9/51 Georgia Tech.

Founded in October 1885, the Georgia School of Technology utilized $65,000 in state appropriations to establish a 400-acre campus on the northern edge of the city.

In 1948, the school’s name was changed to the Georgia Institute of Technology to reflect a growing focus on advanced technological and scientific research. Female students were admitted in 1952 and in 1961 Georgia Tech became the first university in the Deep South to admit African American students without a court order.

Today, degrees are offered through the colleges of Architecture, Computing, Engineering, Sciences, Scheller College of Business, and Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. Georgia Tech is recognized internationally for managing the global transition from an industrial to an information economy.

The best-known of Georgia Tech traditions is the Ramblin’ Wreck, a 1930 Model A Ford donated to Georgia Tech in 1961, which appears on the football field at all home games. A second Model A was purchased and restored by the Alumni Association in the 1980s, and is used at alumni events.

Cover Image:
Georgia Tech football players and cheerleaders run on to Grant Field before a game, ca. 1966.

The Tech Tower and Grant Field, 2015.

First Image:
Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center, Floyd Jillson Photographs

Second Image:
Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center

Third Image:
Courtesy of Georgia Institute of Technology

Next: 10 Sherman and the Civil War.

Major General William T. Sherman commanded the Union forces during the Atlanta Campaign.