Davidson College was founded in 1837 by The Concord Presbytery after purchasing 469 acres of land from William Lee Davidson II. The first students graduated from Davidson in 1840 and received diplomas with the newly created college seal designed by Peter Stuart Ney, who is believed by some to be Napoleon's Marshal Ney.
In the 1850s, Davidson overcame financial difficulty by instituting "The Scholarship Plan," a program that allowed Davidson hopefuls to purchase a scholarship for $100, which could be redeemed in exchange for full tuition to Davidson until the 1870s. The college's financial situation improved dramatically in 1856 with a $250,000 donation by Maxwell Chambers, making Davidson the wealthiest college south of Princeton. The Chambers Building was built to commemorate this gift. On November 28, 1921, the Chambers Building was destroyed in a fire but was rebuilt 8 years later with funds provided by a generous gift from the Rockefeller family. The Chambers Building continues to be the primary academic building on campus.
In 1923, the Gamma chapter in North Carolina of Phi Beta Kappa was established at Davidson. Over 1500 men and 500 women have been initiated into Davidson's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
In 1924, James Duke formed the Duke Endowment, which has provided millions of dollars to the college, including a $15 million dollar pledge in 2007 to assist with the elimination of student loans.
On May 5, 1972 the trustees voted to allow women to enroll at Davidson as degree students for the first time (women had attended classes as early as the 1860s but did not enjoy degree privileges). The first women to attend classes at Davidson were then-President Kirkpatrick's five daughters, who attended classes to increase the size of the student body during the Civil War. Art major Marianna "Missy" Woodward ‘73, the only woman in a class of 217, was the first woman to graduate from Davidson.
In early 2005, the College's Board of Trustees voted in a 31-5 decision to allow 20% of the board to be non-Christian. John Belk, the former mayor of Charlotte and one of the heirs of Belk Department Store, was a casualty of this decision, resigning in protest after more than six decades of affiliation with the college. Stephen Smith also resigned. Belk, however, continued his strong relationship with his alma mater and was honored in March 2006 at the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Belk Scholarship.