St. John’s College traces its origins to King William's School, the Maryland colony's "free" school founded in 1696. The term "free" referred to the school's purpose: to make students free through liberal education, an aim that still holds today. St. John’s distinctive liberal arts curriculum and educational practices have long given it a highly respected place among American colleges and universities. Its strong commitment to collaborative inquiry and to the study of original texts makes St. John’s College a particularly vibrant community of learning.