1817: The University of Michigan is founded as one of the first public universities in the nation.
1837: The University moves its campus from Detroit to Ann Arbor.
1848: The Board of Regents establishes a three-member medical department, known today as the University of Michigan Medical School.
1850: The Medical School opens its doors to more than 100 students. They are charged $5 a year for two years of education.
1852: Ninety young physicians receive medical diplomas from U-M.
1867: University enrollment reaches an all-time high of 1,255 students, 525 of whom are enrolled in the Medical School.
1869: U-M opens the first university-owned medical facility in the United States. The 20-bed hospital is located in the residence of a former professor. It has no wards or operating rooms.
1875: U-M adds two wooden pavilions to the hospital. The structure is designed to be "easily burned down in 10 years because it would be badly infected," according to the writings of one physician.
1880: The Medical School adopts a three-year curriculum, introduces laboratory instruction and assigns grades for the first time.
1890: U-M adopts the four-year medical school program still in use today.
1891: The first six nursing students are admitted to the University Hospital program. A new hospital on Catherine Street replaces the old Campus Pavilion Hospital.
1899: The Medical School introduces the clinical clerkship. The breakthrough is made possible by the fact that U-M owns its own hospital (privately owned hospitals would not allow medical students to touch their patients).
