When the University was first chartered, it had the name of "Eliot Seminary", in honor of University co-founder William Greenleaf Eliot. Eliot did not want the institution to bear his name. At the first meeting of the Board of Trustees, February 13, 1854, the trustees charged a subcommittee with finding a suitable name. The name decided upon was "Washington Institute in St. Louis" (the name became "Washington University" in 1857). At the second meeting of the Board of Trustees, held February 22, 1854, the trustees passed the university's first set of bylaws.

In 1854, the institution's charter and first bylaws, along with an address given by William Greenleaf Eliot at the first meeting of the trustees, were issued in a small pamphlet - the first publication of Washington Institute in St. Louis. This pamphlet is reproduced below, in PDF format.

1854 Charter and Constitution, Washington Institute in St. Louis (entire) (.PDF file)

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