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Trinity is considered one of the more elite colleges at the University of Toronto and in recent years has had the second-highest entering requirements, after Innis College. It is also well known for striving to continue an Oxbridge type atmosphere including mandating the wearing of gowns at dinner and preserving sex segregation in the residences. The rules regarding segregation have since been relaxed, but the division remains. The college is also still quite thoroughly Anglican, even if many of the students are not.

Trinity is home to the Munk Centre for International Relations, one of Canada's premier International Relations schools.

1 History

In 1827, Bishop John Strachan, an Anglican deacon who arrived in Canada in 1799, received a Royal Charter from King George IV to build King's College in the city of York (now Toronto). At the time the British Empire was being reformed along financial and religious lines, and one of the goals of the "new system" was to form churches (by way of land grants) and schools in all of the colonies. However, York was so small at the time that there were no funds available for actually building the college, and the first classes were not held until 1843.

The college was borne into a turbulent period in colonial history. In 18481848 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). Events Sri Lanka The Revolution of 1848 (qv. a series of widespread but failed struggles for more liberal governments, from Brazil to Hungary. January 24 California gold rush: Jame, the first local elections were held, and the land grants to the churches reverted to "crown" ownership. This left King's College in a somewhat odd position, and Strachan's support for the school vanished. In 1850Events January 4 The first American ice-skating club is formed ( Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). January 29 Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the United States Congress February 28 University of Utah opens in Salt Lake City, Utah March 7 United, the school was secularized, and became the University of Toronto on January 1January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Here a calendar year refers to the order in which the months are displayed, January to December. The first day of the medieval Julian year was usually a day otherst.

This action incensed Strachan, who immediately set about creating a private school based on strong Anglican lines. In 1851Events January 23 The flip of a coin determines whether a new city in Oregon is named after Boston, Massachusetts, or Portland, Maine, with Portland winning. March 1 Victor Hugo gives speech at the French national assembly and uses the phrase United State, former military land was purchased from Fort YorkFort York is an historic set of fortifications and buildings in Toronto, Canada built by the British in the early nineteenth century to defend it from attack, principally from the independent United States. In 1793, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe on the western end of Toronto, and the school was built on the west side of Garrison Creek (now buried). The work was completed quickly, and students arrived in January, 1852Events January 14 President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. January 17 United Kingdom recognizes independence of the Transvaal Devil's Island penal colony opens February 11 First British public toilet, many of them from Strachan's former diocese in Cobourg, OntarioCobourg ( 2001 population 17,172) is a town on Lake Ontario some 75 km east of Toronto. Largest town in Northumberland County, Ontario; nearest neighbour is Port Hope, 7 km to the west. The town was founded by United Empire Loyalists in 1798. In the late, and a Royal Charter was granted by Queen Victoria in 1852 for Church of England University in Canada. In 1889 the school was renamed once again, this time to Trinity University. It was a highly regarded school throughout this era, and (perhaps surprisingly) fairly progressive. In 1884 they admitted their first women students, and added St. Hilda's women's college, in 1889.

With Strachan now long dead, efforts began in 1904 to unite Trinity with the University of Toronto. Most of the degrees granted were turned over to the UofT, with the exception of the degree in Divinity. In 1906 the school became a University of Toronto federated school, and efforts began to move to a location closer to the main campus. Land was purchased in 1913, but due to World War I construction was not completed until 1923. At that point the original builing was sold off to the city, and later torn down in 1950. In 2004, the College Board of Trustees voted narrowly in favour of ending Trinity's long practice of same-sex residency; beginning in 2005, large portions of Trinity's residences will be home to people of both sexes.