The University of Hong Kong (or HKU, as it is familiarly known
to students, staff and alumni) is the oldest tertiary education
institution in Hong Kong. On March 16, 1910, Sir Frederick
Lugard, the then Governor of Hong Kong, laid the foundation
stone for the University, signifying the birth of Hong Kong's
first tertiary institution.
On March 11, 1912, the University launched its official
opening with its founding Faculty of Medicine
which had evolved from the Hong Kong College of Medicine,
founded in 1887. Of the College's early alumni, the most
renowned was Dr Sun Yat-sen, the founder of modern China'.
The Faculties of Engineering
and Arts were established within a year
of the official opening.
In December 1916, the University held its first congregation,
with just 23 graduates.
It was ten years after the founding of HKU that women students
were admitted for the first time. In 1937, Queen Mary Hospital
opened and has served as the University's teaching hospital
since that time. Before the outbreak of the Second World
War, which temporarily arrested the otherwise steady progress
of the University, there were four Faculties - Arts, Engineering,
Medicine, and Science.
After 1945, the University underwent structural developments
as post-war reconstruction efforts began in earnest.
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