The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is the oldest higher education institution in Hong Kong.

On March 16th, 1910, Sir Frederick Lugard, the then governor of Hong Kong, laid the foundation stone for the University.

On March 30, 1911, the University was first established in Hong Kong as an autonomous group composed of scholars in accordance with the University Ordinance.

On March 11th, 1912, the University was opened. The College of Arts, the College of engineering and the College of medicine were the first established colleges.

The medical college was developed from the Hong Kong Chinese College of Western medicine, which was founded in 1887. Among the early alumni of the college, the most famous one was Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the "father of the country".

In December, 1916, the University held the first degree awarding ceremony, and only 23 students graduated.

Ten years after its establishment, the University of Hong Kong admitted female students for the first time.

Mary Hospital opened in 1937 and has been the teaching hospital of the University since then. The outbreak of World War II brought academic activities to a standstill. Previously, HKU had four colleges: the College of Arts, the College of engineering, the College of medicine and the College of science.

After 1945, with the start of post-war reconstruction, universities experienced structural development.