Founding in Milledgeville (1835)

On December 21, 1835, Oglethorpe University was chartered in Milledgeville, Georgia—then the state capital—at a time when the South’s growing towns and rural communities hungered for trained pastors, principled public servants, and educated families. Milledgeville’s public square, legislature, and churches made it a fitting place to plant a school meant to shape both mind and conscience.

Presbyterian Aim: Learning Under God

Founded under Presbyterian auspices, the university’s early supporters saw higher learning as a trust to be stewarded before the Lord. They sought scholarship that would not inflate pride but cultivate humility, discipline, and service. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” (Proverbs 1:7). In that spirit, the school’s aims reached beyond career preparation toward forming leaders for church, home, and public life—men and women who would speak truth, keep promises, and love their neighbors in practical ways.

James Oglethorpe: Name and Example

The university was named for James Oglethorpe, Georgia’s founder, remembered for determination, public-minded vision, and courage in the face of threat. His leadership in establishing a new colony and defending its people offered a civic picture of steadfastness—qualities that Christian education seeks to deepen with moral clarity and reverence. True heroism, after all, is not merely daring, but faithful endurance and sacrificial protection of others.

From Milledgeville to Atlanta (1913)

Though its campus later moved to Atlanta in 1913, the founding purpose was not meant to be left behind. In a faster, more modern city, the same question remained: will knowledge be used for self, or offered for the common good under God’s rule? “Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23).

Enduring Charge

Oglethorpe’s founding vision endures as a call to pursue education with reverence, courage, and integrity—using learning to strengthen Christian witness, serve neighbors, and seek what honors the Lord in every sphere of life.