The first Founder’s Day was held on November 21, 1874—the school’s first anniversary. It was commemorated with a full day of activities including a morning chapel service, a military drill, lectures, and speeches about John McDonogh’s life and the School’s founding. The day concluded with a large turkey dinner in celebration of Thanksgiving.
In addition to Founder’s Day, each spring beginning on May 30, 1884, students participated in the John McDonogh Day ceremony. According to John McDonogh’s wishes, they placed flowers at his grave and sculpted memorial, which was located in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore City (the sculpted memorial was commissioned by the City Council of Baltimore to honor McDonogh’s philanthropy to create a farm school for underprivileged boys).
In May of 1946, after John McDonogh’s grave and the memorial were moved to campus, the ceremony was held at the School for the first time. Students laid flowers at his grave and placed a wreath in Tagart Memorial Chapel honoring deceased faculty. When the memorial honoring alumni who died in World War I and World War II was completed in 1946, a wreath was placed there as well. In May of 1954, the School began the tradition of announcing names of alumni, faculty, staff, and trustees who had passed in the previous year—ringing the chapel bell and placing a flower for each on the John McDonogh monument. In the late 1960s, the ceremony became a more somber event and involved less student participation. In the 1980s, Founder’s Day and John McDonogh Day were combined in a single October ceremony.
In 2020, the ceremony was renamed Dedication Day. While it maintains the tradition of fostering gratitude by recognizing John McDonogh’s bequest and vision for the school, it also honors the contributions of his enslaved people and the Indigenous people who once lived on the land. Deceased members of the McDonogh Family continue to be remembered on Dedication Day.
