On Sept. 2, 1878, Creighton College opened its doors through a gift from Mary Lucretia Creighton who required in her will that a school be established in memory of her husband Edward Creighton who was the former president of First National Bank of Omaha and one of the founders of the Omaha and Northwestern Railroad.

The school opened with five Jesuits, two lay teachers and 120 students. The College of Arts and Sciences was established that same year and is still the largest division at Creighton. In 1958, the college split into a prep school and the present-day Creighton University.