North Hall, constructed in 1851, was actually the first building on campus. On October 10, 1916, a fire destroyed the building's dome, which was never replaced. A permanent campus site was soon selected: an area of 50 acres (20.2 ha) "bounded north by Fourth lake, east by a street to be opened at right angles with King street", "south by Mineral Point Road (University Avenue), and west by a carriage-way from said road to the lake." The regents' building plans called for a "main edifice fronting towards the Capitol, three stories high, surmounted by an observatory for astronomical observations." This building, University Hall, now known as Bascom Hall, was finally completed in 1859. Sterling as the university's first professor (mathematics), the first class of 17 students met at Madison Female Academy on February 5, 1849. Lathrop became the university's first chancellor, in the fall of 1849. On July 26, 1848, Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin's first governor, signed the act that formally created the University of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Constitution provided for "the establishment of a state university, at or near the seat of state government." and directed by the state legislature to be governed by a board of regents and administered by a Chancellor. board of regents) never actually accomplished anything before Wisconsin was incorporated as a state in 1848. However, this body (the predecessor of the U.W. The university had its official beginnings when the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature in its 1838 session passed a law incorporating a " University of the Territory of Wisconsin", and a high-ranking Board of Visitors was appointed.
As of March 2020, 26 Nobel laureates, 2 Fields medalists and 1 Turing award winner have been associated with UW–Madison as alumni, faculty, or researchers. In 2018, it had research and development expenditures of $1.2 billion, the eighth-highest among universities in the U.S. It is considered a Public Ivy, and is classified as an R1 University, meaning that it engages in a very high level of research activity. Wisconsin is one of the twelve founding members of the Association of American Universities, a selective group of major research universities in North America.
A major contributor to Wisconsin's economy, the university is the largest employer in the state, with over 21,600 faculty and staff. Its academic programs include 136 undergraduate majors, 148 master's degree programs, and 120 doctoral programs. UW–Madison is organized into 20 schools and colleges, which enrolled 30,361 undergraduate and 14,052 graduate students in 2018. The university also owns and operates a National Historic Landmark 1,200-acre (486 ha) arboretum established in 1932, located 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the main campus. The 933-acre (378 ha) main campus, located on the shores of Lake Mendota, includes four National Historic Landmarks. It became a land-grant institution in 1866. It was the first public university established in Wisconsin and remains the oldest and largest public university in the state. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison is the official state university of Wisconsin and the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. The University of Wisconsin–Madison ( University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin. An early illustration of the campus, from the 1885 edition of the Wisconsin Blue Book.