NOTRE DAME TIMELINES Celebrating 170 years Nov 26, 1842 Father Sorin founds the University of Notre Dame Jan 15, 1844 Notre Dame is officially chartered by Indiana Legislature 1846 Notre Dame Marching Band founded 1849 First Notre Dame Commencement exercise 1861 -1865 Eight Holy Cross priests volunteer as Chaplains for Union Army during Civil War 1869 Notre Dame Law School opens 1873 Notre Dame opens first Catholic engineering school in US 1875 First Mass celebrated in Sacred Heart church Apr 23, 1879 Fire destroys Main Building May 17, 1879 Ground broken for new Main Building 1882 Golden Dome added to top of Main Building 1885 Notre Dame becomes first college in US to install electric lighting 1887 Notre Dame competes in first football game, losing to Michigan 8-0. Oct 31, 1893 Father Sorin dies 1896 Construction begins on Grotto to our Lady of Lourdes 1898 ND school of Architecture opens 1898 ND Prof Jerome Green transmits the first American wireless transmission between Notre Dame and St. Mary’s College 1918 Knute Rockne named athletic director and head football coach 1920 Notre Dame football star George Gipp dies 1922 First radio broadcast of a Notre Dame football game (Notre Dame 27 – Indiana 0) 1924 Notre Dame students clash with members of KKK during daylong Klan gathering in South Bend Sports writer Grantland Rice describes Notre Dame backfield as the ”Four Horsemen of Notre Dame” 1927 Notre Dame officially adopts the “Fighting Irish” nickname Nov 1928 Coach Rockne asks his team to “win one for the Gipper” 1930 Notre Dame stadium opens Mar 31, 1931 Football coach Knute Rockne dies in an airplane crash in Kansas 1939 Knute Rockne Memorial Building opens 1942 Physics Dept builds the Electrostatic Generator known as “The Atom Smasher” 1942 – 1946 US Naval program established on campus to provide base for training men to serve in WWII 1947 First TV broadcast of Notre Dame football game (Notre Dame 21 - Iowa 0) 1952 Rev Theodore M. Hesburgh becomes President of the University of Notre Dame, a position he will hold for 35 years 1957 Father Hesburgh accepts appointment to U.S. Civil Rights Commission 1963 New 14 story campus library is completed 1964 Library mural titled “Word of Life” is unveiled and earns nickname “Touchdown Jesus” 1965 The Leprechaun becomes official mascot of Fighting Irish 1967 Control of university is transferred from Holy Cross order to board of lay trustees 1968 Joyce Athletic and Convocation Center (JACC) opens 1969 Father Hesburgh issues his “15 minutes rule”, spelling out consequences for Vietnam war protestors who disrupted university academic activities. 1972 Notre Dame begins admitting women as undergraduates 1982 Notre Dame football hosts its first night game in stadium (Notre Dame 23 – Michigan 17) 1987 Father Hesburgh retires; Father Edward (Monk) Malloy becomes President of the university 1997 Notre Dame stadium expanded to more than 80,000 seats 2001 Notre Dame Women’s basketball team wins National Championship 2005 Father John Jenkins becomes university President, announces plans to expand Notre Dame’s mission to include becoming a pre-eminent research institution 2007 Notre Dame invests heavily in research and builds Innovation Park 2012 Notre Dame announces it will leave Big East and joins Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in all sports except football (courtesy: South Bend Tribune) .