research Center has two contemporary copies of the Charter, including the copy that was likely given to Edmund Andros, Governor of Virginia from 1692 to 1698. You can find more information about the Royal Charter, including a transcription, in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki.

The Royal Charter

The Transfer to the Faculty in Virginia, 27 February 1729, transferred the Royal Charter and the ruling authority of the College of William and Mary from the original founders named in the Charter and gave it to the President and masters of the College. The official ceremony transferring the Charter took place on 15 August 1729; during the eighteenth century Transfer Day was celebrated as the official birthday of the College. You can find the text of the Transfer in the W&M Digital Archive and more information about it and Transfer Day in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki.

An Act to Establish a Normal School, 5 March 1888, provided the College of William and Mary with $10,000 annually for the education of teachers. The College had been closed from 1881 to 1888. You can find the text of An Act to Establish a Normal School in the W&M Digital Archive.

The Transfer to the State, 7 March 1906, gave the property and operating responsibility for the College of William and Mary to the State of Virginia. Since that date, the College of William and Mary has been a public school. You can find the text of The Transfer to the State in the W&M Digital Archive.

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