The first Dies Natalis
In 1918, the Hoogere Land- en Boschbouwschool was established by law as an academic institution with March 9 as the official Dies Natalis. The origins of WUR are older: in 1876, the government took over the municipal agricultural school of Wageningen, thus starting national agricultural education in the Netherlands. From 1896 to 1904 the name of the institution was the Hoogere Land- en Boschbouwschool and from 1904 to 1918 the institute was known as the Rijks Hoogere Land-, Tuin- en Boschbouwschool.