Winthrop University, often referred to as Winthrop or WU and formerly known as Winthrop College, is a public, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Rock Hill, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1886 by David Bancroft Johnson, who served as the superintendent of Columbia, South Carolina schools, received a $1,500 grant from Robert Charles Winthrop, a Boston philanthropist and chair of the Peabody Education Board.