Knox College

Knox College, private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Galesburg, Illinois, U.S. The college, founded in 1837 by Presbyterian and Congregationalist abolitionists from New York and New England, opened in 1843. It was originally named Knox Manual Labor College, and the students worked on the college farm to pay their board. In the 1850s Knox became one of the first colleges in the United States to admit African Americans and women. The present name was adopted in 1857. Total enrollment is approximately 1,100.

A liberal arts college, Knox awards the bachelor of arts degree. It offers majors in arts and sciences and preprofessional programs in architecture, engineering, law, and medicine, as well as cooperative degree programs with other universities. Knox operates study-abroad programs in Barcelona, Spain; Besançon, France; and Buenos Aires, Argentina. It also provides opportunities for students to study in other countries and elsewhere in the United States. Research facilities include the Green Oaks Field Station, the Center for Cell and Molecular Biology, the Center for Cell and Tissue Culture, and the Center for Microscopy.

Knox College was the site of the fifth debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in 1858 (see also Lincoln-Douglas debates).