The University of Yale was founded on October 9, 1701 as the College School. Shortly after, a group of Congregational ministers referred to as The Founders; formed the first library of the school. Originally the school was located in Killingworth, Connecticut, until it moved to New Haven, Connecticut in 1716. In 1718 the school changed its name to Yale College to honor its benefactor Elihu Yale, who donated a substantial sum of money for the construction of a new building for the college. As of 2005, the university of yale enjoys an endowment totaling $15.2 billion dollars, and is considered to be the second largest of any academic institutions.
The rivalry between the University of Harvard and the university of yale is the oldest in the Ivy League, and reflects the strivings of both schools to dominate in fields of academics, college football and rowing. Similar competition can be observed among the oldest institutions in England - Oxford and Cambridge. Such schools of higher education as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, Stanford University, Princeton University and Columbia University are considered peers to the University of Yale.
Due to its prestige and age, the University of Yale is regarded as a founder of many intellectual trends, most of which came out of English and literature departments.
The university possesses the largest collection of the rare manuscripts and books and the second-largest university library system in the world with a collection of nearly 11 million volumes. About 5 million volumes are concentrated in Sterling Memorial Library, the main library of the University, which was constructed by the original architects Bertram Goodhue and James Gamble Rogers. Other collections can be found in Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Center for British Art, the Peabody Museum of Natural History and the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments. The largest building in the world, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library also belongs to Yale, which uses the library for storage of rare books and manuscripts.
Despite the fact that Yale is an example of Gothic architecture with its solid edifices, the majority of the buildings of the University of Yale were constructed during the period of 1917-1931. Stone sculptures - built into the edifice -- portray such contemporary personalities of the university as an athlete, a writer, a student who has fallen asleep while reading and a socialite. It is interesting to know that the oldest buildings on the campus are built in Georgian Style, which makes them more modern. To them belongs Connecticut Hall, built in 1750 and regarded as the oldest building on campus, and yale university is it's proud parent. Among other buildings constructed in the Georgian Style there are Timothy Dwight College, Pierson College and the Davenport College, all of which were founded in the 1929-1933 period.
Yale's goals for the XXI century were set during the tercentenary celebration of the institution in 2001: to increase the focus on international concerns and educate future leaders, who will operate in a global environment.