The University of Waterloo dates its history from the first classes, July 1, 1957. At that time it was Waterloo College Associate Faculties -- the name UW came in 1960. Waterloo College, founded 1911, is now Wilfrid Laurier University.

Principal founders included J. Gerald Hagey (founding president), Ira G. Needles (first chairman of the board of governors), and Rev. Cornelius Siegfried, who brought St. Jerome's College (founded 1865) into federation with UW.

The College of Optometry of Ontario became a part of the university (as the school of optometry) in 1967.

• A brief history of the University of Waterloo
• Today in UW history

General history

• University of Waterloo archives
• List of campus buildings, with construction dates
• Ontario historic plaque at main entrance to campus
• Plaque on South Campus Hall listing UW's "founders"
• News and documents of the past
• Senior administrative officers, past and present
• History of the UW web site
• From the faculty association's Handbook

News & events

• Student newspapers, 1958 to the present
• UW's 40th anniversary, 1997
• UW's 50th anniversary, 2007
• 25 years of Hagey Lectures
• Emergency (storm) closings

From Ken McLaughlin, university historian:

• "Dreaming in Technicolor" lecture, 1992: Gazette report; Edited text
• Waterloo: The Unconventional Founding, 1997: Gazette report; News release
• History of St. Jerome's University, 2002

Faculties & colleges

• A brief history of the faculty of mathematics
• History of St. Jerome's University
• Founding of Conrad Grebel University College (PDF)
• Brief history of the department of systems design engineering
• History of Wilfrid Laurier University (and Waterloo College)

Campus development

• North campus: past, present and future
• Background of planned architecture building in Cambridge

Myth & legends

• Legends, nostalgia and trivia
• Water under the bridge: A troll's-eye view
• The great water tower caper of 1958
• "Power Tripping", a history of the Radical Student Movement
• Exploring the tunnels, circa 1990
• The mysterious farm on the north campus
• The Math and Computer building "Red Room"
• The Myth of Waterloo (from Slashdot)