Aurora University (Shanghai)
Aurora University (French: Université l'Aurore, Chinese: 震旦大學; pinyin: Zhèndàn Dàxué) was a Catholic university in Shanghai from 1903 to 1952.
Université l'Aurore | |
Aurora University, circa 1940 | |
Other name | Zhendan University (震旦大學) |
|---|---|
| Active | 1903–1952 |
| Founder | Fr. Joseph Ma Xiangbo S.J. |
Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic (Jesuit) |
| Location | Shanghai , China |
| Language | Chinese |
The university was founded on 27 February 1903 by Joseph Ma Xiangbo, S.J. and French Jesuits. In 1905, Ma resigned to establish Fudan University, and Aurora was thereafter run by French Jesuits until the Communist Revolution. From 1908 onwards, it was located in Shanghai's French Concession. "By the 1940s, the institution had grown to become one of the largest, if not the largest, among Shanghai’s private universities and included faculties of Law, Medicine, Sciences, Applied Sciences, and Literature, along with a Preparatory Course,Women’s College, nursing program, dental training, a renowned natural sciences museum (Le Musée Heude), and a number of associated collèges and lycées in Shanghai and other cities throughout Jiangnan."
In 1952, Aurora University merged into East China Normal University and Fudan University, while the chemistry department was absorbed by the newly founded East China Institute of Chemical Technology and the medical school joined the Shanghai Second Medical College.