UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN. The University of Texas originated in 1839, when the Congress of the Republic of Texas, in an act locating the seat of government, ordered a site set aside for a university. A subsequent act the same year allocated fifty leagues (231,400 acres) of land to the establishment and the endowment of two colleges or universities.

The university was formally opened in the new building on September 15, 1883, though classes were held in the temporary Capitol as late as January 1884.

The university is supported by the Permanent University Fund, the Available University Fund, legislative appropriations, and gifts and grants. The permanent fund, virtually an endowment, consists of proceeds of the sale of the fifty leagues granted in 1839, the million acres granted in the Constitution of 1876, and a second million acres granted by the legislature in 1883, together with the proceeds of sales or leases of this land.