Timeline
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1862
Cornell’s military legacy began with the Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862. This act endowed the state of New York with the land to build Cornell University on the condition that military tactics be taught to all male students.
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1865
Cornell’s first president Andrew Dickson White in 1865 at the founding of the University. A.D. White and Ezra Cornell were strong supporters of military education. Two years of military drill and military sciences classes were mandatory in the curriculum at Cornell's founding.
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1898
During the Spanish-American War in 1898, 165 Cornellians answered the call of duty. Nearly 2/3rds of those who served did so as commissioned officers. Additionally, Mario Garcia Menocal, a Cornellian from the class of 1888, would serve as a Cuban general and would later serve as president of the country from 1913-1921.
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1913
A Corps of Cadets procession around the arts quad on Cornell University.
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1914
The newly constructed New York Drill Hall (renamed Barton Hall in 1940), was used as an airplane hangar during WWI. 9,000 Cornellians total served during the war, and a total of 4,598 became commissioned officers. This amounted to more commissions than any other program in the US.
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1916
Congress officially creates the Reserve Officers' Training Corps in the National Defense Act of 1916.
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1917
The Corps of Cadets conducts mandatory drilling session on Schoelkopf field in 1917.
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1917
Cornell produced the first two American women to ever hold Army rank, LT Caroline Sanford Finley (’01) and LT Anna I. Von Sholly (’02). The women were surgeons given commissions in the French Army in 1917.
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1939
Army, Navy, and Marine Corps training camps came to Cornell during WWII including the Army’s language and psychology training programs. More than 20,000 Cornellians served the United States throughout the duration of the US’ involvement in WWII.
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1953
The War Memorial in Anabel Taylor Hall was constructed in 1953 to commemorate over 500 students and alumni who'd sacrificed their lives over four years of conflict in WWII.
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1993
Since World War II, Cornellians have served with distinction in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the War in Iraq and many graduates continue to serve in the military today. In June of 1993, another Anabel Taylor Hall memorial was created to honor those who'd perished since WWII.
