Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam &Seal 14.10.1980

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is a university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. VU is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being the University of Amsterdam (UvA).The literal translation of the Dutch name Vrije Universiteit is "Free University". "Free" refers to independence of the university from both the State and Church. Both within and outside the university, the institution is commonly referred to as "the VU" (pronounced somewhat like "vew" as in "new").

The official university seal is entitled The Virgin in the Garden. Personally chosen by Abraham Kuyper, the Reformed-Protestant leader and founder of the university, it depicts a virgin living in freedom in a garden while pointing towards God, referring to the Protestant Reformation in the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th century. In 1990, the university adopted the mythical griffin as its common emblem. The position of its wings symbolizes the freedom in the university's name from both the State and Church. The bright and blue postmodern symbol has been the focal point of the university's Main Building ever since.

The VU was founded in 1880 by a group of orthodox-Protestant Christians led by Abraham Kuyper as the first orthodox-Protestant (Calvinist) university in the Netherlands. Kuyper was a theologian, journalist, politician, and prime minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905. He was a professor of theology at VU as well as the university's first rector magnificus (academic president). Kuyper's worldview and philosophy is referred to as Neo-Calvinism. As a reflection of his beliefs, Vrije Universiteit literally means 'Free University'(or 'Liberated University') to signify independence from both government and church. Teaching at the Vrije Universiteit started in 1880 in a few rooms rented at the Scottish Missionary Church (now the Kleine Komedie theater), along the Amstel river in Amsterdam's city centre. Here, Kuyper and four fellow professors began lecturing in three faculties: theology, law, and the arts.

The University of Amsterdam 14.1.1982

The University of Amsterdam is a public university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Established in 1632 by municipal authorities and later renamed for the city of Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam is the third-oldest university in the Netherlands. It is one of the largest research universities in Europe with 31,186 students, 4,794 staff, 1,340 PhD students and an annual budget of €600 million. It is the largest university in the Netherlands by enrollment. The main campus is located in central Amsterdam, with a few faculties located in adjacent boroughs.  

University of Cape Town 150 years

The stamp on this First Day Cover issued on 1.10.1979 at Rondebosch, commemorates 150th Anniversary of the Cape Town University in 1979.

The University of Cape Town (UCT) is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa. The language of instruction is English

The University of Cape Town is the highest-ranked African university in the QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities. It achieved a rank of 156 in the 2011 QS World University Rankings and a rank of 113 in the 2013 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, making it the only African university in the top 200. Within this same ranking UCT was placed in the top 50 in the categories of life sciences and social sciences. UCT's MBA programme was globally ranked at 54 in 2012 by the Financial Times, and was ranked first in the "value for money" category. In addition to this, The University of Cape Town was placed as the second best business school in Africa and the Middle East in the 2010 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report. The University also achieved a rank of 141 - 145 in the Russian based Global Universities Ranking In the QS World University Rankings by subject for 2013, UCT was ranked at 32 in the subject area of education and training and ranked in the top 100 for earth and marine sciences, politics, psychology, law and legal studies, history and archaeology, geography and English language and literature.

Thank you Maria.

Washington & Lee University 12.4.1949

This 3¢ ultramarine stamp on the cover was issued by the US to commemorate the Washington & Lee University. The first day of issue postmark was appropriately done on 12.4.1949 at Lexington, Virginia where the University is located. 

In 1749, Scotch and Irish immigrants founded Augusta Academy, a small classical school deep in the Virginia valley. Inspired by patriotism, the academy trustees changed the name to Liberty Hall. The school relocated to nearby Lexington four years later and was empowered by the Virginia legislature to grant degrees.

In 1796, George Washington saved the struggling academy with an endowment of $20,000 worth of stock. In gratitude, the trustees changed the school’s name to Washington Academy. The donation was one of the largest in its time and continues to offset the university’s operating budget today.

General Robert E. Lee served as the president of the university in 1865. Under Lee’s direction, the university offered the first college courses in business and journalism in the United States. After Lee’s death in 1870, trustees changed the name toWashington and Lee University.

Thank you Merja for this nice FDC.

University of Helsinki - 350th Anniversary 26.1.1990

Queen Christina (1626-1689) was the reigning queen of Sweden between 1644 and 1654. Her reign ended when she abdicated, after which she converted to Catholicism – an action which has greatly tasked historians in their attempts to offer an explanation. Christina spent the greater part of her remaining years in Rome. Her interest in cultural and scientific topics started at an early age, and she associated and corresponded with a number of the most eminent scholars of the era. Nordic Women's Literary history was the result of over a decade of work by the first-generation women's literary researchers in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The works span more than a thousand-year of womens literature history. It contains 250 articles, gives information about 850 writers and is written by hundreds of female academics. 

It is in keeping with this theme that the two stamps on the cover depict firstly, University crest and Queen Christina on horseback, and on the second stamp the University crest and the degree ceremony procession in front of the main university building.

The University of Helsinki, the oldest and largest university in Finland, celebrated its 350th anniversary in 1990. Its students make up a quarter of all university students in the country. Several subjects are taught exclusively at the University of Helsinki and it also offers the largest variety of instruction. As the oldest university in Finland, the University of Helsinki is a unique and historic institution, and has been the focal point of the country’s history for the last 370 years. Today the University of Helsinki is the most comprehensive in Finland. Since 1640 the university’s part in learning has been significant. Many future leaders of the nation have been educated there. The architecture of the University in the city centre of Helsinki has become one of the beauties of the city and the National library and museum house a number of important collections. But most importantly, a university is judged by its contribution to research, both in the sciences and in the liberal arts – a theme which runs throughout the book. International comparisons have consistently placed the university among Europe’s most accomplished institutions of research and teaching. Merja gave me this historic FDC.