Founded by Virginia Baptists in 1830 as a seminary for men, with instruction begun by the Rev. Edward Baptist, the school was incorporated ten years later as Richmond College. During the American Civil War, Richmond College was used as a hospital for Confederate troops and later as a Union barracks. By the end of the war, the college was bankrupt and unable to continue functioning. In 1866, James Thomas donated $5,000 to reopen the college. The T.C. Williams School of Law opened in 1870.

In 1894, the college elected Dr. Frederic W. Boatwright president. President Boatwright would serve for 51 years. He is most remembered for his decision to move the college in 1914 from its original location in what is now the Fan district to its current location in the Westhampton area of Richmond. The university's main library, Boatwright Memorial Library, is named in Boatwright's honor.

The University of Richmond is a selective, private, nonsectarian, liberal arts university located on the border of the city of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia. The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a primarily undergraduate, residential university with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School of Arts and Sciences, the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business, the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, the T.C. Williams School of Law and the School of Continuing Studies.