In the early 1900s, the site of King Library was held by Hepburn Hall, a residence building for women. The shortage of housing forced some women to live in the attic about the third floor. Because some of the lights were defective, some residents had to strike matches to find their way and it was rumored that some women used the attic as a smoking lounge. Due to these circumstances, a major fire burned down Hepburn Hall on January 14, 1908. King Library was originally known as the King Undergraduate Library when the south section was completed in 1966. When the north section was completed in 1972, the word “undergraduate” was dropped from its name. Before King Library was built, Alumni Library was the used as the main university library. When King Library was completed in 1972, Alumni Library was changed to Alumni Hall.King Library was named after Edgar Weld King. He was born in Berlin, Germany on December 24, 1893. After earning an A.B. degree at Oberlin College in 1916, King received a diploma from the Library School of New York University and a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1922. That year, he was appointed librarian at Miami and served continuously until his retirement in 1956. In 1957, the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters Doctor of Humane Letters was conferred on him by Miami. During his tenure the library grew from 67,000 volumes to over 350,000 volumes.When the library opened in 1966, sixty volunteer fraternity men transferred 40,00 volumes, pushing book trucks up and down ramps across the quad from the old Alumni library.The building was named after Edgar Weld King, who funded the construction. Dedication to Edgar King and the library was held on February 17, 1973.Note written by Robert Schmidt