FOREWORD
The University of Virginia was founded in 1819 by Thomas
Jefferson. The celebration of its one-hundredth anniversary was delayed
from 1919 to 1921 because of disturbed world conditions following
the Great War. Prior to the Centennial there appeared the monumental
History of the University of Virginia, by Philip Alexander
Bruce, LL.D., the notable offering of a distinguished alumnus and
historian; and coincident with that event was published a volume of
poems, The Enchanted Years, contributed in honor of the occasion by
poets of America and Great Britain. Shortly before the Centennial
Celebration, there was shown on the moving-picture screen in Virginia
and other states a series of important events and noteworthy
scenes in the history of the University from the days of Jefferson and
Poe to the present.
The following pages set forth in order the proceedings of that
historic occasion which covered four days, May 31-June 3, 1921.
Most of the addresses delivered, a few representative greetings, and
the text of the Centennial Pageant are included, together with a number
of illustrations which will make more vivid to the reader certain
memorable scenes. While the volume is primarily a record of the
Centennial Celebration, it is in a larger sense an interpretation of the
spirit of an institution through a hundred years of service to State and
Nation.
