1855, Lutheran ministers Friedrich Johann Carl Lochner and Philipp Fleischman established a private teachers' seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1857, responsibility for the operation of the school was taken over by the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.
Synod moved the school to Fort Wayne, Indiana and united it with a theological seminary that had been founded there.
1861, the theological seminary moved to St. Louis and then to Springfield, Illinois and back to Fort Wayne.
1864, the teachers' seminary was moved to Addison, Illinois.
Concordia marks its foundation with the 1864 move to Addison, Illinois.
Originally it was called Concordia Teachers' Seminary, the Concordia Teachers College.
1913, the college moved to its present location in River Forest.
1979, the institution became a full liberal arts institution and changed its name to Concordia College.
1990, growth in its graduate program allowed for the school to reorganize and change its name to Concordia University.
The university was unofficially known as Concordia University, River Forest until 2006, when the current name, Concordia University Chicago, was adopted.