The document summarizes the history of the University of Tennessee. It began in 1794 as Blount College in Knoxville, becoming the oldest public university west of the Appalachians. The name changed several times before becoming the University of Tennessee. It closed during the Civil War but reopened and was designated as Tennessee's federal land-grant institution in 1869, allowing it to expand its curriculum. Additional campuses were later established in Memphis, Martin, and Chattanooga.