Incorporated in 1867 by Johns Hopkins, a Quaker merchant and financier who made much of his fortune investing in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, The Johns Hopkins University and The Johns Hopkins Hospital were established with Mr. Hopkins's $7 million bequest, which was divided equally between the two corporations after his death in 1873.
The Johns Hopkins University opened in 1876 as the first American university oriented toward graduate education and research. Its visionary first president, Daniel Coit Gilman, and early trustees maintained that American education needed a high intellectual superstructure to top off its system of broad public education. At Johns Hopkins, they brought together all of the key elements of the research university in America: a creative faculty given the freedom and support to pursue research, fellowships to attract the brightest students, graduate education emphasizing original work in laboratory and seminar, and scholarly publication.
Johns Hopkins also revolutionized the teaching and practice of medicine and medical research in the United States. With the opening of The Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1889, followed four years later by the School of Medicine, Hopkins ushered in a new era marked by rigorous entrance requirements for medical students, a vastly upgraded medical school curriculum with emphasis on the scientific method, the incorporation of bedside teaching and laboratory research as part of the instruction, and integration of the medical school with the hospital through joint appointments.
Teaching and research, the creation and dissemination of new knowledge, and innovative methods of patient care have been the hallmarks of Johns Hopkins throughout its history. The University presents all members of the academic community with superior opportunities for advanced study and original research. In fact, Hopkins receives more federal research and development support than any other academic institution in the country, and the School of Medicine is the top recipient of funding from the National Institutes of Health.
