1.1.C. History of the School of Medicine

The School of Medicine traces its origin to the first medical school on the Pacific Coast, founded in San Francisco by Dr. Elias Samuel Cooper as the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific in 1853. Stanford University was founded in 1885. In 1908, the University's Board of Trustees adopted Cooper Medical College as the University's School of Medicine. The School moved from San Francisco to the Stanford University campus in 1959.


1851 University of the Pacific, oldest chartered college in California, founded in Santa Clara.

1858 Dr. Elias Samuel Cooper (1822—1862) founds University of the Pacific Medical Department in San Francisco.

1861 Dr. Levi Cooper Lane (d. 1902), Cooper’s nephew, joins faculty.

1864 Medical Department operations suspended because some faculty, including Lane, moved to Toland Medical College–later to become University of California School of Medicine–which opened in San Francisco.

1870 Lane and close associates resigned Toland, reorganized Medical Department of University of the Pacific with Henry Gibbons Jr., MD (1840—1911), who had received his MD from the Department in 1863, as Dean.

1872 Medical Department became known as Medical College of the Pacific when, in order to gain access to better classroom facilities, the faculty amicably arranged to have it transferred to University (City) College.

1882 Lane donated new building at Sacramento and Webster Streets. Name changed to Cooper Medical College. Said to be the best facility for medical education in the world, that building was in continuous use until 1959.

1890 Lane donated addition that doubled size of medical school, included lecture halls, labs and other facilities.

1893-4 Lane donated and raised funds for construction of Lane Hospital at Clay and Webster Streets.

1895 Lane Hospital Training School for Nurses (later Stanford School of Nursing) established. Lane Hospital inaugurated.

1908 Board of Directors of Cooper Medical College grants its San Francisco properties and equipment to Stanford University. The College becomes the Medical Department of Stanford University. Clinical programs and some basic science courses continue at San Francisco facilities; some basic sciences taught on campus.

1901 First class admitted to Stanford University School of Medicine.

1912 Last class graduates Cooper. Lane Medical Library, finest collection west of Chicago, moves to new building, financed by an advance from Stanford and a gift from Cooper Medical College, at Webster and Sacramento.

1917 Stanford Hospital opens on Clay Street, adjoining Lane Hospital, to provide additional beds and clinical teaching facilities. The two are known as Stanford Lane Hospital.

1953 Stanford’s Board of Trustees makes decision to move Medical School from San Francisco to Campus.

1959 The School of Medicine, Clinics and Palo Alto-Stanford Hospital become Stanford University Medical Center; opens on campus. Palo Alto-Stanford Hospital was financed jointly by the University and the city of Palo Alto to secure teaching, research and clinical resources for the University and hospital beds for Palo Alto patients.

1968 Stanford purchased Palo Alto’s entire interest and renamed the hospital Stanford University Hospital.

1994 The Faculty Practice merged with Stanford University Hospital to form Stanford Health Services.

1997 Lucile Packard Children's Hospital merged with Stanford Health Services. Stanford Health Services merged with University of California San Francisco Medical Center and UCSF Faculty Practice in the first such merger of its kind between private and state medical centers, known as UCSF Stanford Health Care.

1999 UCSF Stanford Health Care merger dissolved to form Stanford Hospital and Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.