When Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., opened its doors on this date in 1868, its faculty included a professor of veterinary medicine - the first American university to offer such training. The professor was Scottish-born James Law, a veterinarian trained in Scotland and France. Eight years later, the university awarded the first doctor of veterinary medicine degree in the United States. In 1896, the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell officially opened, with Law as director and dean.

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