As one of the most prestigious academic centres in not only Canada but the entire world, McGill University has helped diversify and strengthen Montreal in more ways than one.
While they are often known as the school Concordia students love to hate, McGill is brimming with a rich history.
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Since they celebrated their 200th anniversary just last year, we felt that it was about time they got their very own fun fact roundup.
So, without further ado, here are nine noteworthy facts about McGill.
McGill University was the first Canadian university to award someone a medical degree.
According to the university’s website, “four years after classes began, McGill awarded its first degree – and Canada’s first-ever medical degree – to William Leslie Logie. Dr. Logie was McGill’s only graduate that year.”
Their notable alumni list includes more than a few A-listers.
The likes of William Shatner (’52), Leonard Cohen (’55), Ken Dryden (’73), Justin Trudeau (’94), and Win Butler (’04) were all educated at McGill.
Their students invented hockey.
According to the university, “the first organized game of ice hockey took place on March 3, 1875, at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, based on a set of rules proposed by a group of McGill University students. The game also featured a number of those students.”
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It has one of the most diverse student bodies in North America.
According to www.canadian-universities.net, McGill is represented by students from over 150 nations who compose 20 percent of the full-time enrolment.
North America’s oldest museum is at McGill.
The Redpath Museum originally opened in 1882 and is the oldest museum in all of North America. Who would have thought?
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Getting accepted is an accomplishment on its own.
McGill has the highest average entering grades of any Canadian university. So if they say yes to you, you’re probably doing something right.
41% of their students are born outside of Canada.
According to one of the university’s student demographic surveys, nearly half of McGill’s students come from around the world. Over 60% of respondents from that survey studied outside of Quebec before coming to McGill.
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There has been a former McGill student competing at every Olympic Games since 1908.
According to the school’s athletics department, “there have been 143 McGill students or grads that have gone on to Olympic glory over the past century.”
The inventor of basketball was a McGill alumnus.
James Naismith, an American, was quite the athlete when he studied at McGill. He played football, lacrosse, rugby, and soccer during his time there.
He enjoyed sports so much that he decided to make his own, inventing basketball in December 1891.
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