In 1879, Judge Robert Maclay Widney formed a board of trustees and got 308 lots of land from three community leaders. USC opened in 1880 in a city with no paved streets, electric lights, or telephones.
| Founding donor | Background |
|---|---|
| Ozro W. Childs | Horticulturist |
| John G. Downey | Former California governor and pharmacist |
| Isaias W. Hellman | Banker and philanthropist |
USC opened with 53 students and 10 teachers. Today it has:
That is more than 600 times as many students as in 1880.
Emil Breitkreutz won a bronze medal in the 800-meter run in 1904, the first of many. USC has produced more Olympians and gold medalists than any other U.S. university.
| Olympic fact | Number |
|---|---|
| Trojan Olympians | 418 |
| Countries represented | 60 |
| Different sports | 28 |
| Winter Games appearances | 9 |
USC has had ROTC since 1943 and enrolls about 600 veterans each semester. It is one of only two universities, with Notre Dame, with an unbroken ROTC relationship.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1943 | ROTC program founded |
| 1986 | Schoen scholarship for veterans created |
| 2008 | Social Work veterans master's program funded |
| 2012 | Master of Business for Veterans launched |
USC grew from 53 students to more than 33,000, produced 418 Olympians, and kept supporting the military since 1943. It has kept pace with Los Angeles itself.
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