The eighth of nine colleges established during the American colonial period, Rutgers was chartered as "Queen's College" on 10 November 1766. It was renamed "Rutgers College" in 1825 after Colonel Henry Rutgers (1745–1830), an American Revolutionary War hero, philanthropist, and an early benefactor of the school. With the development of graduated education, Rutgers College was renamed "Rutgers University" in 1924. Originally established as a private institution affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church, it is now a secular institution and became New Jersey's leading state university of New Jersey under legislation passed in 1945 and 1956. At present, Rutgers is unique as the only university in the United States that is a colonial chartered college (1766), a land-grant institution (1864), and a state university (1945/1956).