"Aspire Nobly, Adventure Daringly, Serve Humbly"
April 2, 1946 - Danforth Chapel is officially dedicated.

Photo by Earl Richardson

The following is republished with permission from
"This Week In KU History," a project of the KU Memorial Unions.

Nearly 5,000 couples have taken their marriage vows inside KU's Danforth Chapel since it was formally dedicated on April 2, 1946. Tucked behind Fraser Hall on Lilac Lane, as many as 170 brides and grooms annually continue to find the chapel's setting ideal for small, intimate weddings and the perfect venue to connect their future with the University where many of them first met. Although William H. Danforth, chairman of St. Louis-based Ralston Purina Company, provided the largest single donation - through his foundation - for the Gothic Revival structure, the vast majority of the needed funding was raised through the generosity of faculty, students, alumni, and Lawrence residents. And the actual construction was performed in part by German prisoners of war who had been captured in North Africa and were being detained in the Lawrence POW facility located near the Santa Fe train station. Read more