Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the United States. The university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Marshall University was founded in 1837 as a private subscription school by residents of Guyandotte and the surrounding area. The landmark Old Main, which now serves as the primary administrative building for the university, was built on land known as Maple Grove, at the time the home of the Mount Hebron Church in what was then the state of Virginia. John Laidley, a local attorney, hosted the meeting which led to the founding of Marshall Academy, which was named after Laidley's friend, the eminent John Marshall who had served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from January 1801 until his death in July 1835.

On March 30, 1838, the institution was formally dedicated by the Virginia General Assembly as Marshall Academy; however this institution was not a college level institution as that was understood at that time. In 1858, the Virginia General Assembly changed the name to Marshall College, but this change still did not reflect its status as a true college. The Civil War closed the often financially challenged school for much of the 1860s.

On June 20, 1863, Cabell County, Virginia, was one of the 50 counties separated from Virginia at the height of the American Civil War to form the state of West Virginia, and the college fell within the new state. In 1867, the West Virginia Legislature re-established the institution as a teacher training facility and renamed it State Normal School of Marshall College.

With the exception of the Old Main building, expansion of the facilities and the college itself did not begin until 1907, when the West Virginia Board of Regents allowed the creation of new college-level departments. At that time, enrollment surpassed 1,000 students. The school began offering four-year degrees for the first time in 1920.

In 1937, the college suffered the effects of a devastating flooding by the Ohio River. Numerous structures were extensively flooded. Much of Huntington was also heavily damaged.^{[citation needed]}

The West Virginia Board of Education authorized Marshall College in 1938 to offer the master's degree in six programs: chemistry, education, history, political science, psychology, and sociology, as the institution underwent another expansion. In that year the school was accredited as a "university level institution"; however, elevation to university status would remain a contentious political issue for decades to come. Further expansion accelerated after World War II.

On March 2, 1961, West Virginia Legislature elevated the college to university status, thus becoming Marshall University. Also in 1961, WMUL-FM began operations; it claims to be the first public radio station in West Virginia.^{[citation needed]}