Dacca Survey School was established in 1876 at Nalgola, west of the current Sir Salimullah Medical College campus, in Old Dhaka by the government of Bengal under British Raj. It offered two-year engineering and survey courses toward the Sub-Overseer's examination, which certified land surveyors. According to a report on public instruction in Bengal, on 31 March 1903, Dhaka Survey School had 117 students of which 103 were Hindus and 14 were Muslims. In 1908, the school started to offer diploma degrees. Nawab Sir Khwaja Ahsanullah Bahadur, a philanthropist and Nawab of Dhaka, endowed donations for developing the survey school. After his death in 1901, his son, the then Nawab of Dhaka, Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur released the grant in 1902 in accordance with his late fathers wish. As an acknowledgement of this contribution, the school was renamed to Ahsanullah School of Engineering in 1908. The school offered three-year diploma courses in civil engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering in 1908. In 1912, the university was moved to its present premises. In 1938, A. K. Fazlul Huq, the then Prime Minister of Bengal, appointed Hakim Ali as the principal of the school. After the partition of India in 1947, Chief Minister of East Bengal Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin approved the school to be upgraded to Ahsanullah Engineering College, as a faculty of engineering under the University of Dhaka, offering four-year bachelor's course in civil, electrical, mechanical, chemical and metallurgical engineering. In 1948, the government of East Bengal granted recognition to the engineering college. Ali became the first principal of the college. In 1951, TH Mathewman was appointed the next principal. M. A. Rashid succeeded him in 1954 as the first Bengali principal of the college and held the post until 1960. In 1956, a new course curriculum and the semester system were introduced at the college. On 1 June 1962, in order to create facilities for postgraduate studies and research, the college was upgraded to East Pakistan University of Engineering and Technology (EPUET), becoming the fourth university of the then East Pakistan. Rashid was appointed the first vice-chancellor of the university. A partnership with the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (renamed Texas A&M University) was forged, and professors from A&M came to teach and formulate the curriculum. During this period, EPUET offered courses in mechanical, electrical, civil, metallurgical, and chemical engineering, and architecture. After the liberation war of 1971, and Bangladesh's independence, EPUET was renamed to Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). In 2002, a first year student in the chemical engineering department, Sony, was killed during a factional clash between two feuding groups of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) at BUET. The two factions exchanged gunfire and she was caught in the line of fire. In 2007, BUET celebrated 60 years (1947–2007) of engineering education in Bangladesh by arranging a 6-month-long series of programs and events. In October 2019, sophomore Abrar Fahad was tortured and beaten to death in Sher-e-Bangla Hall, allegedly by members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the ruling Awami League party. The Independent reported that beatings and torture by the BCL were common in the dormitories. Fahad's murder sparked nearly two months of student protests against violent ragging and bullying at the residence halls. The protests ended after university authorities met student demands. They expelled for life 25 students allegedly involved in the killing, expelled a further 15 from their places in Ahsan Ullah Hall, Suhrawardy Hall, and Titumir Hall, handed down various suspensions and warnings, and adopted new penalties for ragging and political activities. In February 2021, BUET and Chinese multinational technology company Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the first ICT Academy in Bangladesh on BUET campus. On 21 June 2021, BUET and Saitama University, Japan signed second renewal of the agreement on academic exchange and the memorandum on student exchange between the two institutions. Saitama University (SU) and BUET have had a long-standing relationship for the past 20 years. In January 2022, BUET was ranked 1st among Bangladeshi and 1589th among global educational institutions in the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities.