GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, Dis trict of Columbia, an institution of higher edu cation, under the direction of the Roman Cath olic Church. The plan of the institution was undertaken as early as 1785 by the Rev. John Carroll, later first archbishop of Baltimore. In 1786 the corporation of clergymen in the chap ter held at Whitemarsh, Md., adopted a series of resolutions directing the establishment of the institution and the erection of its first building. The year 1789 is generally considered the year of the foundation of the university, though stu dents were not received until 1791. Upon the reorganization of the Society of Jesus in Mary land in 1805, the Georgetown College, as it was then called, was transferred to that society, under whose direction it still remains. In 1815 the university was empowered by act of Con gress to confer any degree in the arts, sciences and liberal professions which are conferred in other colleges and universities, and, in 1833, the Holy See empowered the university to confer, in the name of the Church, degrees in philos ophy and theology. The university is composed
of the college; the school of medicine, organ ized in 1851 and including since 1901 a school of dentistry; and the school of law, organized in 1870. The college comprises three distinct de partments, the graduate school, the undergrad uate department and the astronomical observ atory. A preparatory department is also con nected with the university. The teaching of the university is guided by the principles of the Ratio Studiortun, formulated by the Jesuit order, and a strict standard of scholarship is maintained. The facilities of the university in clude the Coleman Museum of Natural History, the Beauchamp Hughes Art Cabinet and the Riggs Memorial Library. In 1916 there were reported a faculty of 196 and a student enrol ment of 1,526. Books in library, 153,000.