The University of North Texas was founded in 1890 by Joshua C. Chilton, who named it the Texas Normal College and Teachers' Training Institute to train, as the name would indicate, future educators. Chilton began the college by leasing space above a hardware store in Denton and from there worked diligently to expand the institution.
North Texas State University has been known under several names, including Texas Normal College and Teachers' Training Institute (1890), North Texas Normal College (1894), North Texas State Normal College (1901), North Texas State Teachers College (1923), North Texas State College (1949), North Texas State University (1961) and University of North Texas (1988).
The University of North Texas has accomplished several historical firsts in the academic world. These include offering the first of several academic programs in the United States, including a jazz study program, a bachelor's degree in electronic merchandising, an accredited counseling program, a mechanical and energy engineering program and an online school library presentation program. The university also offered the first peace studies program in the Southwest.
In addition, the University of North Texas created the first emergency administration and disaster prevention program in the country and was the first to patent a silicon-based ultra-sensitive chemical sensor for use in integrated circuit fabrication.
The University of North Texas's library history is notable in itself. Starting with just a few materials while the college was located in a few rooms over a hardware store in the late 19th century, UNT's library has grown to include more than 6 million items with several reputable collections as of 2010. The music library is one of the country's largest collections, with extensive phonographic discs and tapes accumulated in the 20th century, along with the private collections of such notable persons as pianist Stan Kenton, composer and conductor Don Gillis, composer Whit Ozier, jazz educator Leon Breeden and Anson Jones (president of the Republic of Texas). The library was nationally recognized for efforts to preserve online government information and is one of only nine archives affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration.
The University of North Texas as of 2010, has the most nationally accredited degree programs in the Dallas-Fort Worth region and its incoming students customarily score well above national averages on the SAT. Many of its programs are nationally ranked and UNT offers 50 centers and institutes that serve the public good. UNT has been named one of America's 100 Best College Buys® more than a dozen times.