OCT. 16, 1875, Brigham Young establishes Brigham Young Academy. Warren N. Dusenberry serves as the first principal for only a few months.

JAN. 6, 1876, The academy opens with 70 students; its principal is Warren N. Dusenberry. Classes meet in the Lewis Building in downtown Provo.

APRIL 21, 1876, Karl G. Maeser, called by Brigham Young to lead the fledgling school, arrives in Provo.

JAN. 4, 1892, The new Academy Building is dedicated and the principalship of the Academy formally passed from Karl G. Maeser to Benjamin Cluff, Jr.

1892, White and blue are chosen as the school colors.

JULY 18, 1896, The academy is incorporated as a subsidiary of the LDS Church, ensuring financial support for the school.

1897, Brigham Young Academy grants its first college degrees.

1900 The women’s basketball team, the first basketball team at BYA, wins the league championship in its first season.

OCT 1903, The board of directors formally changes the academy’s name to Brigham Young University.

APRIL 16, 1904, George H. Brimhall is appointed president of the university.

JAN. 16, 1908, LDS Church President Joseph F. Smith dedicates Temple Hill as the site for a “university of Zion.”

1909, Student government begins at BYU.

MAY 30, 1912, The Maeser Building is dedicated.

1912, Alfred Kelly’s commencement speech averts the sale of BYU land on Temple Hill, which Kelly had envisioned full of students and buildings.

JULY 1912, At the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Brigham Young High School student Alma Richards wins a gold medal in the high jump.

APRIL 6, 1917, The United States enters World War I; 16 BYU students lose their lives in the war.

OCT. 15, 1918, The university cancels all academic classes because of an influenza epidemic; classes resume Jan.1,1919.

1919, BYU awards its first master’s degrees. BYU's graduate program is now housed in the former president's home.

JULY 1, 1921, Franklin S. Harris becomes president of BYU.

NOV. 11, 1922, BYU football claimed its first official win as a university team against Wyoming.

OCT. 1, 1923, The university adopts the cougar as its mascot.

OCT. 16, 1925, The Heber J. Grant Library is dedicated during BYU’s semi-centennial celebration.

1930, BYU celebrates its first Homecoming Day.

1933, Elwood Romney becomes BYU’s first basketball All-American, and the basketball team wins the Rocky Mountain Division.

DEC. 7, 1941, Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II; 119 BYU students lose their lives in the war.

MARCH 11, 1948, Radio station KBYU begins broadcasting.

JULY 1, 1945, Howard S. McDonald becomes BYU president.

1948, Students in the Blue Key National Honorary Fraternity write BYU’s first honor code.

JUNE, 26 1950, American involvement in the Korean War begins; 10 BYU students are killed in the war.

MARCH 17,1951, The men’s basketball team, under coach Stan Watts, wins the National Invitational Tournament.

OCTOBER 1953, Cosmo, the BYU mascot, makes his first appearance.

SUMMER 1956, BYU’s student newspaper changes its name to the Daily Universe.

OCT. 8, 1951, Ernest L. Wilkinson is inaugurated as BYU president.

OCT. 3, 1953, In the new Heritage Halls dormitories, rent is $20 per month.

NOV. 7, 1959, Helaman Halls dormitories are dedicated.

NOV. 8, 1965, KBYU-TV goes on the air.

JUNE 2, 1961, BYU awards its first doctoral degrees.

JULY 13, 1963, Aspen Grove opens.

FALL 1964, Cougar Stadium is completed. In 2000, the stadium will be renamed "LaVell Edwards Stadium" to honor BYU's legendary coach.

SUMMER 1965, The United States sends troops to Vietnam; 62 BYU students are killed in the war.

DEC. 2, 1965, The signs proclaiming “The world is our campus” and “Enter to learn; go forth to serve” are unveiled.

AUG. 1, 1971, Dallin H. Oaks becomes BYU’s eighth president.

January 1973, The Cougar Marching Band performs in President Richard Nixon’s inaugural parade.

FEB. 9, 1972, The Provo Temple is dedicated as the 15th latter-day temple.

FALL 1971, The Marriott Center, the largest facility of its kind on a university campus in 1971, sees its first basketball games.

APRIL 1975, BYU observes its centennial.

1976, The ASBYU Women’s Office under advisor Ardeth Kapp sponsors BYU’s first Women’s Conference.

JUNE 30, 1976, The Missionary Training Center is completed.

AUG. 1, 1980, Jeffrey R. Holland becomes BYU’s ninth president.

1980, BYU’s former star center, Kresimir Cosic, wins a gold medal as part of Yugoslavia’s Olympic basketball team.

DEC. 21, 1984, The football team ends a 13–0 season by beating Michigan State 24–17 in the Holiday Bowl. On Jan. 2, 1985, every major poll ranks BYU first in the nation.

1987, The BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies opens with David B. Galbraith as its first director.

OCT. 27, 1989, Rex E. Lee is inaugurated as BYU president.

DEC. 1, 1990, BYU quarterback Ty Detmer wins the Heisman Trophy.

NOV. 2, 1995, Merrill J. Bateman is named president of BYU.

OCT. 15, 1997, chemist Paul D. Boyer, ‘39, becomes the first BYU alumnus to receive a Nobel Prize.

JUNE 24, 1999, Crews begin renovating the Academy Building into the new Provo City Library.

JAN. 1, 2000, BYUtv launches as a global, family-friendly television network.

2000, The Creamery on Ninth East opens, becoming the first full-service grocery store on a U.S. campus.

SEPT. 10, 2001, Carl Bloch’s Christ Healing the Sick at Bethesda is installed at the BYU Museum of Art.

2003, Cecil O. Samuelson begins his presidency at BYU.

2004, CougarTail donuts debut at LaVell Edwards Stadium, quickly becoming a fan favorite.

JAN. 2004, Napoleon Dynamite, created by BYU alumni Jared and Jerusha Hess, premieres at Sundance.

2007, The Wheatley Institute is founded to promote scholarship on family, religion, and constitutional government.

2009, A 5,000 sq. ft. expansion of the Museum of Paleontology is completed to house Dinosaur Jim’s fossil collection.

NOV. 12, 2010, The MOA hosts the Carl Bloch exhibit The Master’s Hand, drawing 200,000 visitors.

WINTER 2011, “Jimmermania” takes over campus during Jimmer Fredette’s standout NCAA basketball season.

NOV. 2012, Mitt Romney, BYU alumnus, runs for U.S. President as the Republican nominee.

2014, Kevin J Worthen begins his presidency at BYU.

2014, The Simmons Center for Cancer Research is named in honor of chemist Daniel L. Simmons.

MARCH 20 2016, The Provo City Center Temple is dedicated, rebuilt after the 2010 tabernacle fire.

FALL 2016, The “Y” on the mountain is fitted with LED lighting, controllable from campus.

SUMMER 2019, BYU performing groups return to China for the 40th anniversary of their historic 1979 tour.

MARCH 12, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic instruction shifts online mid-semester.

August 2021, BYU announces the Office of Belonging and releases the Statement on Belonging.

2021, BYU’s alumni magazine is renamed Y Magazine, continuing its 1923 legacy.

2022, A molten salt micro nuclear reactor is built on campus for research and innovation.

JULY 1, 2023, BYU joins the Big 12 Conference.

2023, C. Shane Reese becomes president of BYU.

2023 Music programs move into the new Music Building, The Harris Fine Arts Center is demolished to make way for new Arts Building.

JULY 2024, The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announces the intent to establish a school of medicine at BYU. Inaugural dean Mark Ott was appointed two months later.