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Knox College is a liberal arts institution based in the town of Galesburg, northwestern Illinois. The university was founded in 1837 by Presbyterian ministers and dedicated anti-slavery campaigners. It is believed to be named after Henry Knox, the first US Secretary of War and for whom the local county is also named for.Around 20 miles from the main Knox campus is the Green Oaks Biological Field Station, where students can engage in a research centre in spectacular woodland surroundings. A tradition at Knox dating back to the 1950s is the annual Prairie Burn, in which invasive scrubs foreign to Illinois are scorched to protect the authentic natural environment of the area.Competing under the name Prairie Fire, there are twenty NCAA Division III varsity teams competing at Knox. A large number of students tend to compete in varsity of intramural sports.At some point in their studies half of Knox students will take advantage of the university’s extensive study abroad programme. The university has international partnerships with institutes on five continents, and in past years students have studied everywhere from Botswana to Costa Rica.The theatre programme at Knox is one of most renowned in the tristate area, offering a major in the subject, and minors in areas such as Performance and Design & Technology. The Otto Harbach Theatre is named for famous musical theatre librettist and alumni of Knox, and was built with excellent acoustic design and a 72 foot stage with white and black cycloramas.Renowned alumni of Knox also include painter Dorothea Tanning, journalist Ellen Browning Scripps, the first black Congressman Hiram Rhodes Revels, and inventor of the zipper Whitcomb Judson.