The origins of the university can be traced back to 1843, with the creation of the Normal School of Teachers or Teacher Training Seminary of Public Instruction, and the subordinate Veterinary School, founded in 1852, laying the foundations for the future University of León. It was officially founded in 1979 as a split from the University of Oviedo, incorporating various schools and faculties that had previously been dependent on it and had existed in León for varying lengths of time.
