Uploaded March 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Video featuring a certified copy of McGill University's 1821 Charter & the 1852 Charter and Seal.
Learn more via a McGill bicentennial blog post "Tracing McGill University’s founding documents: The hunt for the 1821 Charter" news.library.mcgill.ca/?p=12120
For more information regarding McGill's papers of governance: archives.mcgill.ca/public/exhibits/installation/main/gallery.htm
mcgill.ca/secretariat/charter-statutes/royal
On March 31, 1821, Lord Dalhousie granted a royal charter on behalf of King George IV of England to establish McGill College. This charter gave the Institution the right to confer university-level degrees.
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1852 video footage shot by Elena Petkovic, Associate Video Producer, Communications Services - Communications and External Relations, McGill University.
Edited by: Merika Ramundo, Communications Manager
Music: Royalty-Free Music from Bensound. The piece is entitled "Adventure".
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1821 Charter
In order to meet the requirements of James McGill's bequest, the RIAL had to secure a charter for the incorporation of the College. Following the transfer of the Burnside estate to the RIAL by the Trustees in 1820, a Royal Charter was granted by Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of Canada on March 31, 1821, providing for the establishment of "McGill College." The Charter provided that the College should be deemed and taken as a University with the power of conferring degrees, and the Visitors of the College were the members of the RIAL.
Certified copies of the 1821 Charter, issued in 1833 by the Secretary and Registrar of Lower Canada, were transferred to the McGill University Archives in 1967. The copies were found in the Christ Church Cathedral vault (Montreal Gazette, May 17, 1940) and returned to then Principal James.
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1852 Charter
Queen Victoria granted a Royal Charter to the University on July 6, 1852, superseding the 1821 Charter. The key amendments included the replacement of the Governors by members of the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning (RIAL), the empowerment of the Governors to create rules, ordinances and statutes, and the appointment of the Governor General of Canada as the Visitor in lieu of the members of the RIAL. The 1852 Charter and Seal are maintained by the McGill University Archives (transferred in 1967) and are part of the installation ceremony.
Video featuring a certified copy of McGill University's 1821 Charter & the 1852 Charter and Seal.
Learn more via a McGill bicentennial blog post "Tracing McGill University’s founding documents: The hunt for the 1821 Charter" news.library.mcgill.ca/?p=12120
For more information regarding McGill's papers of governance: archives.mcgill.ca/public/exhibits/installation/main/gallery.htm
mcgill.ca/secretariat/charter-statutes/royal
On March 31, 1821, Lord Dalhousie granted a royal charter on behalf of King George IV of England to establish McGill College. This charter gave the Institution the right to confer university-level degrees.
---
1852 video footage shot by Elena Petkovic, Associate Video Producer, Communications Services - Communications and External Relations, McGill University.
Edited by: Merika Ramundo, Communications Manager
Music: Royalty-Free Music from Bensound. The piece is entitled "Adventure".
---
1821 Charter
In order to meet the requirements of James McGill's bequest, the RIAL had to secure a charter for the incorporation of the College. Following the transfer of the Burnside estate to the RIAL by the Trustees in 1820, a Royal Charter was granted by Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of Canada on March 31, 1821, providing for the establishment of "McGill College." The Charter provided that the College should be deemed and taken as a University with the power of conferring degrees, and the Visitors of the College were the members of the RIAL.
Certified copies of the 1821 Charter, issued in 1833 by the Secretary and Registrar of Lower Canada, were transferred to the McGill University Archives in 1967. The copies were found in the Christ Church Cathedral vault (Montreal Gazette, May 17, 1940) and returned to then Principal James.
---
1852 Charter
Queen Victoria granted a Royal Charter to the University on July 6, 1852, superseding the 1821 Charter. The key amendments included the replacement of the Governors by members of the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning (RIAL), the empowerment of the Governors to create rules, ordinances and statutes, and the appointment of the Governor General of Canada as the Visitor in lieu of the members of the RIAL. The 1852 Charter and Seal are maintained by the McGill University Archives (transferred in 1967) and are part of the installation ceremony.
