New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by a group of New Yorkers led by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institution near City Hall based on a curriculum focused on a secular education. The university moved in 1833 and has maintained its main campus in Greenwich Village surrounding Washington Square Park. Since then, the university has added an engineering school in Brooklyn's MetroTech Center and graduate schools throughout Manhattan.
Albert Gallatin (1761–1849) by Gilbert Stuart
NYU Building in Washington Square, 1850
The University Heights campus, now home to Bronx Community College
Washington Square Park, with its gateway arch, is surrounded largely by NYU buildings and plays an integral role in the university's campus life.
Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin was a Genevan–American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early years of the United States, helping shape the new republic's financial system and foreign policy. Gallatin was a prominent member of the Democratic-Republican Party, represented Pennsylvania in both chambers of Congress, and held several influential roles across four presidencies, most notably as the longest serving U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. He is also known for his contributions to academia, namely as the founder of New York University and cofounder of the American Ethnological Society.
Gallatin by Gilbert Stuart, c. 1803
Albert Gallatin, signature
Bureau of Engraving and Printing portrait of Gallatin as Secretary of the Treasury
Daguerreotype of Albert Gallatin, only photograph taken of him. c. 1844–1849