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The school only allowed white students for most of the Apartheid eraof the Apartheid, even though several notable black anti-apartheid leaders graduated from the university in the 1950s. It became desegregated again in the last few years of Apartheid. Due to the university's anti-Apartheid student movement, it was sometimes referred to as "Moscow on the Hill" due to the anti-Apartheid campaigns that took place there and its left-wing political affiliations.
It is the home of the Witwatersrand University Press , one of Africa's leading academic publishers. It is the oldest and largest university press in Africa.
The school was founded in Kimberly in 1896 as the "South African School of Mines". Eight years later, in 1904 the school moved to Johannesburg and changed its name to the "Transvaal Technical Institute." The school changed its name in 1906 to the "Transvaal University College" and in 1910, the school again changed its name to the "South African School of Mines and Technology." Finally, in 1922, the school was granted full university status after incorporateing the College as the "University of the Witwatersrand." The area of Miller Park was identified as the location for the new university campus, and construction began in the same year. There were to be six faculities that offered degrees at the University: Arts, Science, Medicine, Engineering, Law, and Commerce.
The school experienced significant growth after its incorporation as a university, growing from a mere 6,275 students in 1963 to over 16,400 in 1985. In 1964, the Medical Library of the Faculty of Medicine moved to Esselen Street, in the Hillbrow section of Johannesburg. During the course of the 1960's, the university opened many new schools and buildings, and acquired a limestone cave renowed for its archaeological material located at SterkfonteinSterkfontein ( Afrikaans for strong fountain is a set of limestone caves of special interest to paleo- anthropologists located North East of Johannesburg, South Africa near the town of Krugersdorp. A number of early hominid remains have been found at the. The Graduate School of Business was established later in 1968Events Undated Booker Prize for Fiction is established by Booker plc. 1968 is known as the year of the Prague Spring and also the year of the Paris riots. The ASCII character code is standardized as ANSI Standard X3. Nauru adopt his national anthem of the in Parktown . A farm next to Sterkfontein named Swartkrans rich in archaeological material was purchased in 1968, and excavation rights were obtained for archaeological and palaeontological purposes at Makapansgat, located in Limpopo province. The next year, the Ernest Oppenheimer Residence opened next to the Business school in Parktown, and later in the same year, clinical departments at the new Medical School opened. In 19761976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). Events January January 12 UN Security Council votes 11-1 to admit the Palestinian Liberation Organization January 15 Would-be Gerald Ford presidential assassin Sara Jane Moore is s, Lawon's Corner was renamed University Corner. The Senate House, the universities main administrative building was occupied in 1977For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). Events January 1 First woman Episcopal priest ordained January 6 EMI sacks the Sex Pistols January 18 Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious " legionnaire's disease" Januar. The university underwent a signifigant expansion programme in 1984This page is about the year 1984. For other uses of 1984, see 1984 (disambiguation). 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday (link shows calendar). Events January January 1 Brunei becomes a fully independent state January 1 AT&T is broken up into 22 indepe, acquiring the Milner Park Showgrounds and renaming it the West Campus. In 1984, the Chamber of MInes building opened. A walkway was constructed across the motorway bisecting the campus, linking the East and West Campuses.