The oldest in Brazil

The Rivadávia Corrêa Law — also known as the Rivadávia Corrêa Reform or the Organic Law on Higher and Fundamental Education — was implemented on April 5, 1911 by Decree No. 8,659. It advocated freedom and the de-officialization of education in the country, removing the Union's monopoly on the creation of Higher Education Institutions — which had been reinforced by Decree No. 3,890 of the Code of Official Institutes of Higher and Secondary Education (Epitácio Pessoa Government) on January 1, 1901. Through the Organic Law, or Rivadávia, the central government also let go of the requirement of equivalence to a model institution of federal level, which made it possible for private initiative to create universities.

This 1911 legislation had been preceded by the emergence of the Manaus Free University School on January 11, 1909, which was short-lived due to the decline of the rubber economy. This school, created through Law 601 of October 8, 1909, started as the Free School of Military Instruction of Amazonas and was renamed the University of Manaus on July 13, 1913 by decision of its Congregation. According to a record of the University of Manaus, which opens a facsimile edition of the magazine "Archivos da Universidade de Manaos" (1914), published by the University of Amazonas in 1989, "the crisis that hit Amazonas after the end of the rubber cycle deeply affected the University of Manaós, which saw its courses gradually deactivated, with the exception of the Law course (...)"

Source: Archivos da Universidade de Manaós. Year IV. v.IV. n.3. p.69-72 and 86; and Statutes of the Free University of Manaós referred to in Law no. 601 of October 8, 1909 Manaós: Official Press Works Section, 1909.

At that time, considering the Rivadávia Law, the University of São Paulo was also founded on November 19, 1911, and the University of Paraná on December 19, 1912.

On March 18, 1915, Federal Decree No. 11,530, of the Reform of Carlos Maximiliano Pereira dos Santos (known as the Maximiliano Law), once again required Higher Education Institutions to be equated with official establishments and to have been in operation for five years in places with a population of over 100,000 inhabitants. This need for equivalence led to the closure of the University of São Paulo in 1917.

In 1918, the University of Paraná resorted to the strategy of reforming its statutes, separating the faculties of Law, Engineering, and Medicine and granting them teaching autonomy, while keeping them in the same building, under a single Board of Directors. The various existing courses were grouped together within these faculties, and were later recognized by the Federal Government.

The continued operation of all its courses is what gives the University of Paraná its status as the oldest in the country. The university has never ceased to function or to fight for its restoration, and its "temporary dismemberment" (but under a single Board of Directors) can be interpreted as a mere strategy to meet the legal requirements of the moment.

Therefore, since the conclusion and approval of its Statutes and its solemn installation, on December 19, 1912, in a session held in the building of the Legislative Congress of the State of Paraná, under the honorary presidency of Dr. Carlos Cavalcanti de Albuquerque (State President); with its effective restoration, which took place on June 6, 1946, by Decree-Law No. 9,323 of the Union that recognized the University of Paraná, at a time of encouragement for the expansion of higher education institutions in the country; and finally, with its federalization, obtained on December 4, 1950, by Law No. 1,254 of the Federal Government, the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) is proud to say that it is the oldest university in the country.. 

A certificate proves its inclusion in the Brazilian edition of the Guinness Book of Records in 1995, as the FIRST BRAZILIAN UNIVERSITY – Inaugurated in 1913. (The University of Paraná was officially founded on December 19, 1912 and began its teaching activities in the second half of March 1913, therefore, before the foundation of the University of Manaus, which dates back to July 13, 1913).

These historical facts show the institution’s constant struggle, during its development and over 100 years of history, to continue to be a space that brings together the intellectual community not only of Paraná, which is its cradle, but of Brazilian society as a whole, always aiming to fulfill the social function that should guide all knowledge production through the tripod of Teaching, Research and Extension.