Penn considered 1749 to be its founding date for more than a century but, in 1895, elite universities in the United States agreed that henceforth academic processions would place visiting dignitaries and other officials in the order of their institution's founding dates.
Penn considered 1749 to be its founding date for more than a century, including at the centennial celebration in 1849. This formalized protocol included a provision that henceforth academic processions would place visiting dignitaries and other officials in the order of their institution's founding dates.