First Classes of the University of Texas Law School
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The University of Texas held its first classes in the Temporary Capitol at this site on Sept. 15, 1883. Fifty-two of the 218 original students were registered in the Law department. They were taught by former governor of Texas Oran M. Roberts (1815-1898) and former Texas Supreme Court justice Robert S. Gould (1826-1904). Many members of the University's first law class went on to have distinguished careers, including Albert Sidney Burleson, who served as U.S. Postmaster General from 1913 to 1921 and Yancy Lewis, who later returned to serve as a law school professor. (1983)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On September 15, 1883, the University of Texas held its very first classes in the Temporary Capitol on this site, and 52 of the 218 original students enrolled in the new Law department. They studied under two towering figures of Texas jurisprudence: former governor Oran M. Roberts and former state supreme court justice Robert S. Gould. Graduates of that first class went on to notable careers, including Albert Sidney Burleson, later U.S. Postmaster General.
Why it matters
This marks the founding moment of one of the nation's major public law schools and captures the ambitious investment in higher education that a young Texas made in its own future.
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Related people
- · Oran M. Roberts
- · Robert S. Gould
- · Albert Sidney Burleson
- · Yancy Lewis
Themes & tags
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