Hebrew University was opened in Jerusalem on April 1, 1925 by Lord Balfour on Mount Scopus at an impressive ceremony attended by the High Commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel, General Allenby, Chaim Weizmann, H. N. Bialik, Ahad Ha-Am, and Chief Rabbi Kook. Its first Chancellor was Dr. Judah Magnes. The idea for a Hebrew University was first proposed by Hermann Schapira in 1884 at the Kattowitz Conference of the Hovevei Zion, and again at the first Zionist Congress in 1897. Hebrew U. houses the Jewish National Library containing over 2 million books, The Harry S Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, the Faculty of Medicine and the school of Law. All have a prestigious place in Israeli Acadmia. Close to 40 percent of all civilian research carried out in the country is conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.