The University of El Salvador or Universidad de El Salvador (UES) is the oldest and one of the most prominent university institutions in El Salvador. It serves as the national university of the country. The main campus, Ciudad Universitaria, is located in the capital of San Salvador, but there are also branches of the university in other Salvadoran cities such as Santa Ana, San Miguel and San Vicente. The University of El Salvador was founded on February 16 1841, as an initiative of the Gral. Francisco Malespin and the priest Crisanto Salazar, with the objective of providing a centre for further education for the Salvadoran youth. Throughout much of its existence, the university has had a precarious existence, in the earlier years characterised by lack of governmental support and funding. In the 1950s, the University of El Salvador faced opposition from the authoritarian government of the country and many of the students and university professors were victims of the military repression. In the 1970s student uprisings took place. On July 19 1972, the government of Colonel Arturo Armando Molina intervened at the university to suppress the student uprising with military action.