Founded in 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana, it later became the state-chartered University of Louisiana. In 1884, Princeton, New Jersey, philanthropist and former New Orleans merchant Paul Tulane endowed it as Tulane University. Among its divisions is The W. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, founded in 1886 by Mrs. Josephine Louise Newcomb in memory of her daughter and identified as the first coordinate women's college in America. The university moved its present campus from its original location on Common Street in 1894. Gibson Hall was constructed in 1893-94 as the university's Academic and Administration Building by Harrod and Andry of New Orleans, architects, and Thomas Nicholson of Chicago, builder. It was named in memory of Randall Lee Gibson, a Confederate general, United States senator from Louisiana, and first president of the Tulane Board of Administrators.
