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Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University, at Lexington, Va.; coeducational; founded and opened 1749 as Augusta Academy. It was called Liberty Hall in 1776; became Liberty Hall Academy (a college) in 1782, Washington Academy (following a gift from George Washington) in 1798, Washington College in 1813; and assumed its present name in 1871. Robert E. Lee was president from 1865 to 1870, and his tomb is in the university chapel. The university's front campus is a national historic landmark. Washington and Lee is noted for its law school.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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